General information
- List of Names of Species on the North Slope – This includes scientific names, common names and Iñupiat names of fish (and other animals).
- Fish Health Assessment Studies.
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Notebook – Information on fish in Alaska (and other animals).
- ADFG Salmon in the Classroom – Classroom Salmon Egg Incubation Program.
- Arctic Fishery Management.
- Fish Creek Watershed Observatory – Studies conducted by UAF and BLM on fish habitat in an area of NPR-A scheduled for petroleum development, involving stream discharge, temperature, water quality, and more.
- Iqaluich Niġiñaqtuat: Fish That We Eat – Jones, A. 2006. USFWS, Office of Subsistence Management, Fisheries Resource Monitoring Program, Final Report No. FIS02-023, Anchorage, Alaska. This report documents the traditional Iñupiaq knowledge of fish as food, including names, sketches, identification details, brief life histories, and recipes for gathering, preparation and use.
- Salmon Education Materials – Information on salmon dissection guide, salmon life cycle poster, life histories of salmonids, including Pacific salmon, trout, grayling, char and whitefish.
- Common Diseases of Wild and Cultured Fishes in Alaska – Meyers, T., T. Burton, C. Bentz and N. Starkey. 2008. Prepared by Alaska Department of Fish and Game Fish Pathology Laboratories, Anchorage, Alaska.
- Common Parasites, Diseases and Injuries of Freshwater Fishes in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut – Stewart, D.B., and Bernier, L.M.J. 1999. Prepared by Arctic Biological Consultants for Fisheries and oceans Canada, Central and Arctic Region, Winnipeg, Man.
- Future Alaskans in Fisheries and Marine Science – Website sponsored by UAF to help rural Alaskans and Alaska Natives pursue education towards careers in fisheries and marine and ocean sciences.
Guides for Identification of North Slope Fish
- Common Fish on the North Slope – This list includes common, Iñupiat, and scientific names of common fish on the North Slope.
- George, C., Moulton, L., and Johnson, M. 2009. A Field Guide to the Common Fishes of the North Slope of Alaska. North Slope Borough, Department of Wildlife Management, Barrow, Alaska.
- Johnson, S.W., et al. 2015. A Handy Field guide to the Nearshore Marine Fishes of Alaska. US Dept of Commerce, NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau, AK. NOAA Technical Memo. NMFS-AFSC-293, 211 p. doi:10.7289/V58913T2.
- Mecklenburg, C.W., et al. 2016. Pacific Arctic Marine Fishes. CAFF Monitoring Series Report No. 23. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri, Iceland. ISBN:978-9935-431-55-4.
- Thorsteinson, L.K. and M.S. Love, eds. 2016. Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog. Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038. Prepared in cooperation with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program (OCS Study, BOEM 2016-048). DOI: 10.3133/sir20165038.
- Quick Chum vs. Red Salmon.
- Common Subsistence Fish of the North Slope – Quick reference sheet compiled by Craig George in 2008. Photos by Craig George and drawings by Michele Deering or courtesy of DFO Canada.
- RACE Fish and Invertebrates Species – This website if hosted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. Look here to find pictures and information on fish found throughout the state.
- ADFG Arctic Char versus Dolly Varden Guide.
- ADFG How to Identify the Five Salmon Species found in Alaska – Salmon Identification.
- Pacific Salmon ID – Marine Phase – Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
- The Trout and Salmon Identification Guide – Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The following chart may help in salmon identification.
Basic Characteristics of Salmon | ||||
Common/ Inupiat Name | Spotting | Average wt. (lbs) | Distinctive Characters | Occurrence on North Slope |
Chum (Dog) Iqalugruaq |
No | 10-14 | Pale bars on sides; no spots; silver sides; can be quite large; 18-28 gill rakers | Common |
Pink (Humpback) Amaqtuuq |
Yes | 2-5 | Oval spots back and tail; spawning male has ‘hump’ | Common |
King (Chinook) Iqalugruaq |
Yes | 25-40 | Large size; spots on back and tail; lower gums black | Uncommon but regular |
Silver (Coho) | Yes* | 6-12 | *Spots on back and upper lobe of tail; gums not black | Very Rare; no records on NS |
Red (Sockeye) | No | 6-10 | No spots on body or fins; spawners have greenish heads; 30-40 gill rakers | Uncommon but regular |
Joshua Bacon holding a King Salmon (Iqalugruaq) caught by James ‘Matu’ Matumeak in a net at Piqniq in 2006. The fish weighed in at 37 lbs and was 44 inches long. Photo: Rita Frantz Acker
Unusual Fish Sightings
Sleeper Shark
A 229-cm long Pacific sleeper shark was found on the beach near Point Hope in 1998. This sighting was the first documented record of a shark in the Chukchi Sea and the first report of a shark other than a Greenland shark above the Arctic Circle. Read more about this finding in the following article.
- Benz, G.W., Hocking, R., Kowunna, Sr., A., Bullard, S.A., George, J.C. 2004. A second species of Arctic shark: Pacific sleeper shark Somniosus pacificus from Point Hope, Alaska. Polar Biology 27:250-252.
Northern Wolffish
Found on the beach, southwest of Barrow about six miles, by Charles Maasak Brower on November 14, 2009. The fish is a Northern Wolffish (Anarhichas denticulatus) and this is the first record of this species in Alaska. Andres Lopez, Curator of Fishes at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks, confirmed the specimen and states that their “range is centered around the northern Atlantic. The Barrow specimen is one of the very few that show up along the Arctic coast of North America.”
Northern Wolffish. Photo: Craig George
How to Set Nets for Under-Ice Fishing
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Banner photo credit: Nicole Kanayurak