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Division: Commercial Fish
Title: Characterization of the 2012 and 2013 salmon runs in the Kuskokwim River based on the test fishery at Bethel.
Author: Lipka, C., and T. Elison.
Year: 2016
Report ID: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 16-06, Anchorage.
Abstract: Annual abundance indices and run timing of adult Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, sockeye O. nerka, chum O. keta, and coho O. kisutch salmon returning to the Kuskokwim River have been assessed by the Bethel test fishery since 1984. In 2012, the Bethel test fishery operated from June 2 through August 26 and in 2013, from June 1 through August 24. A series of timed drifts using 5.375 inch (13.6 cm) and 8.0 inch (20.3 cm) stretch mesh gillnets were made at 3 stations across the river channel. Each series of drifts began approximately 1 hour following each high tide throughout the fishing season. Mean tidal catch per unit effort (CPUE) was calculated for each species and served as an index of abundance. The cumulative mean tidal CPUE was compared to information from earlier years to determine relative salmon abundance and run timing to help direct subsistence and commercial management decisions. The final cumulative CPUE index for 2012 was: 418 Chinook; 1,171 sockeye; 6,890 chum; and 2,440 coho salmon. The final cumulative CPUE index for 2013 was: 261 Chinook; 1,146 sockeye; 5,708 chum; and 2,865 coho salmon. The 2013 relative abundance indices were below the 2002?2012 averages for all monitored species of salmon. Run timing of Chinook salmon peaked on 26 June in 2012 and on 22 June in 2013; sockeye salmon peaked on 1 July in 2012 and on 28 June in 2013; chum salmon peaked on 7 July during 2012 and 2013; and coho salmon peaked on 11 August in 2012 and on 9 August in 2013.
Keywords: Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, sockeye salmon O. nerka, chum salmon O. gorbuscha, coho salmon O. kisutch, Bethel salmon test fishery, run timing, relative abundance, commercial fishery, subsistence fishery, stocks of concern, escapement, drift gillnet, index, water level, age, sex, and length (ASL) composition, catch per unit effort, CPUE, Kuskokwim River.