Growth and mortality in relation to maximum yield in pounds of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
Creators: name: Parker, Robert Ray
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2012

description: Life history events of chinook salmon preclude determination of a critical size for this species by established methods. The use of size, rather than age, as a basic correlate of growth rate is discussed and compared to analagous treatment of physiological rates described in literature. Ecological opportunity and physiological opportunity are visualized as the two interacting components that determine growth, both of which are related to size attained. Growth opportunity occurs in stanzas which are entered at "threshold" sizes. The function, dw/dt = kw(x) is developed into a growth equation for linear dimentions, 1(z/t+1) = ɑ + (1z/t) and three methods of fitting this equation to growth data are demonstrated. Application is explored and discussed using steel-head trout and chinook salmon as examples. Significant differences in growth rate were found between life history types and sexes. The chinook data were then treated on a 1(t+1), 1(t) plot and it was shown how an apparent fit of the von Bertalanffy type growth equation can result from selectively fishing for the larger fish of any brood year. Accordingly, life history subgroups of a year class must either be treated separately or weighted according to relative abundance in determining critical size. The former alternative is followed in lieu of necessary weighting data. Natural mortality of a chinook population is estimated from the pattern of tag recoveries, taking advantage of the fact that maturity occurs at different ages for individuals of a year class and that the fishery operated mainly on maturing individuals. Annual instantaneous natural mortality was estimated to lie in the range 0.3 to 0.4. The growth equation was then transformed to a length-specific average annual instantaneous growth (weight) rate and critical size was observed to occur at maturity for each life history type. Since fishing is presently allowed on the immature stock, a size limit protecting the older life history types causes a loss in yield from the younger life history types. This loss might be offset, depending on the relative abundance of life history types in the stock, providing mortality due to hooking and releasing is negligible. Capture by trolling was found to subject feeding coho and chinook salmon to hyperactivity which may lead to a distressed condition or death, and death cannot be predicted from examination of individual fish at time of capture. Mortality of coho was estimated to be in the 0.95 confidence interval of 34 percent and 52 percent; of chinook in the 0.95 confidence interval of 40 percent and 71 percent. Time of maximum death rate is shown to coincide with the period of maximum blood lactate response. Survival occurred either when blood lactate did not reach critical levels (above 125 mg%) or reached critical levels and subsequently subsided. Holding salmon in a live box for 8-14 hours before release did not improve tag recovery, suggesting additional indiscriminant stress was caused at release. Adult coho in freshwater did not appear capable of lethal hyperactivity. This led to the hypothesis that cessation of feeding during spawning migration has adaptive significance for survival of Pacific salmon. The combination of natural mortality, mortality from hooking injury and delayed mortality from fatigue gave a total instantaneous first year mortality rate (exclusive of fishing) greater than 1.0 and possibly as high as 2.5. This mortality rate results in a critical size of not more than 22.5 inches and most likely about 15.0 inches fork length. It is thus concluded that for maximum yield in pounds (1) fishing for chinook should be restricted to their ultimate year (maturity) and (2) the use of non-selective gear should be encouraged. These recommendations are opposite to present practices. If fishing is to be allowed on the immature stock, size limits should be abolished.