NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) is planning a research survey in the Southern California Bight (SCB) for highly migratory species including pelagic sharks, albacore, and swordfish during the summer of 2010. The overall goals of the survey are: 1) to conduct a fishery-independent longline survey for juvenile mako and blue sharks continuing a 14 year abundance time series; 2) to conduct trolling for albacore for the deployment of archival tags and to collect biological samples to examine age and maturity, feeding habits, and the potential for stock heterogeneity of North Pacific albacore entering the U.S. West Coast fisheries; 3) to conduct longline fishing for swordfish to deploy archival tags and collect biological samples to examine age and maturity, feeding habits, and the potential for stock heterogeneity of swordfish entering the U.S. West Coast fisheries; and 4) to collect oceanographic data to examine environmental effects on the distribution and catch rates of sharks, albacore, and swordfish. The survey is being conducted to support research and data needs identified by NMFS and affiliated scientific organizations and committees including the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), the International Scientific Committee for Tunas and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific (ISC), and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). Conducting albacore and swordfish sampling will also help address some of the objectives of the Swordfish Leatherback Use of Temperate Habitat (SLUTH) Initiative and the SWFSC/Albacore Industry Cooperative Research program and provide a better examination of the large pelagic fish component of the SCB ecosystem.

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