UNIT 13 

 ALASKA SALMON 



pitted for southeastern Alaska (Baker et al., 1996), 

 and is now expanding to other regions of the state. 

 In conjunction with this stock status survey, a cor- 

 relati\e project, funded in part by the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth 

 Science Data and Information Management pro- 

 gram, is integrating available information on 

 Alaska's sahnon stocks into a geographic informa- 

 tion hirmat. 



Hatcheries and Ocean Ranching 



Alaska's salmon enhancement programs pro- 

 duce significant numbers of fish for commercial 

 and sport harvest. While most hatcheries are now 

 operated by private-sector regional aquaculture 

 associations, the state manages to minimize catches 

 of wild salmon in fisheries where large numbers 

 of returning hatchery salmon are caught. Over- 

 fishing is of concern where wild stocks are in low 

 abundance and spawning escapement goals may 

 not be achieved. Prince William Sound is an area 

 of particular concern where large returns oi hatch- 

 ery pink salmon mix with lower numbers of wild 

 fish. 



The present hatchery program in Alaska 

 which began in 1974, contributed 29,400,000 

 salmon to commercial fisheries and 280,798 

 salmon to sport fisheries in 1996 (McNair, l')')?). 

 Major contributions to salmon fisheries from 

 Alaska hatcheries vary considerably by species and 

 region. Hatcheries in southeast made important 

 contributions in 1 496 to catches of sockeye, coho, 

 chinook, and chum salmon; in Prince William 

 Sound to catches ol sockeye, pink, and coho 

 salmon; in (.Aiok Inlet to catches of chinook, coho, 

 and sockeye salmon; and in Kodiak to catches of 

 sockeye, coho, and pink salmon (McNair, 1997). 



Interception Fisheries 



Significant progress has been made to control 

 the interception and incidental take of Alaska's 

 salmon resources. First, a formerly legal high-seas 

 salmon fishery by Japan, authorized by an inter- 

 national convention from 1952 to 1992, was ter- 

 minated under the new Convention for the Con- 

 servation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pa- 

 cific Ocean. Second, high-seas driftnet fisheries tor 



squid by various countries that also intercepted 

 U.S. -origin salmon stocks in the central North 

 Pacific Ocean have been terminated by United 

 Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/215. A 

 remaining problem of salmon bycatch in U.S. 

 groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and the Gulf 

 of Alaska is actively being managed by the North 

 Pacific Fishery Management Council through 

 time-area closures and bycatch limits set for the 

 groundfish fisheries. Interceptions of nontarget 

 salmon species within state-managed salmon fish- 

 eries continue to be addressed by the Alaska Board 

 of Fisheries. Negotiations continue between the 

 United States and Canada, under the Pacific 

 Salmon Treaty, to resolve long-standing intercep- 

 tion issues, particularly in the northern British 

 Columbia and Alaska boundary area, and in the 

 Yukon River. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. 1993. Salmon 2000 

 Yearbook, 1993. ASMI, 1111 West 8th St., Juneau, 

 AK 99801. 



B.ikLT, r. T., A. C. Wertheimer, R. D. Burkctt, R. 

 Dunfip, D. M. Eggers, E. I. Fritts, A. J. Gharrett, R. 

 A. Holmes, and R. L. Wilmot. 1996. Status of Pa- 

 cific salmon and steelhead escapements in southeast- 

 ern Alaska. Fisheries 21:(10) 6-19. 



Bill Atkinson News Report. 1998. Issue 740. Bill 

 Atkinson, SS07N. E. 58th Street, SeatdcWA 98105- 

 2111. 



Burger, C. V., and A. C. Wertheimer. 1995. Pacific 

 salmon in Alaska, hi E. T. La Roc, G. S. Farris, C. E. 

 Puckett, P D. Doran, and J. J. Mac (Editors), Our 

 living resources: a report to the nation on the distri- 

 bution, abundance, and health of U. S. plants, ani- 

 mals, and ecosystems, p. 343-247. U.S. Depattment 

 of the Interior, National Biological Survey, Washing- 

 ton, D.C. 



Commercial Fisheties Entry Commission. 1997. Per- 

 mit status report for all fisheries. Commercial Fishet- 

 ies Entry Commission, 8800 Glaciet Highway, Ju- 

 neau, AK 99801. 



Cooley, R. A. 1961. Decline of Alaska salmon: a case 

 study in resource conservation policy. Ph.D. disserta- 

 tion, Univetsitv of Michigan, Ann Atbor. 



Eolsom, W., D. Altman, A. Manuar, E Neilson, T. 



1 65 



