Title: Determining the value of habitat to juvenile rockfish in the Aleutian Islands
When: 28 May 2004
Who: Chris Rooper (AFSC/ NMFS)

Chris is Fisheries Scientist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center which is part of the National Marine Fisheries Service based out of Seattle, WA.
This talk was about how researchers are attempting to determine the relationships between rockfish and different marine habitat types. Using multi-beam and side-scan sonar, researchers are able to observe how certain habitats affect both survival and growth of rockfish. Trawls, traps, and sediment grabs were used as comparisons against sonar imagery. In the past, rockfish appear to congregate around sponge-covered habitats and not over bare-rock or sand bottoms.

For more information contact:
Chris Rooper (AFSC): Chris.Rooper@noaa.gov