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Division: Sport Fish
Title: Mixed stock analysis and age, sex, and length composition of Chinook salmon in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska, 2014.
Author: Eskelin, T., and A. W. Barclay.
Year: 2015
Report ID: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 15-19, Anchorage.
Abstract: Chinook salmon were sampled for genetic tissue and age, sex, and length (ASL) composition from the Upper Cook Inlet Eastside set gillnet (ESSN) commercial fishery in 2014. Mixed stock analysis (MSA) 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. In 2014, the total reported harvest was 2,301 Chinook salmon. Using MSA, the harvest was determined to be composed of 60.9% Kenai River mainstem and 38.7% Kasilof River mainstem fish, which represented an estimated 1,401 Kenai River mainstem and 891 Kasilof River mainstem Chinook salmon. Kenai River tributaries and Cook Inlet other each composed 0.2% of the harvest or an estimated 4 fish each. Reporting group composition in 2014 was similar to 2010, 2011, and 2013. Kenai River mainstem fish composed on average 67.1% of the harvest during those years. The remainder of the harvest composition averaged 34.1% Kasilof River mainstem, 1.1% Cook Inlet other, and 0.4% Kenai River tributaries. In 2014, the overall age composition of the sample was 17.6% age-1.1 fish, 32.2% age-1.2 fish, 29.1% age-1.3 fish, 20.9% age-1.4 fish, and 0.1% age-1.5 fish. The sex composition was 61% males and 39% females. Average mid eye to tail fork (METF) length was 712 mm, the third lowest observed since 1987.
Keywords: Chinook salmon, Upper Cook Inlet, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Kenai River, Kasilof River, late run, genetic stock identification, GSI, mixed stock analysis, MSA, ASL, ESSN, UCI, commercial fishery.