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Division: Commercial Fish
Title: South Alaska Peninsula salmon annual management report, 2017 and the 2016 subsistence fisheries in the Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, and Atka-Amlia Islands management areas.
Author: Fox, E. K. C., C. G. Lipka, and L. K. Stumpf.
Year: 2018
Report ID: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Regional Information Report No. 4K18-05, Kodiak.
Abstract: This report summarizes the 2017 season and historical information regarding commercial salmon fisheries of the South Alaska Peninsula Management Area (Area M). The total 2017 commercial salmon harvest in Area M was 9,666 Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, 3,216,112 sockeye salmon O. nerka, 348,351 coho salmon O. kisutch, 21,819,104 pink salmon O. gorbuscha, and 1,948,471 chum salmon O. keta. Harvest of sockeye, coho, pink, and chum salmon were above recent 10-year averages (2007?2016). Harvest of Chinook salmon was below recent 10-year averages. 241 permit holders participated in the fishery. The June commercial salmon harvest included 4,955 Chinook, 1,956,065 sockeye, 43 coho, 1,714,307 pink, and 640,891 chum salmon. Harvest in the South Unimak June fishery was 948 Chinook, 1,071,635 sockeye, 6 coho, 396,022 pink, and 179,485 chum salmon, whereas the Shumagin Islands June fishery accounted for 4,007 Chinook, 884,430 sockeye, 37 coho, 1,318,285 pink, and 461,406 chum salmon. There were 2 commercial salmon fisheries in the Southeastern District Mainland (SEDM) during the allocation period, June 1 through July 25. The total commercial harvest in the SEDM in 2017 was 39 Chinook, 93,918 sockeye, 154 coho, 5,477 pink, and 5,073 chum salmon. The total commercial harvest for the Northwest Stepovak Section, from July 1 through July 25, was 5 Chinook, 39,256 sockeye, 154 coho, 4,002 pink, and 3,474 chum salmon. The South Alaska Peninsula Post-June salmon harvest from July 1 through October 31 (minus the SEDM fishery July 1?25) was 4,672 Chinook, 1,166,129 sockeye, 348,154 coho, 20,099,320 pink, and 1,302,507 chum salmon. In 2017, the sockeye salmon sustainable escapement goal (SEG) for Orzinski Lake (15,000?20,000 sockeye salmon) was exceeded with an escapement of 20,989 sockeye salmon. Total escapement of pink salmon (5,663,637 fish) was well above the South Alaska Peninsula SEG range of 1,750,000?4,000,000 fish. In the Southeastern district, chum salmon escapement was estimated at 592,460 fish, well above the SEG of 106,400?212,800 fish. In the Southwestern district, chum salmon escapement was estimated at 363,000 fish, above the SEG of 133,400?266,800 fish. In the South Central district, chum salmon escapement was estimated at 810,053 fish, which greatly exceeded the SEG of 89,800?179,600 fish. Limited coho salmon surveys were conducted due to late season run timing.
Keywords: South Alaska Peninsula, commercial salmon fishery, South Unimak, Shumagin Islands, salmon harvest, salmon escapement, Alaska Board of Fisheries, board, salmon, Oncorhynchus, management plan, Chinook O. tshawytscha, sockeye O. nerka, coho O. kisutch, pink O. gorbuscha, chum O. keta, AMR.