UNIT 13 

 ALASKA SALMON 



eries Commission (INPFC), and via bilateral and 

 multilateral agreements and negotiations with Tai- 

 wan and the Republic of Korea. In 1993. the North 

 Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) 

 was formed to replace the INPFC. The Commis- 

 sion (composed of Canada, Japan, the Russian Fed- 

 eration, and the United States) now provides a 

 framework for international cooperation in salmon 

 management and research in the North Pacific 

 Ocean. 



The NPAFC C'onvention prohibits high seas 

 salmon fishing and trafficking ot illegally caught 

 salmon. Coupled with United Nations Ceneral 

 Assembly Resolution 46/21 S, which bans large- 

 scale pelagic driftnet fishing in the world's oceans, 

 harvesting of Pacific salmon on the high seas, ex- 

 cept for illegal fishing, no longer exists. This al- 

 lows for effective management control to fully re- 

 turn to the salmon-producing nations. 



Because salmon are anadromous tish that 

 spend a portion of their life (1-7 years) at sea and 

 then return to freshwater streams, rivers, and lakes 

 to spawn and die, their well being and harvest man- 

 agement practices are also directly influenced by 

 land management practices. The quality of fresh- 

 water habitats determine the success of reproduc- 

 tion and initial rearing of juveniles. Several agen- 

 cies, entities, and groups have significant influ- 

 ence on the quality of freshwater spawning and 

 rearing habitats for salmon throughout Alaska. In- 

 cluded among these are the U.S. Forest Service, 

 Bureau of Land Management, National Park Ser- 

 vice, National Wildlife Refuges, Alaska State Parks 

 and Forests, Alaska Native Regional and Village 

 Corporations, plus municipalities, boroughs, and 

 other private landowners that control watersheds 

 used by salmon. 



SPECIES AND STATUS 



All five species of Alaska salmon (pink, sock- 

 eye, chum, coho, and chinook) are fully utilized, 

 and stocks in most regions of the state generally 

 have rebuilt to or beyond previous high levels 

 (Table 13-1). Research has been extensive into all 

 aspects of salmon life histories (Groot and 

 Margolis, 1991), and this information has been 

 used in Alaska to help regulate fisheries on stocks 

 by monitoring escapement size and catch num- 

 bers by species, season, and area. The unprec- 

 edented high abundance of Alaska salmon in re- 

 cent years should not be interpreted as an absence 

 of some of the same factors affecting declines of 

 salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Issues and prob- 

 lems associated with overfishing, incidental take 

 as bycatch in other fisheries, and losses of spawn- 

 ing and rearing habitats in freshwater and in 

 nearshore ocean areas are also of concern in Alaska. 



Top to Bottom: king, coho, 

 chum, sockeye, and pink 

 salmon. 



Species 



Pink 



Sockeye 



Chum 



Coho 



Chinook 



Total 



1 59 



