2003 ALSEK RIVER SALMON STUDIES

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), in cooperation with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Champagne Aishihik First Nation (CAFN), will be continuing a king (chinook) and sockeye salmon research project on the Alsek River in 2003.  The objectives of this project are to estimate how many wild king and sockeye salmon spawn in the Alsek/Tatshenshini River drainage, what proportion spawn in the Klukshu River, and determine where all major spawning areas are located.

Chinook salmon originating from the Alsek River drainage are caught in U.S. and Canadian fisheries.  U.S. commercial and subsistence-personal use set gill net fisheries occur in the lower portion of the Alsek River, in the Alsek lagoon, and in nearby marine waters (Figure 1). A sport fishery occurs on the East Alsek River which is believed to harvest chinook salmon bound for the Alsek River. Canadian sport and aboriginal fisheries occur in the Tatshenshini River and its' tributaries.  The 1991-2000 average chinook salmon harvests in these fisheries were: U.S. commercial-523 fish; U.S. subsistence/personal use-42 fish; U.S. sport-75 fish; Canadian sport-349 fish; and Canadian aboriginal- 283 fish.  The 1991-2000 average sockeye salmon harvests: U.S. commercial-18,667 fish; U.S. subsistence/personal use-125 fish;  Canadian sport-237 fish; and Canadian aboriginal- 1,411 fish.  The U.S. fisheries are managed by ADFG and the Canadian fisheries are managed by DFO. Preseason management plans are drafted by Canadian and US fisheries managers under the auspices of the Transboundary Technical committee.  Inseason management decisions are made after Canadian and US managers consult and discuss the status of the run. Chinook caught in the U. S. fishery are considered "treaty" fish and are tallied in addition to other "treaty" fish in calculating SE AK PSC chinook harvest limitations.  Available fishery studies (McPherson, Etherton, and Clark 1998) indicate that the Klukshu chinook salmon population (and therefore the population in the Alsek River) are likely underutilized in many years.

As in prior years, set gillnets will be used to catch adult king and sockeye salmon in the lower Alsek River below the U.S./Canada border in May through August. Blue (king salmon) and orange (sockeye salmon) spaghetti tags with U.S./Canada and other marks will be applied so marked fish are easily recognized later. Some fish (<2%) may back downriver where they might be harvested by gillnetters and sport anglers.  However, most of the fish that are tagged will continue to migrate upriver.  In July through September, fish will be captured at or near their spawning grounds and examined for the presence or absence of tags. Fish will be inspected at known spawning locations such as Klukshu River, Blanchard River, Takhanne River, Goat Creek, and Neskataheen Lake. Fish harvested by Canadian  aboriginal and sport fisheries will also be examined for the presence or absence of tags.  The percentage of fish with tags will enable us to estimate how many king and sockeye salmon entered the river (see map at bottom).

Radio Tag (top) and a Fish Counter

Anyone who catches and keeps a tagged fish is requested to return the tag along with information on the location and date of capture to the nearest ADFG or DFO office. There is small reward for each tag returned with complete recovery information. Click here to see the reward poster. If the fish is released alive the tag should be left on the fish.

In 2003,  sockeye salmon will also be marked with small radio transmitters.  These tags are inserted through the esophagus into the stomach, a small piece of antenna is visible in the mouth of fish marked with these tags. The radio tags allow us to track fish in muddy, glacial water where they can't be seen and to estimate the distribution of spawning fish, even in areas that are inaccessible by road or boat.  The radio-tagged fish will be tracked by aircraft and by remote receivers stationed upriver.

Klukshu River Weir

This information will be essential in developing management plans, particularly where we can identify surpluses that will open more fisheries on healthy salmon stocks. Abundance-based harvesting regimes, designed to assure fisheries are conducted in accord with scientific conservation principles, will require accurate information to manage for optimum harvest and escapement levels.

ADFG and DFO field crews will be tagging fish in 2003.  Base camps will be located at Dry Bay, near the Sitka Sound Seafood plant.  Keith Pahlke (Douglas) is the king salmon project leader for ADFG and will be assisted by John Der Hovanisian (Douglas). Kathleen Jensen (Douglas) is the sockeye salmon project leader for ADFG and will be assisted by Jim Andel. Gordie Woods is Commercial Fisheries Area Biologist in Yakutat.  Robert Johnson is the Area Sport Fish Management Biologist in Yakutat.  Bill Waugh and Pete Etherton (Whitehorse) are the king, sockeye, and coho salmon project leaders for DFO. 

Radio Telemetry Receiving Station

Funding for ADFG work on these projects comes from sport fishing license fees, king salmon stamp sales, federal taxes on sport fishing gear and fuel, and federal funding from the Southeast Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund.

For more information on this project, please contact one of the following:

Keith Pahlke, ADFG Regional Office, Douglas, 907-465-4271 (keith_pahlke@fishgame.state.ak.us)

John Der Hovanisian, ADFG Regional Office, Douglas, 907-465-4398 (john_derhovanisian@fishgame.state.ak.us)

Kathleen Jensen, ADFG Regional Office, Douglas, 907-465-4223 (kathleen_jensen@fishgame.state.ak.us)

Gordie Woods, ADFG Area Office, Yakutat, 907-784-3255 (gordie_woods@fishgame.state.ak.us)

Bob Johnson, ADFG Area Office, Yakutat, 907-784-3222 (bob_johnson@fishgame.state.ak.us)

Pete Etherton, DFO Office, Whitehorse, 867-393-6726 (ethertonp@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

Bill Waugh, DFO Office, Whitehorse, 867-393-6764  (waughb@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

The U.S. National Park Service Glacier Bay Headquarters can be reached at http://www.nps.gov/glba/home.htm

and the U.S. Forest Service Yakutat Ranger District at http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/yakutat/yakutat.html

The Canada Park Service Kluane Park can be reached http://www.canadianparks.com/sites/kluannp/kluannp-1-1.html

and BC Parks Alsek-Tatshenshini Park at http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/tatshen.htm

The 1999 Pacific Salmon Treaty can be obtained by clicking on the Pacific Salmon Commission link on the department's Pacific Salmon Treaty page: http://www.psc.org/Index.htm

Results from the king salmon project to date are presented in the following reports, which are available at  http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/statewide/divreports/html/intersearch.cfm:

McPherson, S. A., P. Etherton, and John H. Clark.  1998.  Biological escapement goal for Klukshu River chinook salmon.  Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, Fishery Manuscript Number 98-2, Anchorage.

Pahlke, K. A., P. Etherton, R. E. Johnson, and J. E. Andel. 1999. Abundance and Distribution of the chinook salmon escapement on the Alsek River, 1998. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, Fishery Data Series No. 99-44, Anchorage.

Pahlke, K. P. and P. Etherton. 2001. Abundance of the chinook salmon escapement on the Alsek River, 1999. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series, No. 01-11, Anchorage.

Pahlke, K. P. and P. Etherton. 2002. Abundance of the chinook salmon escapement on the Alsek River, 2000. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series, No. 01- 30, Anchorage.