Estimates of commercial harvest and escapement of coho salmon stocked into northern Cook Inlet streams, 1996
By: by Paul A. Cyr, Barry L. Stratton, and James J. Hasbrouck.
Contributors: Hasbrouck, James J.; Stratton, Barry L.; Alaska. Division of Sport Fish.
Series: Fishery data series -- no. 98-5.
Publisher: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Anchorage
Language: eng
Number of pages: 56
Subjects: Coho salmon -- Alaska -- Cook Inlet -- Statistics.; Salmon fisheries -- Alaska -- Cook Inlet -- Statistics.; Fishery resources -- Alaska -- Cook Inlet -- Statistics.; Fish populations -- Alaska -- Cook Inlet -- Measurement.
Description: Juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch reared in hatcheries and released into several Northern Cook Inlet (NCI) freshwater systems in 1995 returned to Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) in 1996. Some fish in each release group were marked with an adipose finclip and a coded wire tag. Marked coho salmon were recovered in 1996 from selected commercial fisheries and escapements. Fish were sampled from escapements to assess straying and long-term tag retention after release. Recoveries of marked fish from selected UCI commercial harvests were used to estimate harvest of hatchery-produced coho salmon. In 1996 the UCI mixed-stock commercial fisheries harvested 321,411 coho salmon. The majority (90%) of coho salmon were harvested in the Central District drift gillnet fishery (171,361), the Northern District set gillnet fishery (78,097), and the Central District Upper Subdistrict (eastside) set gillnet fishery (40,548). Sample efforts focused on coho salmon harvested in these three fisheries. NCI hatchery stocked coho salmon contributed an estimated 14,638 (SE = 459) fish to the Central District driftnet fishery, 1,760 (SE = 263) to the Central District eastside setnet fishery, and 7,757 (SE = 199) to the Northern District setnet fishery. An escapement of 1,001 coho salmon into Ship Creek and 1,612 coho salmon into Campbell Creek exceeded the biological escapement goal of 200 coho salmon for each creek. Estimates of effort, harvest, and catch from the Statewide Harvest Survey increased in 1996 relative to the 1988-1992 (prestocking) average at Ship, Campbell, and Bird creeks, likely due to the return of stocked coho salmon. A total of 275 coho salmon with decodable tags were recovered from escapements to Northern Cook Inlet streams. Six (3.4%) of 174 tags recovered from the escapement into Ship Creek were from coho salmon not stocked into Ship Creek; therefore, straying into Ship Creek was likely >2%.
Notes: "May 1998"

Includes bibliographical references (p.37-39).

Also issued online.