Pacific Coast Salmon 



Unit 



12 



ROBERT G KOPE 



NMFS Northwest Fisheries 

 Science Center 



Seattle 

 Washington 



INTRODUCTION 



Pacific salmon suppiiit important commercial 

 and recreational fisheries in Washington, Oregon, 

 and California. Salmon are part of the culture and 

 heritage of the Pacific Northwest; having been 

 harvested by Native Americans for millennia. 



Pacific salmon are aiiadromous. They spawn 

 in freshwater and migrate to the ocean where they 

 may undergo extensive migrations. At maturitv. 

 they return to their home stream to spawn and 

 complete their life cycle. 



Pacific salmon include five species: chinook, 

 coho, sockeye, pink, and chum salmon. Chinook 

 and coho salmon arc harvested recreationallv and 

 commercially in the Pacific Ocean, Puget Sound, 

 and in freshwater rivers on their spawning migra- 

 tions. All recreational fisheries use hook-and-line 

 gear. Commercial fisheries use a variety of gear 

 depending on location: in the Pacific Ocean all 

 harvest is by trolling; in Puget Sound, giUnets and 



purse seines are also used; gillnets are used almost 

 exclusively in freshwater and estuaries. Pink, chum, 

 and sockeye salmon are not harvested in signifi- 

 cant numbers recreationally nor outside of Puget 

 Sound, although there are recreational fisheries 

 directed at these species in a few locations. The 

 majority of harvest is by commercial gillnet and 

 purse-seine fisheries in Pu"ct Sound and iiillnet 

 fisheries in estuaries. All species are also harvested 

 bv Native American tribes for subsistence and cer- 

 emonial purposes. 



During 1 995-97, the average annual commer- 

 cial salmon catch was 13,100 metric tons (t) and 

 provided revenues averaging almost $22,000,000 

 at dockside. Recreational catches are more diffi- 

 cult ro vakie since the recreational experience as- 

 sociated with the catch cannot be easily measured. 

 If recreationally caught fish are valued at a conser- 

 vative S20/fish, the 1995-97 average catch of 

 661,000 fish would have been worth about 

 $13,000,000 annually. 



Spawning sockeye salmon 

 run 



1 49 



