Pacific West Coast Upper Continental Slope Trawl Survey of Groundfish Resourcesoff Washington, Oregon, and California: Estimates of Distribution, Abundance, and Length Composition

摘要

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Resource Assessment and ConservationEngineering Division (RACE) conducted a groundfish bottom trawl survey of the West Coast upper continental slope (WCUCS) in 2000. The survey area stretched from the U.S.-Canada border (near Nitinat Canyon) to 34 deg 30 ' N lat. (near Pt. Conception, CA) in waters ranging from 183 to 1,280 m deep. This was the twelfth survey in an ongoing series to monitor the long-term trends in the distribution and abundance of WCUCS groundfish populations. This was the third year that spatial coverage of the WCUCS groundfish trawl survey was expanded to include all of the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission (INPFC) statistical areas between Point Conception (34 deg 30 ' lat.) and the U.S./Canada border. Sampling was conducted aboard the NOAA ship Miller Freeman. The authors successfully sampled 207 of the 208 stations that the authors established during this and previous WCUCS surveys. Survey catches included 144 different species of fishes from 57 fish families and and 252 different invertebrates representing 10 phyla and 23 classes. The survey design and the methods used are described, the data collected are summarized, and the results of analyses of distribution, abundance, and biological parameters are presented. Data on water temperature, catch composition, relative abundance, and geographic distribution are reported. Estimates of biomass, population abundance, and length composition are also presented. Appendices include position and catch listings for each haul and catch rates of fish and invertebrates.