Connectivity of Prince William Sound Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) populations, 2013-2016

This project used passive acoustic telemetry tracking methods to quantify Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) movements from Prince William Sound to the Gulf of Alaska during December 2013 – May 2016. Additionally, this project examined spawning site fidelity, residency, and seasonal behavior of cod within Prince William Sound. Acoustic receiver arrays were deployed and a total of 123 cod were acoustic-tagged at Lower Herring and West Twin bays, both located in western Prince William Sound. At Port Gravina in northeast Prince William Sound, 3 cod were tagged as part of a pilot project in April 2013 that utilized both temporary (April-May 2013) and permanent receiver arrays deployed as part of other projects. Receiver arrays located at the boundary of the Gulf of Alaska/Prince William Sound and owned by the Ocean Tracking Network were used to determine if fish were moving into the Gulf of Alaska. Data included with this final report consist of 13 files: a) Pacific cod tagging log (.xlsx); b) (acoustic) Receiver locations (.xlsx); and, c) 11 files with acoustic tagged cod detections (.csv). Note that multiple csv files were required because of the amount of detections (>10 million detections). The Pacific cod tagging log details the catch methods (pot or longline), date of capture, and locations of cod captured during this study along with biological information (sex, length, mass), tag series and serial number information, and release locations. Data for receiver locations includes the location, dates, and depths of deployments. There is additional information including receiver and acoustic release serial numbers, along with whether or not a receiver was downloaded or recovered. The cod detections data were read from the receivers into VUE (VEMCO proprietary software) then exported into an access database, queried, and exported again into .csv files. These files were screened for false detections, and tagging and handling-related mortalities, and then compiled into the current .csv files included in this submission. This dataset was generated under NPRB project 1306.