Sport fishing effort, catch, and harvest and inriver abundance of Chilkat River chinook salmon near Haines, Alaska, in 1997

Description

The chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha sport fishery in Chilkat Inlet, and the escapement into the Chilkat River were studied to add to the understanding of this important sport fishery and the salmon stock which supports it. A mark-recapture experiment was used to estimate spawning abundance of chinook salmon of age 1.3 and older returning to the Chilkat River in 1997. Angler effort and harvest of wild mature chinook salmon in the Haines marine boat fishery were estimated using a stratified two-stage direct expansion survey during the spring of 1997. Harvest of large (>28 inches in total length) chinook salmon and chartered angler effort and harvest were also estimated. Three hundred twenty-two (322) large (age 1.3 and older) chinook salmon were captured in the lower Chilkat River between June 12 and July 25, 1997 in drift gillnets and two fish wheels; 317 of these fish were tagged with solid-core spaghetti tags. We examined a total of 967 large chinook salmon on spawning tributaries to the Chilkat River, and 37 of these were marked. On the basis of these data, we estimated that 8,100 (SE = 1,193) large chinook salmon immigrated into the Chilkat River during 1997. An estimated 9,439 angler-hours (SE = 861) of effort (8,758 targeted salmon hours, SE = 697) were expended for a harvest of 381 (SE = 46) large chinook salmon, of which 311 (SE = 41) were wild mature fish. Chartered anglers accounted for 16% of the targeted salmon effort and 21% of the harvest of large chinook salmon.

Subjects

Genres

• Statistics

Series Statement

• Fishery data series -- no. 98-31.

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