PEARCY and FISHER: MIGRATIONS OF COHO SALMON 



Recoveries of CWT Juvenile Fish 

 in Ocean Fisheries 



Data on ocean location of landings of juvenile 

 CWT coho salmon reported in sports and commer- 

 cial fisheries in the ocean along the west coast of 

 North America, 1977-83, provide valuable infor- 

 mation on ocean migrations of marked fish, al- 

 though these data are biased by differences in 

 legal minimum sizes, time and duration of open 

 season, and effort in the different regions. The 

 summary of all years shows that, except for Cali- 

 fornia, most of the recoveries of juvenile coho 

 salmon during their first summer in the ocean 

 were in the general region of their ocean entry 

 location (Table 6). Both the actual number offish 

 reported and the estimated total numbers (in 

 parentheses) support our earlier conclusion that 

 many juvenile coho salmon off Oregon and Wash- 

 ington are not highly migratory. All (20) of the 

 actual recoveries of marked juvenile coho salmon 

 that were released in southeastern Alaskan 

 waters were from southeastern Alaska. Ninety- 

 seven percent of the recoveries of marked fish 

 released in British Columbia waters were landed 

 in British Columbia; only two were landed in 

 Alaska. Most (86%) marked juvenile fish from 

 Puget Sound hatcheries were caught in the 



Sound, and more were recovered in British Co- 

 lumbia fisheries (13%) than in coastal Washing- 

 ton fisheries (<1%), probably due to the smaller 

 size limits for coho in British Columbia as well as 

 migratory patterns. Half of the actual numbers of 

 recoveries of juvenile coho salmon liberated into 

 Washington coastal waters were landed in 

 Washington coastal ports, followed by British Co- 

 lumbia (29%) and the Columbia River region 

 (17%). Only one was landed in Alaska and two in 

 Oregon ports (Garibaldi and south). Juvenile coho 

 salmon originating from Columbia River hatch- 

 eries had a broader distribution of recoveries in 

 other regions. Only 40% of Columbia River fish 

 were caught in this region, 41% were taken in 

 northern regions, including two (1%) in Alaska. 

 The remaining 19% were captured off Oregon. 

 The majority (73%) of Oregon coastal fish were 

 recovered off Oregon, followed by the Columbia 

 River region, Washington coast, and British Co- 

 lumbia. None was reported from Alaska, but 10 

 (2%) were from California ports. All marked Cali- 

 fornia fish were recovered from the Columbia 

 River region and farther south. Most (87%) were 

 landed in Oregon. The few recoveries of Califor- 

 nia fish off California is undoubtedly influenced 

 by the larger size limits in this than other fish- 

 eries. 



'Sports catches are not expanded. The estimated total number 

 CWTs recovered in the sports fisheries. Preliminary data. 



expanded commercial catch + actual number 



189 



