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Division: Sport Fish
Title: Chinook salmon creel survey and inriver gillnetting study, lower Kenai River, Alaska, 2015.
Author: Perschbacher, J.
Year: 2018
Report ID: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 18-26, Anchorage.
Abstract: Sport-angler effort, catch, and harvest of late-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were estimated from a creel survey conducted 1 - 31 July on the lower Kenai River in 2015. The Chinook salmon sport fishery was closed to fishing during the entire early run (1 May–30 June). During the late run, anglers caught 6,522 (SE 549) and harvested 3,896 (SE 430) Chinook salmon with 77,276 (SE 2,869) angler-hours of effort. Approximately 53% of late-run Chinook salmon were harvested downstream of the river mile (RM) 13.7 Chinook sonar site, the remaining 47% were harvested upstream of RM 13.7. The age composition of harvested late-run Chinook salmon was 2.6% age-1.1, 18.8% age-1.2, 47.0% age-1.3, 29.9% age-1.4, 0.9% age-1.5, and 0.9% age-2.3 fish. A standardized gillnetting program at RM 8.6 estimated the Chinook salmon age composition, catch rates, and species composition within midriver and nearshore areas 16 May–20 August, 2015. During the early run, 150 Chinook salmon and 1,443 sockeye salmon were captured in gillnets (midriver and nearshore combined). The estimated age composition of 114 early-run Chinook salmon captured in gillnets was 4.4% age-1.1, 41.2% age-1.2, 36.8% age-1.3, 16.7% age-1.4, and 0.9% age-1.5 fish. During the late run, 311 Chinook salmon, 2,864 sockeye salmon, 113 coho salmon, and 5 pink salmon were captured in gillnets. The estimated age composition of 238 late-run Chinook salmon captured in gillnets was 5.0% age-1.1, 29.4% age-1.2, 36.1% age-1.3, 27.7% age-1.4, and 1.7% age-1.5 fish. During both runs, Chinook salmon captured nearshore were smaller and younger than those captured midriver.
Keywords: Kenai River, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Chinook salmon, creel survey, effort, harvest, gillnet, CPUE, age composition, length distribution, radio tag.