Gulf of alaska nearshore juvenile COD survey

***Please see Statement of Work for complete details***

Services requested under this contract are for both scientific expertise and vessel support for continuation of NOAA-supported nearshore juvenile fish surveys of Pacific cod in the Western Gulf of Alaska. Surveys are planned for July and August of 2021. These survey data are necessary for NOAA-AFSC management of the Pacific cod federal fishery which was closed in 2020 due to extremely low biomass.  The core objectives for this contractare to: 1) collect fish catch data on juvenile stages of Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska for use in stock assessment and monitoring the potential recovery of the fishery, 2) collect and archive whole body samples of juvenile cod for subsequent analysis, 3) conduct dissections on fish for condition metrics (length-weight residuals) and archival of tissues for future analyses by NOAA (stomachs, otoliths, fin clips), 4) analyze and summarize environmental data (salinity and temperature) corresponding with the sites of fish collection and areas surveyed, and 5) synthesize data in the form of a vessel cruise report and poster suitable for presentation to NOAA scientists or at a scientific conference.   An optional component of this contract is the live collection and shipment of 200 age-0 Pacific cod from Kodiak to the Newport, OR laboratory.  All data collected in this contract will be provided to NOAA and used to improve stock assessment and understand how environmental factors (temperature, salinity, and diet/food web dynamics) underlie condition, abundance and possible spatial structure of Pacific cod stocks in the Gulf of Alaska.