Abstract. — This study exam- 

 ines the early life history of a popu- 

 lation of walleye pollock, Theragra 

 chalcogramma (Pallas), that is 

 found in Resurrection Bay, Alaska. 

 Ichthyoplankton samples were 

 taken at six stations in Resurrec- 

 tion Bay during early May and 

 early June 1989 along with hydro- 

 graphic data. Standard lengths of 

 all walleye pollock were measured, 

 and subsamples from two stations 

 were aged by using otolith incre- 

 ments for growth rate and hatch 

 date analysis. Abundances ranged 

 from 60 to 575 larvae m~ 2 in May 

 and from to 10 larvae irr 2 in June 

 with densities of up to 12 larvae 

 m~ 3 in May. The estimated growth 

 rate was 0.18 mm/day. Back-calcu- 

 lated hatch dates ranged from late 

 March until early May; the median 

 hatch date was 22 April. Compari- 

 sons of abundance and growth rate 

 to values from other habitats indi- 

 cate that this deep fjord provides a 

 suitable habitat for larval walleye 

 pollock. Hydrographic data and lar- 

 val size distribution suggest that 

 advection plays a major role in de- 

 termining the distribution of larvae 

 in the fjord. 



Distribution, abundance, and 

 growth of larval walleye pollock, 

 Theragra chalcogramma, in an 

 Alaskan fjord 



Franz-Josef Muter 

 Brenda L. Norcross 



Institute of Marine Science, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences 

 University of Alaska Fairbanks 

 Fairbanks. AK 99775-1080 



Manuscript accepted 13 December 1993. 

 Fishery Bulletin 92:579-590 (1994). 



Fjords have long been recognized as 

 nursery grounds for many commer- 

 cially important fish species (De 

 Silva, 1973; Lie, 1978; Carmo Lopes, 

 1979). Matthews and Heimdal 

 ( 1980) in their review of food chains 

 in fjords pointed out that many 

 fjords along Scandinavian, Scottish, 

 and North American coasts are 

 highly productive areas. The pro- 

 ductivity of fjords is often enhanced 

 by hydrographic boundary condi- 

 tions or land runoff that can in- 

 crease nutrient levels (Matthews 

 and Heimdal, 1980). Production in 

 fjords may be further enhanced by 

 upwelling conditions at their 

 mouths. This is especially true for 

 the southern coast of Alaska, where 

 the relaxation of easterly winds in 

 summer promotes coastal diver- 

 gence and upwelling (Royer, 1982). 



Rogers et al. (1987) described the 

 nearshore zone of the Gulf of Alaska 

 as an important spawning or rearing 

 area, or both, for several commer- 

 cially important fish species, includ- 

 ing walleye pollock, Theragra chalco- 

 gramma. However, no work has been 

 done to examine the dynamics of 

 early life history stages of walleye pol- 

 lock or other fishes in Alaskan fiords. 



We chose walleye pollock for this 

 study because it was more abun- 

 dant than any other species in Res- 

 urrection Bay (Smith et al., 1991) 

 and its development and early life 

 history in other areas of the Gulf of 



Alaska are well known (Dunn and 

 Matarese, 1987; Kendall et al., 

 1987; Kim, 1989). Furthermore, it 

 is very important commercially, 

 with annual landings off Alaska ex- 

 ceeding one million metric tons ( Lloyd 

 and Davis, 1989), and the walleye 

 pollock resource shows high fluctua- 

 tions in year-class strength ( Megrey, 

 1991), which creates a strong incen- 

 tive to determine possible causes. 



Most of the research on pollock in 

 the Gulf of Alaska has been focused 

 on the Shelikof Strait region (Schu- 

 macher and Kendall, 1991), while 

 other areas along the Gulf, except 

 for Auke Bay in Southeast Alaska 

 (Haldorson et al. 1989, a and b), 

 have received little attention. Al- 

 though the Shelikof Strait spawn- 

 ing area is believed to be the most 

 important in the Gulf of Alaska 

 (Hinckley et al., 1991), substantial 

 pollock spawning occurs in other 

 areas of the Gulf (Muter, 1992; Nor- 

 cross and Frandsen 1 ). 



Resurrection Bay shares many 

 features with other embayments 

 along the southcentral coast of 

 Alaska and can be considered rep- 

 resentative of the area. This study 

 used growth analysis together with 



Norcross, B. L., and M. Frandsen. Distri- 

 bution and abundance of larval fishes in 

 Prince William Sound, Alaska, during 1989 

 after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. EVOS Sym- 

 posium Proceedings. Am. Fish Soc. Sym- 

 posium. In review. 



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