In the laboratory, fishes were measured to the nearest 0. 1 cm fork 

 length (FL), or total length (TL) it fork length was not appropriate, 

 and weighed to the nearest 0.1 g. Otoliths were polished and 

 cleared in xylene; the annuli were counted to estimate age. Stomach 

 contents of each fish were classfied by major taxonomic group and 

 the volumetric abundance of each group was assigned a ranked 

 value. Invertebrates from each trawl were identified to the lowest 

 possible taxonomic level. Members of each species or ta.xon were 

 weighed and enumerated. Carapace lengths (CL) of decapod crus- 

 taceans were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm. The numbers of ovi- 

 gerous crabs and shrimps in each trawl were noted. 



RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 



Thirty-three successful tows were conducted from 2 August to 3 

 September 1977; two (indicated by A and B, Fig. 1) were made on 

 30 and 3 1 August 1976. Ten were west of Point Barrow, 10 between 

 Barrow and Prudhoe Bay. and 15 between Prudhoe Bay and the 

 U.S. -Canada demarcation line (long. 141 °W). Depth distribution 

 of tows was as follows: 14 at 40-50 m. 11 at 51-100 m. 9 at 

 101-150 m, and 1 at 400 m (Table 1). 



Nineteen species or species groups of fishes and 238 species or 

 species groups of invertebrates were identified (Appendix A). The 

 natural history information presented in this report is only from col- 

 lections made in 1977; material from the 1976 tows was identified 

 and enumerated but not further worked up. Representative speci- 

 mens of invertebrates are catalogued and located at the University 

 of Alaska Marine Museum. Those fishes representing range exten- 



sions are held in the Ichthyology Collection. National Museum of 

 Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Canada 



(NMC). 



Fishes 



We caught 133 fishes belonging to 14 species- in trawls made in 

 1976. In the more extensive trawl senes done in 1977, 512 fishes 

 were caught belonging to 17 species (Table 2). Three species 

 (B(>re(>!>culits saida. Lycodes polaris. and Icehis biconiis) 

 accounted for 65% of all fishes caught. Eight species were repre- 

 .sented by five or fewer specimens. 



Previous records of fishes of northern Alaska have been com- 

 piled by Walters (1955), Quast and Hall (1972), and Carey (1978). 

 A list of all marine species reported in those compilations to occur 

 in the northeastern Chukchi and Beaufort Seas is given in Table 3 

 along with the species recorded in this report and by McAllister 

 (1962) for the eastern Beaufort Sea. Of the 41 species listed, 5 

 {Limanda aspera, Lumpenus maculatus. Myoxocephalus scorpius, 

 Niiiilichlhrs pribiluviiis. and Podotbeciis acipenserinus) are pri- 

 manly Benng Sea forms which only rarely occur as far north as 

 Point Barrow. The remaining 36 species appear to be fairly widely 

 distributed and can be considered characteristic of the fauna of the 



-In the lollowing presentation of results and discussion, all snailfishes are consid- 

 ered as Liparis spp- and counted as one form. The number of species inhabiting the 

 northeastern ChuUhi and Beaufort Seas cannot at present be determined due to tax- 

 onomic confusion in the group. 



162" 



152" 



7 2" 



ARCTIC OCEAN 



6 8 



7 



Chukchi Sea 



34 V 



Beaufort Sea 



70° 



US- Canada 

 demarcation line 



68" 



50 

 ■ ■ 



km 



100 



l__ 



Figure 1.— Locations of otter trail 1 stations in the northeastern Chukchi and western Beaufort Seas, August-September 1976 and 1977. 



2 



