Species identification confidence in the eastern Bering Sea shelf survey (1982-2008)

The Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) has been conducting annual bottom trawl surveys of the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) continental shelf since 1982. The quality and specificity of field identifications for many taxa have fluctuated over the history of the surveys due to changing priorities and resources. Historical trends in identification quality for the EBS shelf survey have not been documented. This report includes an identification confidence matrix for all fishes and invertebrates identified from the EBS shelf survey from 1982 through 2008. The matrix lists a confidence level for each taxon for each survey year, and is intended to serve as a general guideline for data users interested in assessing the relative reliability of historical species identifications on this survey. by Duane E. Stevenson and Gerald R. Hoff. "June 2009." Also available online in PDF via the Alaska Fisheries Science Center home page. 2009 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) AFSC (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) Library Public Domain 1930