Harvest estimates for selected marine sport fisheries in southeast Alaska during 1997
By: by Dennis J. Hubartt, Allen E. Bingham, and Paul M. Suchanek.
Contributors: Bingham, Allen E.; Suchanek, Paul M.; Alaska. Division of Sport Fish.
Series: Fishery data series -- no. 98-20.
Publisher: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Anchorage
Language: eng
Number of pages: 83
Subjects: Fisheries -- Alaska, Southeastern -- Statistics.; Fishing surveys -- Alaska, Southeastern -- Statistics.
Description: Creel surveys of the Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka marine sport fisheries for chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha were conducted during 1997. Estimates from these surveys were necessary to provide data for inseason management of the chinook salmon sport fishery in Southeast Alaska to meet an allocation determined by the Alaska Board of Fisheries. Dockside interviews of boat-parties completing trips were used to estimate angler effort for and total catch and harvest of chinook salmon. Harvest and total catches of other Pacific salmon and trout Oncorhynchus species, Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis, lingcod Ophiodon elongatus, rockfish Sebastes species, and Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma were also estimated. In addition, harvests of Dungeness crab Cancer magister and shrimp Pandalus species were estimated in Ketchikan; while harvest of king, Dungeness, and Tanner crab (Paralithodes species, Cancer magister, and Chionoecetes species, respectively) were estimated in Juneau. The contributions of hatchery and wild tagged stocks of chinook salmon and coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch to these sport fisheries were estimated from coded wire tag recovery information. Coded wire tag sampling programs conducted at Petersburg, Wrangell, and Craig also provided hatchery and wild tagged stock contribution estimates. The estimated harvest of chinook salmon was 37,047 (SE = 1,767) in the combined Ketchikan, Sitka, and Juneau boat sport fisheries. Harvests of chinook salmon were slightly more than half of the long-term average in the Ketchikan fishery, above average in the Juneau fishery, and 265% of the long-term average in the Sitka fishery. Hatcheries in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon produced about 32% of the monitored chinook salmon harvest, with an additional 15% of the total harvest of Alaska hatchery origin. Alaska hatcheries produced 34% of the chinook salmon harvest in Ketchikan, 22% in Juneau, and 11% in Sitka. Non-Alaskan hatcheries accounted for 44% of the chinook salmon harvest in Sitka but produced only an additional 2% of the harvest in Ketchikan, and 4% in Juneau. Coded wire tag sampling in Petersburg, Wrangell, and Craig revealed that chinook salmon from Alaska hatcheries contributed about 17% , 6% and 4% of the harvest, respectively. An estimated 57,470 (SE = 4,423) coho salmon, 22,271 (SE = 2,099) pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, 42,382 (SE = 2,502) Pacific halibut, and 18,097 (SE = 1,298) rockfish were also harvested in the combined Ketchikan, Juneau, and Sitka marine boat fisheries. Hatcheries produced 42%, 17% and 16% of the coho salmon harvest in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Sitka, respectively. The Pacific halibut harvest of 12,547 (SE = 1,327) in Juneau was slightly above the long-term average, the Ketchikan harvest of 7,983 (SE = 806) was well below average, and the Sitka harvest of 21,852 (SE = 1,962) was the highest recorded and nearly twice the long-term average. Shellfish effort was above average in the Juneau and Ketchikan fisheries. Dungeness crab harvest was above average in Juneau but below average in Ketchikan.
Notes: "September 1998"

Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-31).

Also issued online.