occurring during May and June when fur seals were expected 

 in this area in greater numbers enroute to the Pribilof Islands. 

 The principal prey species utilized by fur seals in the Gulf of 

 Alaska included Pacific herring, capelin, salmon, walleye 

 pollock, Pacific sand lance, Ammodytes hexapterus, rockfish, 

 Atka mackerel, and squids, Gonatus spp. and B. magister 

 (Table 8). These principal prey species contributed from 89 to 

 99^o of the total food volume based on percentage of the total 

 stomach content volume of seals taken in this area (Fig. 11). 



Table 8.— Food of fur seals in the Gulf of Alaska, February-July 1958-68. 



Table 9. — Food of fur seals in western Alaska, May-September 1958-74. 



Months 



Months 



Food items 



Feb. 1 



Mar. 



Apr. 



May 



June 



July 



Fish: 















Clupeidae 



- 



- 



- 





X 



- 



Clupea harengus pallasi 



1 



1 



X 



X 



4 



- 



Oncorhynchus spp. 



- 



- 



X 



X 



2 



4 



O. gorbuscha 



- 



- 



- 



- 



2 



- 



O. keta 



- 



- 



- 



- 



2 



- 



O. kisutch 



- 



- 



- 



- 



2 



- 



O. tshawytscha 



- 



- 



X 



- 



- 



- 



Osmeridae 



- 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



Mallotus villosus 



2 



2 



1 



2 



3 



1 



Thaleichthys pacificus 



- 



- 



X 



- 



- 



X 



Myctophidae 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



- 



A notopterus pharao 



- 



- 



X 



- 



- 



- 



Cololabis saira 



- 



- 



- 



X 



- 



- 



Gadidae 



- 



X 



- 



X 



- 



- 



Gadus macrocephalus 



- 



- 



X 



X 



X 



- 



Xficrogadus proximus 



- 



- 



X 



- 



X 



- 



Theragra chalcogramma 



- 



- 



2 



3 



X 



- 



Gasterosteus aculeatus 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



- 



Sebastes spp. 



- 



- 



4 



X 



- 



- 



Sebasles alutus 



- 



- 



X 



- 



X 



- 



Anoplopoma fimbria 



- 



- 



X 



- 



- 



X 



Cyclopteridae 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



- 



Trichodon trichodon 



- 



- 



- 



X 



- 



- 



Ammodytes hexapterus 



- 



- 



X 



1 



1 



2 



Pleuronectidae 



- 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



A theresthes stomias 



- 



X 



X 



X 



- 



- 



Unidentified 



- 



- 



X 



X 



X 



X 



Cephalopods: 















Octopoda 



- 



- 



- 



- 



X 



- 



L oil go opalescens 



- 



- 



X 



- 



X 



- 



Onychoteuthis sp. 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



- 



Gonatidae 



- 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



Gonatus sp. 



- 



X 



3 



X 



X 



- 



Berryteulhis magister 



- 



- 



- 



4 



X 



X 



Gonatopsis borealis 



- 



- 



- 



X 



X 



- 



Unidentified squid 



- 



X 



X 



X 



X 



3 



Stomachs with food 



33 



205 



225 



505 



328 



24 



Stomachs with trace 



1 



9 



22 



53 



68 



4 



Stomachs without food 



30 



100 



118 



599 



474 



68 



'Numerals indicate the ranking of principal prey species based on percentage of 

 total stomach content volume. 



Western Alaska 



Surveys and collections in the western Alaska region were 

 made primarily during June 1958, 1960, 1962, 1968, and 1974. 



The principal prey species utilized by fur seals in this region 

 included the fishes Pacific herring, capelin, salmon, walleye 

 pollock, sablefish, Atka mackerel, and Pacific sand lance as 

 well as the squid B. magister (Table 9). These principal prey 

 species contributed from 77 to 99% of the total stomach con- 

 tent volume for this area (Fig. 12). 



Food items 



May 1 



June 



July Aug. Sept. 



Fish: 



Entosphenus tridentatus 



Clupea harengus pallasi 



Salmonidae 



Oncorhynchus spp. 



O. gorbuscha 



O. keta 



O. kisutch 



O. nerka 



O. tshawytscha 



Osmeridae 



Mallotus villosus 



Gadidae 



Gadus macrocephalus 



Theragra chalcogramma 



Sebastes spp. 



A noplopoma fimbria 



Pleurogrammus monopterygius 



Cottidae 



Cyclopteridae 



Trichodon trichodon 



Ammodytes hexapterus 



Bathymaster signatus 



A theresthes stomias 



Unidentified 

 Cephalopods: 



Gonatidae 



Gonatus sp. 



Berrytheuthis magister 



Gonatopsis borealis 



Unidentified squid 

 Stomachs with food 

 Stomachs with trace 

 Stomachs without food 



2 x 



3 



3 



X 



4 



- 



- 



X 



X 



X 



- 



- 



X 



- 



X 



- 



7 



350 



30 



35 



15 



1 



111 



10 



6 



1 



14 



276 



22 



51 



18 



1 Numerals indicate the ranking of principal prey species based on percentage of 

 total stomach content volume. 



PRINCIPAL FORAGE SPECIES OF 



FUR SEALS 



California 



The relative abundance of fishery resources available in the 

 California Current System have been determined from egg and 

 larvae surveys conducted by the California Cooperative 

 Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI). The basic pattern 

 for the stations of the CalCOFI survey areas off California 

 and Baja California since 1950 are shown in Figure 13. The 

 sampling method, gear, and surveying techniques used for col- 

 lecting data on fish eggs and larvae to determine distribution 

 and abundance of fishery resources in the California Current 

 System were summarized by Ahlstrom (1966) and Kramer et 

 al. (1972). Based on surveys conducted by CalCOFI, the major 

 fishery resources (arranged in order of their relative abun- 

 dance) were determined to be: 1) Northern anchovy, 2) Pacific 

 whiting, 3) rockfishes, 4) jack mackerel, 5) Pacific saury, and 

 6) L. opalescens. These fishery resources were considered to be 

 among the most underutilized fishery resources off California 

 (Ahlstrom 1968). 



The California marine fish fauna consists of about 554 spe- 

 cies of which 439 are found in coastal waters (to 120 m depth), 

 48 are meso- or bathypelagic species, and 67 are deepwater 



13 



