Alaska Fishes

Arctic Grayling one of the most beautiful fishes in Alaska

Large sail-like dorsal fin and luminescent color.
One of the easiest species to catch in inland freshwater areas. They will
eat anything and they may even eat an occasional vole or shrew! One
grayling had seven shrews in its stomach.
Grayling are one of the few fish found
in glacial silted rivers/streams as they
can tolerate very low oxygen levels
 Dolly Varden one of the few
salmonids that may never go back out
to sea and spend entire lifecycle in
freshwater

Salmon are the largest fishery in ALASKA

Rainbow Trout There are two forms/populations
1. Typical Rainbow spends most time in freshwater
and maybe estuarine areas
2. Steelhead Trout - spawn and spend juvenile phase
in fw and oceanic areas as adult
Sockeye (Red) the smallest salmon species and
much lower fat content
Sexually mature male note the kype (hooked
toothed mouth)
Why the hook jaw?
 Sockeye(Red) oceanic form note
silvery coloration, typical of all
salmonids while in this habitat. Recall
most pacific salmon are anadromous
 Chum Dog as the name implies, this is one of
the least desirable species, and is often canned or
smoked and can be used for a variety of pet food
Chinook(King) The name
tells it all. The largest of all
Pacific salmon, typically
measuring 36 inches in
length, often exceeding 30
pounds. Also, the most
highly prized species by
fishers
Coho (Silver) the most acrobatic of the
salmon species
Pink (Humpies) -average between 3.5 and 5 pounds, with an average
length of 20-25 inches; they are the smallest but most abundant pacific
salmon. They also have the shortest lifespan, completing entire life cycle
in two years!
Why do the males develop that hump?

To protect spawning females

Anchorage Humpys
Alaska Blackfish - modified esophagus capable of gas
absorption, meaning they can exist off atmospheric
oxygen
- this allows them to survive in stagnant tundra
ponds during the summer

They can also be thrown in the snow and will survive in

a small pool of water that melts around them for long
periods
Eulachon are anadromous which means it lives in the ocean
as an adult and spawns in freshwater, like salmon
 Eulachon, are known as Candlefish, due to their high oil content. They
are frozen, dried, and smoked mostly for human consumption. Eulachon
are also caught commercially and sold for human consumption, bait, or
as food fishes for captive sea mammals.
Iconnu/ Sheefish -
Important sustenance fish for natives.
Piscivore found primarily in interior
rivers/streams.
Nice white flesh preferred over
halibut by many locals.
Tide pooling is a fun way to explore
intertidal diversity
 Crescent Gunnel Pholis laeta

Air breathers at low tide, feeds on small crustaceans

mollusks, important prey for birds, fish and otters
A chicken halibut and king salmon
 Lingcod Ophiodon elongatus
Despite the name, these are actually greenlings.
Create a benthic nest where spawning occurs
Males defend nest after fertilization and until
hatching
Voracious predators will attack anything = easy
to catch
Closed during spawning
season to protect nest
Found along coast in
near rocky outcrops
 This is a tasty fish!
The male demonstrating a rare trait among
fishes of parental care
Pacific halibut are the
largest flatfish in Family
Pleuronectidae. Halibut
and other flatfish are
flattened laterally, and
swim sideways, with one
side facing down and the
other facing up.
They are piscivores (fish-
eaters)

The maximum reported

size is over 8 feet in
length and over 500
pounds! To the right is
a barn door halibut!
Just when you think you hooked a huge halibut
you quickly realize its a Big Skate they do
not fight and instead you have to pull this
mammoth up like a wet rug from 250+ depth.
Get up to 8 What a workout!
 Walleye Pollock

Important fishery made up 62% of ground fishery catch

Schooling species that feeds on copepods, euphausiids(krill)
and fish
 Surimi the fake crab meat you
see in sushi restaurants is actually
made from pollock
 Rockfishes - Sebastes
Order Scorpaeniformes -have venomous spines

Commonly found in rocky outcrops

Viviparous live birth after internal fertilization

Both extremely rare in marine fishes!

Valuable recreational fish another tasty one!

Black Rockfish Yelloweye Rockfish
Red Snapper
Pacific Cod another tasty fish
Demersal fish (spends
most of its time near
bottom.
-primarily eats
crustaceans, mollusks
and small fishes
-prey for halibut
Wolf-eels are not
true eels. They feed
on crustaceans, sea
urchins, mussels,
clams and some http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjM22v2
ALvM

fishes, crushing
them with its strong
jaws.
Protect egg masses
and are a tasty
catch