Where are the tomcods (Eleginus gracilis)? Kongiganak

Observation by Tracy Lewis:

In the previous years, tomcods were abundant and harvested in the fall and winter. Ice fishing and dip netting for tomcods in the winter were common. This year, there are no tomcods in the Kongiganak River, Cavuuneq and Ilkivik Rivers. To date, there are only 5 tomcods there were caught at Cavuuneq River in 5 separate occasions. Where have they gone?

Comment by LEO Network Editors:

There have been three different observations posted to LEO Network since the beginning of November on the topic of poor or failed tomcod harvest. This includes on November 3, by Cynthia Paniyak in Chevak, November 19th by Janelle Kinegak in Chefornak, and this post on November 30 by Tracy Lewis in Kongiganak. Both Cynthia and Janelle reported slow or no tomcod harvest and Janelle added that it was not just Chevak and Chefornak, but surrounding villages as well. This is an indication that people are experiencing a sudden change in harvest from the YK Delta. Tomcods are an important subsistence resource all around coastal Alaska, the Pacific Rim and Northwestern Canada. For help with the question, "Where are YK tomcods this year?" we turned to Marine Advisory Program Agent Gay Sheffield. Gay provided the following consult in response to the first report from Cynthia Paniyak (see below). In addition to the authors of the previous tomcod posts, LEO Network has shared this observation with member-contacts at the Association of Village Council Presidents, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation, the Sea Grant, Marine Advisory Program and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Subsistence Division. Any additional information or consults will be added to this post as an update. If you would like to send LEO Network a note, use the "Comment" option. If you would like to receive a notification of future updates on this event, select the "Follow" button at the top of the page. Thanks everyone for sharing your observations and input on this important event. Mike Brubaker

Gay Sheffield with Sea Grant and the "Strait Science" Lecture Series writes:

Reference: Paniyak, Cynthia and Gay Sheffield. 2021. Where are the tomcods?. LEO Network (leonetwork.org). Accessed 5 December 2021.

There has been an 88% decline reported in the biomass of saffron cod from 2020 to 2021 in the N. Bering Sea. This was for offshore findings as their large vessel can't get nearshore in the shallower waters. The surface trawl survey can (or at least that's my current understanding) and that's why Lyle Britt is interested to hear what they found this year. Have a watch as Lyle explains why he wants to hear the next Strait Science re. Saffron cod. Strait Science YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=putpYJtPRF8&t=4989s (go to the 36:33 time stamp on the video for saffron cod).

Update on November 30, 2021:

Below are the recordings (on Youtube) from the two Strait Science presentations that recently provided the results of their surveys, including tomcod. If I remember correctly, both showed a clear decline in tomcod biomass in the N. Bering Sea. Please see below - and the time stamps where they each talk about saffron cod (Tomcod). You may want to watch the whole recording - as well as the questions/answer section at the end. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any other info from this end of things. -Gay

Jim Murphy (NOAA-AFSC) - N. Bering Sea Surface Trawl Survey results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiAoyu3nFzQ (see time stamp 19:52)

Lyle Britt (NOAA-RACE) - N. Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=putpYJtPRF8&t=1677s (see time stamp 36:33)

natres@avcp.org