1999 



OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Landings 



(X 1,000.000 



fish) 



Figure 12-2 



Coho salmon landings, 

 1960-97 



Tolal landings 



Year 



has been permitted south of Cape Falcon in north- 

 ern Oregon since then. To date, three coho salmon 

 ESU's have been Hsted as threatened: central Cali- 

 fornia in 1996, northern Calitornia-southcrn Or- 

 egon in 1997, and the Oregon coast in 1998. 



Sockeye, Pink, and Chum Salmon 



Pink and chum salmon originate primaril)' 

 from tributaries of I'uget Sound, Washington. 

 Chum salmon are also produced, in limited num- 

 bers, in the (Columbia River and coastal streams 

 as far south as the central Oregon coast. Sockeye 

 salmon originate primarily from river systems con- 

 nected to lakes. They are produced in a few rivers 

 in the Puget Sound area, in limited numbers in a 

 few coastal rivers on the Olympic Peninsula, and 

 in the upper Columbia and Snake River basins. 

 The majority of these species is caught commer- 

 cially in the Puget Sound region of Washington. 

 Much of the sockeve and pink salmon harvested 

 in Puget Sound originates from the Fraser River 

 in Canada. Ihough Fraser River runs have been 

 large in recent years, the U.S. catch has been lim- 

 ited tuulct Pacific Salmon Commission rules. His- 

 torical landmgs of the species are shown in Fig- 

 ures 12-.5. 12-4, and 12-S. 



Recreational Fisheries 



Pacific salmon support valuable recreational 

 fisheries in saltwater, freshwater, and estuaries. 

 Recreational landings of chinook salmon have av- 

 eraged about 'iSO, ()()() fish annualk lor the period 

 1995-97. During the same period, recreational 

 landings of coho salmon have averaged about 

 133,000 salmon from hatchery and natural pro- 

 dtiction combined. These represent substanti.il re- 

 ductions from recreational landings in the recent 

 past, espcciallv for coho salmon which had annual 

 recreational landmgs averaging 856, ()()() salmon 

 as recently as the 1990-92 period. 



While reduced recreational landings of 

 chinook and coho salmon reflect lower abundance 

 of these two species, declines in abundance are not 

 as pronounced as the declines in landings. Much 

 of the decrease in landings is the result of regula- 

 tions intended to reduce impacts of both com- 

 mercial and recreational fisheries on stocks listed 

 under the ESA and to provide adequate spawning 

 escapement for healthier stocks. Consequently, 

 catch per unit of effort and angler success rates 

 have remained high. 



Recreational landings tor sockeye, pink, and 

 chum salmon combined have averaged about 

 78, ()()() fish. Recreational landings of these spe- 

 cies are much lower than recreational catches of 

 chinook and coho salmon, while commercial land- 

 ings are substantially greater. 1 he reason for this 

 lies partly in the life histories and migration pat- 

 terns of the individual species. Sockeye, pink and 

 chum salmon migrate far offshore into the central 

 North Pacific Ocean and the Cult of Alaska. Thus 

 they are only available to I'ecreational fisheries 

 briefly during their spawning migration. In addi- 

 tion, pmk and chum salmon spawn and die shortly 

 after entering freshwater as adults. By the time they 

 reach terminal areas where recreational fisheries 

 are located, they have undergone physiological 

 changes in preparation tor spawning, ("onse- 

 quentlv, their flesh is ot poorer quality, and they 

 are not as higliK- prized as chinook, coho and sock- 

 eye salmon. While the recreational fisheries for 

 sockeye, pink, and chum salmon are sub.stantially 

 smaller than recreational fisheries for chinook and 

 coho salmon, they are still important. 



1 52 



