study, indicating an April peak (Wing and Reid 1972). 

 Such a difference could result from annual variations in 

 environmental conditions which may affect spawning 

 times. 



Larval Fish Abundance 



A total of 23,819 larval and juvenile fish were sorted 

 from 119 samples. Identification of larval fishes for the 

 northwest Pacific Ocean, and Alaskan waters in par- 

 ticular, is very difficult. Therefore, we were able to iden- 

 tify only 15 species from 18 identified families (Table 2). 

 Larval fishes in three families, Gadidae, Osmeridae, and 

 Bathylagidae, contributed 87.5'^c of the catch in the 

 samples processed. Walleye pollock, Theragra chal- 

 cogramma, the most abundant gadid, formed 68.2% of 

 the total catch identified. Abundance of pollock was 

 greatest in May and June when they formed 92.6% and 

 49.8%, respectively, of the total catch identified. Their 

 distribution favored the channels rather than inside 

 bays. Only three larval gadids were not walleye pollock, 

 but unfortunately we could not identify these. 



Osmerids were second in abundance, accounting for 

 14.9% of the total catch processed. Greatest abundance 

 occurred in June and July (24.9%- and 55.6% of the total, 

 respectively). Eulachon, Thaleichthys pacificus, was the 

 only osmerid identified to species, but capelin, Mallotus 

 villosus, the most common osmerid in southeastern 

 Alaska, was believed to compose the bulk of the os- 

 merid samples. Greatest osmerid abundance was noted 

 in the northern area with exceptions of Point Retreat 

 (station 9) and Auke Bay (station 12), where they were 



Table 3. --Settling toIums in 12Z sauries of plankton collected with 61-( 

 0. JJS-inn-mesh bongo net in southeastern Alaska, April-November 1972. 



scarce. In the southern areas, osmerids were abundant in 

 Farragut Bay (station 16) and Saginaw Bay (station 20) 

 and scarce elsewhere. 



The third most abundant species was the northern 

 smoothtongue, Bathylagus stilbius schmidti (Bathy- 

 lagidae), composing 4.5% of the total processed catch. 

 Abundance was high from May to August, peaking in 

 June and July with 5.8% and 12.4''; of the processed 

 catch. Geographical abundance was markedly greater, 

 with the exception of Auke Bay, in the northern stations 

 where they were taken in 54 of 68 samples, and average 

 catch per haul was generally much higher than in the 

 southern stations. In the south, they were represented in 

 only 20 of 51 samples. 



Pacific herring, Clupea harengus pallasi, were con- 

 spicuous by their absence. Although adult herring are 

 fished commercially throughout southeastern Alaska, 

 larval herring were found only among the Haines (station 

 3) and Saginaw Bay (station 20) samples. Auke Bay (sta- 

 tion 12) generally is a productive spring spawning area 

 for herring and is heavily fished in the spring for roe and 

 bait herring. Larval and postlarval herring are known to 

 occur in the Auke Bay area from early June through Sep- 

 tember although our sampling did not collect them. 



The families Scorpaenidae, Cottidae, and Stichaeidae 

 each contributed approximately 2% to the total catch. 

 Scorpaenid abundance was greatest in July and 

 geographical distribution favored the channel rather 

 than bay stations. Cottid and stichaeid abundance was 



Table 4.--Predailinant forms of plankton collected with 61-011, 0.333-Din-nrsh 

 bongo nel in southeastern Alaska, April -November 1972, (Cope = calanoid copepods, 

 (Chaeto • chaetognaths. Euph ■ euphausiids; Parath - Parathemisto llbellula. 



-'Fran catch by 20-ciii, 0.333-nin-iwsh net. 



