Data on abundance of age-0 northern rock sole and benthic environmental variables in nursery grounds of eastern Kodiak Island, Alaska, NPRB Project 301, Geographic WGS84, Summers 2002-2004, Stoner, A.

These data are part of a study detailed in Stoner et al. 2007 (Stoner, A.W., M.L. Spencer and C.H. Ryer. 2007. Flatfish-habitat
associations in Alaska nursery grounds: use of continuous video records for multi-scale spatial analysis. J. Sea Res. 57:137-150),
and other works in progress.
Northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra) recruit as larvae to shallow near-shore waters throughout the Gulf of Alaska which provide nursery
grounds during the first post-settlement summer. Three bay systems on the eastern end of Kodiak Island, Alaska (Shakmanof Bay, Monashka Bay, Middle Bay),
have been identified as important nurseries for the species. During August of 2002, and July of 2003 and 2004, a towed camera sled was used in each Bay to
quantify the density of age-0 northern rock sole and characterize the habitats occupied by the species. In August 2002 two additional sites were also surveyed:
Neva Cove and Twin Creeks Beach. Variables considered included depth, bottom-water temperature, sediment characteristics, sediment surface bedform, and biotic
features such as worm-tube mats and densities of various other metrics such as sea stars, bivalve shells, algae, etc. Data for each 15-60 second interval of
video suitable for counting age-0 flatfish are included in Excel 2003 spreadsheet format (“Age-0 northern rock sole NPRB 301”). An analysis of the 2002 data
set have been published in Stoner et al. (2007) (see above), and the combined data for 2002 through 2004 are currently under analysis using generalized additive
modeling at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
These datasets were archived as part of the North Pacific Research Board legacy project recovery effort undertaken by Axiom Data Science and NPRB in 2025. The goal of the recovery effort was to assess the NPRB-funded data projects from 2002 to 2014 and archive final data packages that were ready for publication to increase long-term accessibility and discoverability. Data packages were archived as is given limited funding and resources.