Doyle et al.: Neustonic ichthyoplankton in the western Gulf of Alaska 



245 



TP 5 ^ 



Hexagrammos stelleh 



Pleurogrammus monopterygius 



~W*\ 



H 



Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus 



Figure 6 (continued) 



are strong, primarily at 10-30 m depth, following an 

 onshore migration by the mature adult fish during 

 summer (Gorbunova, 1962; Macy et al. 5 ). Gorbunova 

 (1962) describes the oceanic occurrence of P. 

 monopterygius larvae in the Pacific Ocean and Bering 

 Sea and suggests that they migrate out to sea after 

 hatching in shallow water, thus explaining the pri- 

 marily offshore distribution pattern observed for 

 these larvae. 



The predominant cottid species in the sampling 

 area were members of the genus Hemilepidotus. As 

 with the hexagrammids, these species are inshore 

 coastal dwellers that spawn demersal eggs and have 

 neustonic larvae (Matarese et al., 1989). In the study 

 area, spawning seems to occur from fall through 



Macy, P. T., J. M. Wall, N. D. Lampsakis, and J. E. Mason. 1978. 

 Resources of the non-salmonid pelagic fishes of the Gulf of 

 Alaska and eastern Bering Sea. Part 1: Introduction, general 

 fish resources and fisheries, and review of literature on non- 

 salmonic pelagic fish resources. Part of Final Report for Con- 

 tracts R7120811 and R7120812, Task A-7, Research Unit 64/ 

 354, Outer Continental Shelf Environment Assessment Pro- 

 gram, U.S. Dep. Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 355 p. 



spring; peak densities of larvae occur in the neuston 

 during fall (Kendall and Dunn, 1985). The most abun- 

 dant cottid recorded during the present study was 

 H. hemilepidotus . Highest densities of this species 

 occurred to the southwest of Kodiak Island, extended 

 beyond the Shumagin Islands, and had a tendency 

 to be associated with the mid- to outer-shelf region 

 (Fig. 6H). Larvae were scarce northeast of Kodiak 

 Island. The same pattern of distribution was ob- 

 served for this species by Rugen 3 from samples taken 

 during all seasons. The less abundant H.jordani dis- 

 played a similar distribution pattern (Fig. 61) as did 

 Hemilepidotus spp. (Fig. 6K). Hemilepidotus 

 spinosus, however, had a more northerly distribu- 

 tion. Most larvae were caught northeast of Kodiak 

 Island (Fig. 6J), suggesting that this is the main 

 spawning area for this species. 



Kendall and Dunn ( 1985) found larvae of the cottid 

 Myoxocephalus spp. to be most abundant during sum- 

 mer to the south of Kodiak Island. The samples from 

 the present study yielded low numbers of these larvae; 

 when present they were found in the mid-shelf region 



