Ecosystem study unlocks the mystery of black cod survival

A juvenile black cod is tagged and released back into the ocean. (Photo courtesy NOAA)
Over the past couple of decades black cod — or sablefish — has become one of Southeast Alaska’s most commercially important species.
Longliners target them in deep waters off the continental shelf, during the same season as halibut.
Although stocks are strong, biologists don’t fully grasp black cod population ecology. A research partnership in Sitka hopes to change that.
Alaska Fisherie