RUSSIAN–AMERICAN LONG-TERM CENSUS OF THE ARCTIC: BENTHIC FISHES TRAWLED IN THE CHUKCHI SEA AND BERING STRAIT, AUGUST 2004

Abstract Bottom trawl nets towed at 17 stations from Bering Strait to the northwestern Chukchi Sea during the 1st cruise of the Russian–American Long-term Census of the Arctic (RUSALCA) in August 2004 caught 33 or more species of fishes distributed among 10 families. The families with the most species were Cottidae (8), Zoarcidae (6 or 7), and Agonidae (4). The 4 most abundant fishes were Gymnocanthus tricuspis (Cottidae), Myoxocephalus scorpius groenlandicus (Cottidae), Hippoglossoides robustus (Pleuronectidae), and Boreogadus saida (Gadidae), collectively accounting for 79% of the catch by numbers. Theragra chalcogramma, H. robustus, and M. polyacanthocephalus occurred farther north than previously recorded. We found the 2nd and 3rd records of occurrence of Liparis fabricii for the Chukchi Sea and a new maximum size for that species; and the 2nd record of Pallasina barbata for the Chukchi Sea. New studies of fresh and archived material clarified historical distributions and enabled more accurate identif...