Production of coho salmon from the Taku River, 1992-1993
By: by Scott A. McPherson, David R. Bernard, and Steven Elliott.
Contributors: Bernard, David R.; Elliott, Steven T.; Alaska. Division of Sport Fish.
Series: Fishery data series -- no. 94-38.
Publisher: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Anchorage
Language: eng
Number of pages: 48
Subjects: Coho salmon -- Taku River (B.C. and Alaska) -- Statistics.; Fish populations -- Taku River (B.C. and Alaska) -- Statistics.; Fishes -- Taku River (B.C. and Alaska) -- Statistics.
Genres: Statistics.
Description: As part of an ongoing study of the production of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch from Taku River, near Juneau, Alaska, the Division of Sport Fish implanted coded wire tags in smolt leaving the river in spring 1992. Subsequent recovery of these fish was used to estimate the harvest, production, exploitation rate in 1993, and abundance of smolt in 1992. In 1992 two 12' diameter rotary smolt traps were fished at Barrel Point, Taku River, and caught 7,234 coho salmon smolt from 11 May to 12 June. Of these, 2,315 were coded wire tagged and released with tag code 04- 28 - 50, and 4, 332 were tagged and released with tag code 04- 28 - 51, f or a total of 6, 647. Of the remainder (587 fish) , 71 were <70 mm, 441 died in traps prior to tagging and 75 died after tagging. Smolt sampled from the catch averaged 105 mm fork length and were 34% age 1.0, 65% age 2.0, and 1% age 3.0. In 1993, 121 adult coho salmon bearing coded wire tags implanted at Barrel Point (in 1992) were recovered in random sampling of marine fisheries to produce an estimate of total marine harvest of 125,331 (SE = 24,687). Of this harvest, the troll fishery took an estimated 63%, drift gill net fisheries took 32%, and recreational and seine fisheries each took about 3%. A mark- recapture experiment conducted by the Commercial Fisheries Management and Development Division estimated the in-river escapement of coho salmon in Taku River past Canyon Island at 123,964 (SE = 15,617) fish. The estimated total run for 1993, the sum of escapement and harvest, was 249,295 (SE = 29,212) and the exploitation rate of the return was an estimated 50% (SE = 6%). The estimated smolt abundance in 1992 was 1,451,954 (SE = 351,396).
Notes: "October 1994."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-30).

Also issued online.