Fisheries Oceanography of the Southeast Bering Sea: Relationships of Growth,Dispersion and Mortality of Herring Larvae to Environmental Conditions in the Port Moller Estuary

摘要

Five waves of Pacific herring, Clupea harengus pallasi, adults entered the PortMoller estuary at intervals of 2-3 wks from late April to mid July, 1990. Each wave split into two groups of spawners, one that moved to the head of Moller Bay and the other that moved to the head of Herenden Bay. The locations of furthest seaward movement in both bays coincide with convergences of surface currents, as indicated by hydrodynamic modeling, suggesting that the convergences may have been leaky physical barriers to seaward transport. For eight of nine sub-cohorts the total instantaneous rate of loss, 0.11/day, of herring larvae was the same as the average rate of mortality, suggesting negligible loss of larvae from seaward transport out of the estuary. The authors conclude that Port Moller contains two herring larvae retention areas, and that the population dynamic of Port Moller herring larvae may be controlled by hydrodynamic variables that define the location and magnitude of the convergences.