Journal
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
Volume 59, Issue 5, Pages 983-996Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1006/jmsc.2002.1281
Keywords
Alaska; juvenile distribution; larval distribution; Mallotus villosus; Pacific capelin; Prince William Sound; size structure
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Seasonal distribution and size structure of larval, juvenile, and adult Pacific capelin, Mallotus villosus (Muller), were determined using data collected opportunistically during studies of larval fish and adult salmon and herring in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. Larval and mainly juvenile capelin were widely distributed inside and west of Prince William Sound. Schools of adults were observed at the Prince William Sound-Gulf of Alaska interface in June, July, and August. Spawning was in June and July. Abundance of larval capelin offshore (> 1 km) peaked in July, declining thereafter. Larvae appeared to move inshore, because nearshore (< 1 km) abundance increased steadily from July to October. For part of the year, nursery areas are nearshore as capelin aged 0 and I dominated catches; most were caught within 400 in of the shore at bottom depths less than 100 m. Capelin catches were highest during May-June in three of the four years, and seasonal variability probably resulted from distributional changes inside bays and fjords, and/or variable growth and maturation rates. Recruiting events appeared to be annual, but annual catch rates declined from 1994 to 1997 as a consequence of changes in survival or distribution. (C) 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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