The Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) is an important forage fish along the coastal northeastern Pacific Ocean from northern California to western Alaska. In the Salish Sea, sand lance serve as the primary link between zooplankton and higher order predators, and are a vitally important food source for 29 species of birds, 10 species of marine mammals, and 30 species of commercial and sport fishes (Meyer et al., 1979; Auster and Stewart, 1986; Geiger, 1987; Robards et al., 1999a,b; Tribble, 2000).

In the central San Juan Channel, a sand wave field covers an area approximately of 500,000 m2 at depths of 60-80 m. During a 2004 ROV survey at this location, we observed sand lance burying and emerging from the sediment. The sand wave field in San Juan Channel is a dynamic bedform that is influenced by a combination of strong currents, tides, and variable water flow. The significance of the sediment wave field as a sand lance habitat was shown by the work of Blain (2006), who reported a total (night and day periods combined) average density of sand lance was 84 fish/m2 and estimated the local population to consist of over 63 million fish.

We will produce a geomorphologic model of sand wave fields most likely to contain sand lance and construct a map in GIS that will show the locations of such fields. In addition, we will develop metrics that can be used to evaluate and select sand lance forage habitats that need to be protected. Resource managers such as the State of Washington and U. S. Federal Government would use this information to guide permitting. Local Marine Resource Committees would use this information to guide policy recommendations