Fisheries, Subsistence, and Habitat
Publications Searchable Database
Search Again| Division: | Sport Fish |
| Title: | Rainbow trout size in the Bristol Bay Sport Fish Management Area 1956–2002 |
| Author: | Schwanke, C. J., S. Sonnichsen and S. J. Fleischman |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Report ID: | Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Special Publication No. 11-15, Anchorage. |
| Abstract: | Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) length measurements were compiled from samples from the Bristol Bay Sport Fish Management Area (BBMA) and the Lower Kuskokwim Management Area (LKMA) from 1956 to 2002. Most fish were sampled with hook-and-line gear (64%), followed by seine (18%), weir trap (13%), gillnet (2%), and electroshocking (1%). Fish size differed by geographic location, season, and sampling gear. Sampling during the spring spawning event yielded the largest fish. Differences among gear types were not consistent across geographic locations. Even after controlling for site, season, and gear type, length distributions exhibited substantial variability among years. For this and other reasons, we recommend that rainbow trout management decisions in BBMA not be based on length information alone. |
| Keywords: | Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, length distribution, Bristol Bay, Lower Kuskokwim River, hook-and-line, seine, weir, gillnet, electroshock, management protocol. |