Distribution, abundance, and biological characteristics of groundfish in the eastern Bering Sea : based on results of the U.S.-Japan Triennial Bottom Trawl and Hydroacoustic Surveys during May-September, 1985

During May-September 1985, the Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division of the Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center (NWAFC) and the Far Seas Fisheries Research Laboratory of the Fisheries Agency of Japan conducted a cooperative survey of the eastern Bering Sea continental shelf and upper slope region. The primary objective of this study was to assess the current biological condition and abundance of groundfish and invertebrate resources within the study area. Survey operations were conducted aboard three U.S. vessels and one Japanese vessel using bottom trawl and hydro- acoustic-midwater trawl sampling gear and techniques.