March 18, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
In 2004, Alaska Fisheries Science Center biologists began attaching light sensors to Bering Sea survey bottom trawls to evaluate the effects of light on fish catchability. Fifteen years later, researchers looked at this unique dataset in a new light to reveal much more about the dynamic Bering Sea ecosystem.
NOAA Fisheries scientists collaborated with our partners to develop an automated process to translate these data into the first long time series of subsurface water clarity for the eastern Bering Sea.
“Until now, there was very little long term information on subsurface water clarity in the Bering Sea,” said Sean Rohan, the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center biologist who led the study. “Working with the annual surveys provided unprecedented spatial coverage and resolution over a span of 15 years.”
Their approach provides a tool that expands possibilities for research in other regions. Their findings reveal patterns and trends in water clarity over depth and time that enhance our understanding of recent and future changes in the Bering Sea.