Alaska Longline Sablefish Survey Metadata

Data is available from annual bottom longline surveys conducted cooperatively by Japan (1979–1994) and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center (1988 to present). Starting in 1988, the United States started conducting the survey, creating overlap between the two countries between 1988 and 1994. Since 1994, the United States has conducted the survey independently. Stations are spaced systematically ( approx. 20–30 km apart) along the slope from the eastern Gulf of Alaska west to the Aleutian Islands and north into the eastern Bering Sea. At each station, depths from approximately 150–1,000 meters are sampled. Each year the captain attempts to set the gear along the same path. The same stations are sampled each year except in the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea, which are sampled every other year at the beginning of the survey (last week of May to early June). Since 1995, in odd years the Bering Sea stations are sampled and in even years the Aleutian Islands are sampled. The status of each hook is recorded. Lengths are taken from major species including, sablefish, giant grenadier, Pacific grenadier, Greenland turbot, arrowtooth flounder, Pacific cod, shortspine thornyhead, and all rockfish caught.

Loaded by FGDC Metadata Uploader, batch 7092, 09-18-2015 13:08

The following FGDC sections are not currently supported in InPort, but were preserved and will be included in the FGDC export:

• Taxonomy (FGDC:taxonomy)