Chinook Salmon Research Initiative
Susitna River Chinook Salmon

Cook Inlet Chinook Salmon Sport Harvest, Genetics, and Coded Wire Tags

Age, sex, length, coded-wire tag, and genetic sampling of the marine sport harvest in Cook Inlet. Sport fishing for Chinook salmon occurs year-round in Cook Inlet marine waters yet most of the harvest occurs April through August. The majority of this harvest is landed in the ports of Homer, and Anchor Point, and Deep Creek / Ninilchik beaches. Samplers will be stationed at each of the major access points (the Homer Harbor, Anchor Point tractor launch and marine access area, and Deep Creek tractor launch and marine access area) during the summer fishing season (April – September) and while the tractor launches are operating. During the winter fishery (October – March), samples will be collected from fish harvested in the Homer fishing derbies and as weather allows. All available Chinook salmon encountered will be sampled for genetic tissues, coded-wire tags, and age, sex and length information. Samplers will collect samples from as many Chinook salmon as possible during their shift while attempting to distribute effort between private and charter fishing vessels. In the absence of stock-specific harvest information for this fishery and based on harvest and sample sizes available during the summer and winter fisheries, genetic reporting groups chosen for this fishery are “Susitna River” (including the Yentna River, Susitna River, and Western Cook Inlet populations), “Kenai River” (including Kenai River mainstem and tributary populations), “Other Cook Inlet” and “Outside Cook Inlet”. The “Other Cook Inlet” reporting group includes Cook Inlet populations from Turnagain Arm, Knik Arm, Kasilof River, and southern coastal Kenai Peninsula streams (Anchor River, Deep Creek, Ninilchik River and Stariski Creek).

Cook Inlet near Homer

$80,800

$994,946

March 2014 - October 2018

Marine sport harvest sampling

Adult

Cook Inlet stocks