Project Description

Alaska's chosen state motto and the premiss for the Arctic Eis Project. This project will provide a comprehensive assessment of the northeastern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea (NEBS/CS) ecosystems from the physical environment through the primary and secondary producers that support Arctic marine food webs to the numerous fish, bird, and mammal species utilizing the area. The goals of the study are to:

1. collect baseline fisheries and oceanographic data to enable resource managers to better predict effects of climate and human impacts on ocean productivity and on the ecology of marine and anadromous fish species within the NEBS/CS
2. assess the distribution, relative abundance, diet, energy density, size, and potential predators of juvenile salmon, other commercial fish, and forage fish within the NEBS/CS
3. evaluate the effect of climate change on the health and status of pelagic fishes within the northeastern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea.

 

Project Funding

1) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM): $1,153,464
2) Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP): $ 3,000,000
Start Date: 2012-01-01 End Date: 2016-05-31

 

Research Team