2014 and 2015 anomalies in temperature and the epipelagic fish community in the eastern Gulf of Alaska and implications for juvenile fish.

Summer eastern Gulf of Alaska fisheries oceanography surveys of the epipelagic in 2014 and 2015 indicated elevated near surface temperatures, changes in the fish community, and variability in prey quality. The Alaska Fisheries Science Center deployed CTDs to observe temperature profiles, surface trawls to collect fish, and plankton nets to collect zooplankton from 2010 to 2015 along the coast and offshore of Baranof and Chichagof Island . Average near surface temperature for 2014 and 2015 were significantly higher than previous years with an increase of over 3.5 degrees relative to 2012. Young of the year groundfish that occupy the epipelagic in the summer prior to pelagic and demersal migration experienced changes in relative abundance that included a decrease in pollock, Pacific cod, and arrowtooth flounder and an increase in sablefish. The warmer temperatures allowed Elasmobranchs from tropical regions to migrate north including blue sharks and Thresher sharks which represented a northern range extension. Other anomalous fish catches in the nearshore in 2014 and 2015 included multiple ocean sunfish, Mola mola, and the abundance of Pacific pomfret, a piscivorous species usually found in offshore waters. Zooplankton collections analyzed for caloric content and lipid allocation indicated interannual variability with an increase of condition in 2014 and a significant decrease in 2015. While the elevated temperatures of 2014 and 2015 may have provided suitable habitat and range extensions for lower latitude and offshore species, the combination of accelerated metabolism due to higher thermal experience, depleted energetic input from prey, and increase in predators has the potential to decrease survival of juvenile fish in the epipelagic.