Bering wolffish COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 13

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Summary of Status Report

Bering wolfish distribution has been well documented throughout the western parts of its global range. Good presence/absence data are available from Hokkaido, and the Sea of Okhotsk (Russia) east to Norton Sound and the south coast of Alaska. Until recently, a 2700 km gap in documented populations existed from Norton Sound to the only known Canadian population in Bathurst Inlet. The recent capture of three Bering wolffish from Camden Bay (Fruge and Wiswar, 1991) helps fill this gap, and indicates that, despite extensive surveys, undocumented populations of this species may utilize localized inshore habitat in Canadian waters outside Bathurst Inlet.

It is likely that unique habitat requirements that favour benthic invertebrates and crustaceans limit the Bering wolffish to highly localized populations. A lack of knowledge regarding the seasonal movements of the Bering wolffish may also contribute to the gaps that exist in the Canadian distribution for the species. Indeed, the entire extent of our knowledge of this species in Canadian waters rests in three specimens captured in Bathurst Inlet. Further investigation is needed if we are to learn more about the species.