Fisheries, Subsistence, and Habitat
Publications Searchable Database
Search Again| Division: | Sport Fish |
| Title: | Chinook salmon creel survey and inriver gillnetting study, lower Kenai River, Alaska, 2011 |
| Author: | Perschbacher, J. |
| Year: | 2012 |
| Report ID: | Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 12-84 |
| Abstract: | A creel survey to estimate angler effort, catch, and harvest of early- and late-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) was conducted on the Kenai River between the Soldotna Bridge and the Warren Ames Bridge from 16 May through 31 July 2011. A standardized inriver gillnetting program was conducted to estimate species catch rates and species composition near the Chinook salmon sonar site from 16 May through 10 August 2011. During the early run (16 May–30 June), anglers caught 1,090 (SE 186) and harvested 816 (SE 156) Chinook salmon with 44,363 (SE 2,127) angler-hours of effort. Guided anglers accounted for 63% of effort and 81% of harvest; the remaining effort and harvest were unguided. During the early run, 221 Chinook salmon and 1,688 sockeye salmon were captured in the inriver gillnetting program near the Chinook salmon sonar site; the ratio of Chinook salmon CPUE to all species CPUE averaged 0.21. The age composition of early-run Chinook salmon passage at the sonar site of 1.6% (SE 0.9%) age-1.1 fish, 25.8% (SE 3.3%) age-1.2 fish, 30.8% (SE 3.4%) age-1.3 fish, 40.7% (SE 3.7%) age-1.4 fish, and 1.1% (SE 0.8%) age-1.5 fish, was similar to the age composition of the early-run harvest although the harvest had a smaller proportion of age-1.2 fish (19.6%, SE 5.4%) and zero age-1.1 and age-1.5 fish. During the late run (1 July–31 July), anglers caught 9,580 (SE 716) and harvested 6,458 (SE 525) Chinook salmon with 148,213 (SE 6,870) angler-hours of effort. Guided anglers accounted for 45% of effort and 52% of harvest; the remaining effort and harvest were unguided. During the late run, 472 Chinook salmon, 3,548 sockeye salmon, 77 coho salmon, 3 pink salmon, and 6 Dolly Varden were captured in the inriver gillnetting program; the ratio of Chinook salmon CPUE to all species CPUE averaged 0.08. The age composition of late-run (1 July–10 August) Chinook salmon passage at the sonar site of 2.4% (SE 0.9%) age-1.1 fish, 29.9% (SE 2.7%) age-1.2 fish, 19.2% (SE 2.3%) age-1.3 fish, 46.4% (SE 2.9%) age-1.4 fish, and 2.1% (SE 0.8%) age-1.5 fish, was similar to the age composition of the late-run harvest although the harvest had a smaller proportion of age-1.2 fish (15.9%, SE 2.4%) and a larger proportion of age-1.4 fish (57.9%, SE 3.2%). |
| Keywords: | Kenai River, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Chinook salmon, creel survey, effort, harvest, gillnet, CPUE, age composition |