MOSHER: SCALE FEATURES OF SOCKEYE SALMON 



southward than during May and June when most 

 fishing has been carried on.'' 



Kondo et al (1965) show the estimated area 

 of distribution of sockeye salmon in May and 

 June. In the area between long 165° and 175° W, 

 they show only Bristol Bay and Gulf of Alaska 

 stocks (not quite to 170° W). Thus in the area 

 between long 170° and 175° W, probably only 

 Bristol Bay (Plates 1, 4, 11, 16, and 17), Alaska 

 Peninsula, and Aleutian Island stocks (Plates 5, 

 12, 16, and 17) will be present in most years. 



These procedures have been the result of in- 

 tensive study of sockeye salmon scales from 1954 

 to 1971. In addition I have examined collections 

 taken before 1954 (Bristol Bay, from the early 

 1920's; Karluk River, from the mid-1940's; Cop- 

 per River, from the mid-1930's; the Petersburg 

 area, from the late 1940's; and the Columbia 

 River, selected years from 1910 to 1922) and 

 have verified the scale characters pictured and 

 described here. Although there are minor dif- 

 ferences from year to year, within and between 

 areas, the characters have been relatively stable 

 over a long period of time. The pictures of 

 Rivers Inlet scales shown in Gilbert (1914) re- 

 semble the Rivers Inlet sockeye salmon scales 

 of recent samples. Thus the pictures and de- 

 scriptions shown in this report are representa- 

 tive of scales from fish of these areas and can 

 be used as guides in determining the racial ori- 

 gins of fish taken in ofl^shore areas of the North 

 Pacific and adjacent seas.'' 



" I have examined the few scale samples available 

 from the area south of lat 50° N and eastward of long 

 175° W and have observed many diverse scale types. 

 This leads me to believe that fish from many sources inter- 

 mingle there: some fish from Bristol Bay, the mainland 

 areas around the Gulf of Alaska, and even from Asia. 



" Study of salmon scales, in common with other fish 

 scales, is a specialized branch of fishery biology. It re- 

 quires a person with a special temperament: one who 

 can sit in a darkened room, often for hours at a time, 

 involved in routine counting and measuring of scale 

 features. It requires a person who can evaluate the 

 subtle differences between scales and not be overcome 

 by them. Consequently, a sympathetic approach and a 

 certain amount of experience with fish scale study is 

 required to be able to use scale characteristics to de- 

 termine the racial origins of sockeye salmon. When a 

 scientist has obtained this experience and can evaluate 

 the differences among scales, he will find that the infor- 

 mation available through study of the scales can be ap- 

 plied toward answering many questions of the life history 

 of the individual fish in addition to its age and racial 

 origin. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Adams, A. 



1952. The negative: exposure and development. 

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 Anas, R. E. 



1964. Sockeye salmon scale studies. Int. North 

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 Anas, R. E., and S. Mural 



1969. Use of scale characters and a discriminant 

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 Aro, K. v., and M. p. Shepard. 



1967. Salmon of the North Pacific Ocean - Part IV. 

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1955. A brief review of the salmon fishery in the 

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 Berg, L. S. 



1948. Ryby presnykh vod SSSR i sopredel'nykh 

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1967a. Progress in 1965 in Canadian research on 

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1962. Continental origin of red salmon as deter- 

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1914. Contributions to the life-history of the sock- 

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 1919. Contributions to the life-history of the sock- 

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1966. Salmon of the North Pacific Ocean - Part III. 



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