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Division: Sport Fish
Title: Chinook salmon creel survey and inriver gillnetting study, lower Kenai River, Alaska, 2013.
Author: Perschbacher, J.
Year: 2015
Report ID: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 15-46, Anchorage.
Abstract: Sport-angler effort, catch, and harvest of early- and late-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were estimated from a creel survey conducted on the lower Kenai River in 2013. During the early- and late-run Chinook salmon sport fisheries, catch-and-release fishing restrictions and closures of the Chinook salmon sport fisheries were imposed to achieve escapement goals. During the early run, anglers caught 39 (SE 16) Chinook salmon with 3,054 (SE 275) angler-hours of effort. Guided anglers accounted for 62% of effort and 59% of catch. During the late run, anglers caught 2,554 (SE 386) and harvested 1,577 (SE 297) Chinook salmon with 59,910 (SE 2,387) angler-hours of effort. Guided anglers accounted for 64% of effort and 79% of harvest. The age composition of harvested late-run Chinook salmon was 10% age-1.1 fish, 32% age-1.2 fish, 24% age-1.3 fish, and 34% age-1.4 fish. A standardized gillnetting program estimated catch rates and species composition in the midriver insonified area at the RM 8.6 sonar site 16 May-17 August 2013. In addition, a pilot study sampled the nearshore areas behind the sonars. During the early run, midriver gillnets caught 55 Chinook salmon and 555 sockeye salmon. The estimated age composition of early-run Chinook salmon was 7% age-1.1 fish, 20% age-1.2 fish, 27% age-1.3 fish, 44% age-1.4 fish, and 2% age-1.5 fish. During the late run, midriver gillnets caught 200 Chinook, 2,066 sockeye, 403 coho, and 5 pink salmon. The estimated age composition of late-run Chinook salmon was 2% age-1.1 fish, 28% age-1.2 fish, 24% age-1.3 fish, 43% age-1.4 fish, and 3% age-1.5 fish. There was a significant difference in the length distributions of Chinook salmon netted nearshore (not insonified) vs. midriver (insonified) during the early run (P = 0.03) but not the late run (P = 0.18).
Keywords: Kenai River, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Chinook salmon, creel survey, effort, harvest, gillnet, CPUE, age composition.