Assessment of coho salmon from the Kenai River, Alaska, 1996
By: by Jamie A. Carlon and James J. Hasbrouck.
Contributors: Hasbrouck, James J.; Alaska. Division of Sport Fish. Statewide Research and Technical Services Unit.
Series: Fishery data series -- no.98-4.
Publisher: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, Research and Technical Services Unit
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Anchorage
Language: eng
Number of pages: 58
Subjects: Coho salmon -- Alaska -- Kenai River -- Statistics.; Fishery resources -- Alaska -- Kenai River.; Fish tagging -- Alaska -- Kenai River.
Description: The 1996 commercial harvest of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch of Kenai River origin in selected Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) fisheries was estimated based on the recovery of harvested adults marked with coded wire tags and adipose finclips. An estimated 2,671 (SE=235) coho salmon of Kenai River origin were harvested by the Central District drift gillnet fishery and an estimated 11,876 (SE=871) were harvested by the Central District eastside set gillnet fishery. Additional directed and incidental sampling indicated that the commercial harvest of this population by other fisheries was small. The estimated harvests represented 2% of the total drift gillnet harvest of 171,361 coho salmon and 29% of the total eastside set gillnet harvest of 40,548 coho salmon. Commercial harvest estimates are the fourth available for this population of coho salmon. The estimated harvest by the 1996 drift gillnet fishery was lower than the 1993 through 1995 average due to a lower overall harvest of coho salmon and a shortened fishing season. As in prior years, the majority (96%) of the population-specific harvest occurred during a 3-week period, but that period began about 1 week earlier (mid-July). Geographic trends in the drift gillnet fishery could not be discerned because harvests delivered to processing locations were usually a mix of fish from multiple statistical areas. Estimated harvest in the 1996 eastside set gillnet fishery was similar to those observed in 1993 through 1995. The 3week duration of the harvest was similar to that of 1993 through 1995, but began about 1 week earlier (mid-July). As in prior years, most (92%) of the harvest occurred during a 3-week period, but that period began about 1week earlier (third week of July). There was a general decreasing trend in the portion of the total harvest comprising coho salmon of Kenai River origin from the southernmost statistical area to the northernmost; however, the harvest estimates were similar. Coded wire tags recovered from the drift gillnet fishery were also examined to determine the effect of fishery restrictions on the harvest of coho salmon from the Kenai River. The harvest of coho salmon of Kenai River origin during restricted fishing periods did not increase even though the restriction concentrated fishing effort closer to the mouth of the Kenai River. Based on the number of smolt marked at the Moose River in 1995 (94,535 smolt), the number of sport harvested adults examined for marks (3,687), and the estimated number of marked adults recovered in the sport harvest sample (749), an estimated 465,075 (SE = 15,091) coho salmon smolt emigrated from the Kenai River in 1995. This is the lowest of the four annual estimates available. The Alaska Board of Fisheries adopted a Kenai River Coho Salmon Management Plan in March of 1997 because of this relative decline in smolt abundance and the harvest potential among commercial and sport fisheries. Precise placement of coded wire tags through proper selection of tag injector headmolds likely resulted in the low tag loss rate of 2% during the experiment.
Notes: "April 1998"

Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-42)

Also issued online.

Partially financed by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777-777K) ... Project F-10-12, Job no. S-2-14.