Stan
Kotwicki
NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center

I am a Research Fishery Biologist in Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Division in Alaska Fisheries Science Center. My work encompasses planning for and conducting groundfish surveys in the eastern Bering Sea, taking part in the walleye pollock stock assessment process by providing data and survey population estimates for stock assessment models, and performing research relevant to Alaska fisheries.

My recent research activities focus on two major themes: improving bottom trawl survey methodology and studying the effects of environmental variables on fish distribution. My completed research on bottom survey methodology includes assessing trawl selectivity, evaluating the effect of autotrawl systems on trawl performance, identifying factors influencing trawl geometry and improving methods for area swept estimates.

The second theme of my recent studies involves looking at the distribution of fish in relation to environmental factors, such as temperature and light levels. To date I have completed projects describing variation of walleye pollock spatial distribution with temperature and effects of daytime light conditions on walleye pollock vertical distribution. In the near future I plan to extend these studies by looking at the effect of other environmental variables on walleye pollock distribution.