Estimates of commercial harvest and escapement of coho salmon stocked into northern Cook Inlet streams, 1994
By: by Barry L. Stratton, Paul A. Cyr, and James J. Hasbrouck.
Contributors: Hasbrouck, James J.; Cyr, Paul A.; Alaska. Division of Sport Fish.
Series: Fishery data series -- no. 96-4.
Publisher: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Anchorage
Language: eng
Number of pages: 63
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 freshwater systems of Northern Cook Inlet in 1992 and 1993 returned to Upper Cook Inlet in 1994. Some fish in each release group were marked with an adipose finclip and a coded wire tag. Marked coho salmon were recovered in 1994 from commercial fisheries and escapements. Fish were sampled from the escapement to assess straying and long-term tag retention after release. Recoveries of marked fish from the commercial harvest were used to estimate the harvest of hatchery-produced coho salmon in Upper Cook Inlet commercial fisheries. In 1994 the Central District driftnet fishery, Central District Upper Subdistrict (eastside) setnet fishery, and Northern District setnet fishery harvested a total of 303,935; 69,281; and 149,288 coho salmon, respectively. Coho salmon from the hatchery stocking programs contributed an estimated 26,331 (SE = 1,170; 9%) fish to the Central District driftnet fishery, 3,123 (SE = 424; 5%) to the Central District eastside setnet fishery, and 12,423 (SE = 545; 8%) to the Northern District setnet fishery. An escapement of 654 coho salmon at Ship Creek and 3,054 coho salmon at Campbell Creek exceeded the biological escapement goal of 200 coho salmon in each stream. Estimates of effort and harvest from the Statewide Harvest Survey increased in 1994 relative to the prestocking 5-year average at Ship, Campbell, and Bird creeks, likely due to the return of stocked coho salmon. Straying of stocked coho salmon was not significant (P < 0.05) in any of the sampled streams. Recovery of 507 coho salmon with decodable tags from escapements to Northern Cook Inlet streams indicated that hatchery-reared coho salmon did not stray into Campbell or Jim creeks or the Little Susitna River. Only one (0.5%) of 215 tags recovered from the escapement of coho salmon at Ship Creek was from a fish not stocked at Ship Creek; therefore, straying rate into Ship Creek was likely < 5%.
Notes: "March 1996".

Includes bibliographical references (p. 36-37).

Also issued online.