Coastal and watershed areas between Barrow and Deadhorse are the focus of broad whitefish studies. Topics of investigation include fidelity to summer feeding areas, and spawning and wintering areas.
Research has focused on broad whitefish, a fish used heavily by subsistence users and present throughout drainages of the North Slope from the Sagavanirktok River to freshwater streams and lakes by Barrow. Migration and spawning periods, spawning areas and wintering areas have been identified during these studies. Fidelity to summer feeding areas, spawning and wintering areas has been identified. Additionally, data suggest that portions of the Colville River may be a significant spawning/wintering area for North Slope broad whitefish between the Sagavanirktok River to the east and the Kalikpik River to the west. To date, our research has not identified exchange of fish between the central Beaufort Sea populations and those occurring farther west around the Teshekpuk Lake region.
Publications: Morris W, Moulton L, Bacon J, Rose J, Whitman, M. 2006. Seasonal Movements and Habitat Use of Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in the Teshekpuk Lake Region of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, 2003-2005. Technical Report No. 06-04. Alaska Department of Natural Resources. 98 p.
Moulton L, Morris W, George C, Bacon J, Rose JR. 2007. Surveys of Fish Habitats in the Teshekpuk Lake Region, 2003-2005. North Slope Borough. 38p. plus Appendices A-G.
