Fisheries, Subsistence, and Habitat
Publications Searchable Database
Search Again| Division: | Sport Fish |
| Title: | Summary and synthesis of production, marking, and release data for coho and chinook salmon smolt releases into upper Cook Inlet, Alaska in 1992 |
| Author: | Peltz, L. and D. Starkey |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Report ID: | Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 93-51, Anchorage, Alaska, USA |
| Abstract: | Production of coho and chinook salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch and O. tshawytscha smolt, marking and release were monitored at three hatcheries in Cook Inlet, Alaska in 1992. An estimated 778,000 coho salmon smolt and 312,000 chinook salmon smolt were released at a total of 10 sites. A total of 301,184 coho salmon smolt and 87,737 chinook salmon smolt were marked with an adipose clip and injected with a coded wire tag prior to release. Long-term (53-101 days) tag retention varied from 75.9% to 95.8%. The groups of fish with the best tag retention were those which were graded and tagged using different head mold sizes. A smolt size quality index based on data from local wild fish populations and hatchery production in other areas of the Pacific Coast of North America was defined as the percentage of hatchery released coho salmon which were greater than 15 grams and less than or equal to 25 grams, and the percentage of hatchery released chinook salmon which were greater than or equal to 5 grams and less than or equal to 15 grams. Three different techniques for estimating smolt abundance were compared at all three hatcheries. For most release groups, the three techniques provided similar estimates of the number of fish released, but four of the release groups had estimates which differed from 14.1% to 32.9%. Based on our interpretation of the information, we feel that the mark/recapture estimate was the most accurate estimate of the number of fish released. |
| Keywords: | CHINOOK SALMON; ONCORHYNCHUS TSHAWYTSCHA; COHO SALMON; ONCORHYNCHUS KISUTCH; HATCHERIES; SMOLT; SMOLT SIZE; RELEASE TIMING; BLOOD SODIUM MONNITORING; SMOLT ENUMERATION; MARK-RECAPTURE; CODED WIRE TAGGING; TAG RETENTION |