Flatfish maturity and growth across the eastern and northern Bering Sea continental shelves from 2010 and 2017 samples

• Main Authors: TenBrink, Todd, Wilderbuer, Thomas
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Axiom Data Science 2021
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Greenland; Turbot; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.24431/rw1k57x; https://search.dataone.org/#view/10.24431/rw1k57x

The flatfish (Pleuronectidae) biomass across the Bering Sea continental shelf is comprised of several major species. From this flatfish taxon, a few are particularly abundant, commercially important, and vital components of the Bering Sea ecosystem. A comprehensive bottom trawl survey conducted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) and northern Bering Sea (NBS) in 2010, showed that yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) is the most abundant in both areas, while Alaska plaice (Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus), is the second most abundant flatfish in the NBS. Yellowfin sole accounts for roughly a third of the total flatfish biomass in the EBS, while both comprise nearly two-thirds of the total fish biomass in the NBS. These data examine spatial and temporal variation of maturity and growth for yellowfin sole and Alaska plaice by expanding existing predictive models that relate body size variation to environmental covariates. Results of previous projects, from 2010 and 2017 surveys, alongside historical data records from previously collected maturity samples from Greenland turbot (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides), and Bering flounder (Hippoglossoides robustus) for initial maturity-at-age estimates. The data are presented as two tables, one each for the variables age and maturity.