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Division: Sport Fish
Title: Eastside set gillnet chinook salmon harvest composition study in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska, 2016, including large fish harvest for 2015 and 2016.
Author: Eskelin, A., and A. W. Barclay.
Year: 2017
Report ID: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 17-50, Anchorage.
Abstract: Chinook salmon were sampled for genetic tissue and age, sex, and length composition from the Upper Cook Inlet Eastside set gillnet commercial fishery in 2016. Mixed-stock analysis was conducted on tissue samples that were collected to represent the harvest by date and area. The 4 reporting groups used to apportion the Chinook salmon harvest were Kenai River mainstem, Kenai River tributaries, Kasilof River mainstem, and Cook Inlet other. Reported harvest was 6,759 Chinook salmon, with an estimated composition of 4,972 (74%) Kenai River mainstem, 1,667 (25%) Kasilof River mainstem, 96 (1%) Cook Inlet other, and 24 (<1%) Kenai River tributaries fish. Kenai River mainstem fish have composed on average 69.8% of the harvest since 2010. Nearly all the remainder of the harvest was composed of Kasilof River mainstem fish. In 2016, the harvest of large fish (75 cm mid eye to tail fork length and longer) was 2,906 Kenai River mainstem, 1,039 Kasilof River mainstem, 34 Cook Inlet other, and 14 Kenai River tributaries fish. Stock composition and stock-specific harvest of large fish by reporting group is also provided for 2015. In 2015, the harvest of large fish was 2,808 Kenai River mainstem, 764 Kasilof River mainstem, 48 Cook Inlet other, and 8 Kenai River tributaries fish. Age composition of the 2016 ESSN Chinook salmon harvest was 6.7% age-1.1 fish, 28.5% age-1.2 fish, 36.2% age-1.3 fish, 26.7% age-1.4 fish, and 1.9% age-1.5 fish. The sex composition was 67% males and 33% females. Average mid eye to fork length was 759 mm.
Keywords: Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Upper Cook Inlet, UCI, Kenai River, Kasilof River, late run, mixed-stock analysis, MSA, ASL, ESSN, Eastside set gillnet commercial fishery.