Assessing spawning behavior at the Northern latitudinal extreme of Pacific halibut

While modern stock assessment practice often assumes spawning dynamics are consistent across a population’s range, recent studies have shown that these can vary latitudinally.  As a result, regional assessment of reproductive potential may be warranted for widely distributed species that are commercially exploited, such as the Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis).  To characterize Pacific halibut spawning dynamics at the northern extreme of their range, we attached pop-up satellite telemetry tags to large females in the Northern Bering Sea (NBS), with tag reporting locations and recorded time series data being used to infer spawning behavior and identify occupied spawning habitat conditions, location, and timing.  Pacific halibut in the NBS spawned later and farther north than previously believed, where spawning habitat was occupied from January through May and reached as far north as the Russian continental shelf edge.  Additionally, 54% of mature individuals n..., The data was collected using satellite telemetry (PSAT's).  The data was processed primarily by summarizing and visualizing archived data.  , , # Assessing spawning behavior at the Northern latitudinal extreme of Pacific halibut

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.612jm64cq](10.5061/dryad.612jm64cq)

## Description of the data and file structure

These data were collected using PSAT (miniPAT) tags attached to Pacific halibut in the Northern Bering Sea.  This includes time series depth and temperature data, pop-up locations, and light data (which have been processed into longitude estimates).  All tagging deployments are summarized in the provided tagging summary file.  

### Files and variables

#### **File: CJFAS\_Tagging\_summary.xlsx**

**Description:** This file (NBS tab) summarizes all tag deployments for Pacific halibut tagged during the study, and the data received from those deployments.  The spawning tab contains only individuals that were included in spawning analyses within this manuscript, along with the data for those metrics. 

**Variables**

* Tag: ID for the tag, with the wildlife computers PTT being used. 
* Year:  Ye...,