Table 3.— Fishes recorded from the norlheaslerii ( huki hi and Ikauiorl Seas in 

 this and previous studies. 



Sources 



Species 



Quasi & McAI- 



Waltcrs Hall Carey This lister 



|y55 1972 1978 report 1962 



Petromyzonidae 



Lampclrii jiiponita 

 Clupeiiiac 



ClitiH'U lutntii^us 

 Salnionidae 

 Salvi'tinus alpinus 

 OiKorhynchus gorbusihu 

 Oiiciirhynchus kela 

 Osmendae 

 Maihflits vHUtsus 

 Osmerus mordux 

 Myclophidae 



Bcnthtistiimi i^lacialc 

 Gadidae 

 Arctoguihis horisovi 

 Arctogathts gUiciulis 

 Bon'f)}iiultis sii'uUi 

 Etcginus gracilis 

 Gtultis tni/rhiui oi;ac 

 Zoarcidae 

 Gyntnclis vihdis 

 Lycudes jtti^oricti.s 

 Lyctnk'S mttcostn 

 Lycodvs [>aUidti\ 

 Lycodes polaris 

 Lycodes mridens 

 Lycodes ro.\si 

 Ammodytidae 



Ammi>dyle>> he \apu'rti s 

 Cotlidae 

 Artediellus sciiber 

 Arlediellus uncinatiis 

 Gymrwcanlhi(\ incu\pi\ 

 kc'lus biconii s 

 Iceltts sputuhi 



Myoxaccphidtis qiuidrucnin 

 Mvoxoceplicilus .s c(irpi(tdt'\ 

 MyuxmephaUts \ciirpiu\ 

 Nautichthys pribilovitts 

 Triglop^i piii^eli 

 Agonidae 

 Aspidoph()rotdc\ olrikt 

 Podinheius aiipeii\triiui\ 

 L'yclopteridae 

 Etiimcwtri'tnus dcrjiiiiini 

 Liparis spp. 

 Stichaeidae 

 Eunii'sograttumis pnifci\us 

 Litinpenits fiibrlcii 

 Ltimpeiiifs maculaliis 

 Liinipi'ims niediiis 

 PIcuronectidae 

 Liiilanda aspera 

 Liopsi'iui giaciidis 

 Pluiichllns siclUuus 



Boreogadus saida. — Arctic cod were the must abundant and con- 

 sistently present fish in our survey. They were caught in each ot 20 

 tows we.st of Prudhoe Bay with an average of 9 fish caught per tow 

 (range 1-26). However, they were caught in only lOof 15 towsea.st 

 of Prudhoe Bay with an average of only 2 fish caught per tow (range 

 0-11). Arctic cod were caught at all depths between 40 and 400 m 

 and we saw no obvious correlation between abundance and depth of 

 tow. 



Individuals were 4.5-18.0 cm FL with a distinct mode at about 

 8.0 cm (Fig. 2). The length-weight relationship of Arctic cod is 

 W = Q.m\%-L''"' (^=118. /• =0.987) (Frost and Lowry 1981). 

 Fishes caught in waters deeper than 100 m were larger (.v= 11.4cm 

 FL) than those caught in shallower water {.v= 8.1 cm FL). In 

 waters 100 m or less deep. 89% of the fishes caught were < 10.5 

 cm FL while in deeperwater24% of fishes caught were > 14.0 cm 

 long. Similar size (or age) segregation has been observed in the 

 Barents Sea (Hognestad 1968). It is probable that the length- 

 frequency distribution for all tows combined was influenced by the 

 depth distribution of the tows. In a series of midwater tows in the 

 eastern Chukchi Sea. Quast ( 1974) found the abundance of juvenile 

 cod was strongly correlated with depth, presumably due to a nega- 

 tive phototactic response. 



Length at age of fishes caught by us was compared with that in 

 other geographic areas (Table 4). It is unknown whether results for 

 other studies were for fresh or preserved specimens. We measured 

 preserved specimens. Arctic cod we examined had grown about 5 

 cm the first year and 3-4 cm in each of the following 2 yr These 

 rates are similar to but slightly less than those found by other inves- 

 tigators. There is considerable variation in size at age. which may 

 be caused by an extended spawning period (Rass 1968) or patchy 

 food resources with resulting variable growth. 



In other geographic areas Arctic cod mature when they are 3-4 yr 

 old or about 14-19 cm long (Gjosaeter 1973; Andriyashev 1954). 

 We found no development of eggs in specimens smaller than 1 1 cm; 

 gonads made up about 1 9r of body wieght. In specimens > 11.5 

 cm, eggs were clearly visible in the ovaries, and gonads made up 

 2-2.5% of the body weight. Ba.sed on size at age, Arctic cod in the 

 Beaufort Sea probably first spawn at an age of 3 yrand a length of at 

 least 12.5 cm. Spawning probably occurs in January and February 

 (Klumov 1937; Svetovidov 1948; Andriyashev 1954; Hognestad 

 1968; Rass 1968). 



In 187 Arctic cod. 157 stomachs had identifiable contents, 13 

 were empty, and 17 contained only unidentifiable food remains 

 (Table 5). Copepods (mostly Calainis hyperbureus. C. glaciatis, 

 and Euchaeui i^kidalis) and the amphipod Aplierusa glacialis were 

 the most important prey Mysids, the primary food of Arctic cod in 

 nearshorc waters (inside the barrier islands) of the Beaufort Sea 

 (Bendock 1979). were a minor item in the diet of the fishes we 

 examined from 40 m and deeper 



Lycodes polaris. ^Cdnaiian eelpout are benthic fishes common 

 on muddy bottoms (Andriyashev 1954). They were the second 

 most numerous species in this study and were caught at 16 stations. 

 Forty-one of the 121 individuals were caught in tow No. 1. That 

 trawl was on the botttim for about 1 h while the ship drifted and 

 made mechanical repairs, and it is possible that eelpout swam into 

 the net to feed on the contents. They occurred at 40-150 m and 

 showed no obvious relationship between abundance and depth. 



Individuals ranged from 3.8 to 24.5 cm TL with most specimens 

 measuring < 15 cm TL (Fig. 3). A mode was present at about 8.0 

 cm. The length-weight relationship of Canadian eelpout is 

 PV=0.0054-t-"" (N =16.r = 0.993). 



Due to the small size and opaque nature of the otoliths, this spe- 

 cies was poorly suited for age determinations. The mode at about 8 



