Figure 5.- -Generalized distribution pattern of tag returns from red salmon tagged at sea 



from 1956 to 1959. 



distribution of returns is in keeping with what we know about 

 relative production in Asia and America; red salmon pro- 

 duction in Bristol Bay alone is probably greater than that of 

 Asia. 



Chum salmon (fig. 6) show quite a different picture, for 

 those tagged in the Aleutians yielded 146 returns from Asia, 

 and 52 frora Alaska. Nearly all Alaskan returns were from 

 releases in the eastern Aleutians. Again results are in 

 harmony with relative production in the pertinent recovery 

 areas; Asian chum salmon production is much greater than 

 that of northwest Alaska, Alaskan chiims are present at least 

 to 177° West. The lone return to southeast Alaska indicates 

 that few chums from this source travel as far as the central 

 Aleutians. 



Pink salmon returns (fig. 7) show a still different picture. 

 It should be noted here that pink salmon have a very uniform 

 2-year life history, and in many areas throughout their 

 range, runs have a pronounced cyclic abvmdance in odd or 

 even years. In odd years (1957 and 1959), pinks were abiuidant 

 in the Aleutian tagging areas, and tag returns came only from 

 east Kamchatka or were intercepted at intermediate points 

 on the high seas by the Japanese fleet. (In 1955, tagging 

 consisted of small-scale preliminary experiments only as 

 far west as Kodiak Island.) In even years (1956 and 1958), 

 pinks were present in relatively small numbers, but all 

 coastal returns were from Alaska. Those taken on the high 

 seas, as shown, had an uncertain destination, but it is 

 noteworthy that runs to east Kamchatka were large in 1957 

 and 1959, and smadl in 1956 and 1958. Although other Asian 

 production areas (west Kamchatka, for example) have very 

 large runs in even and odd years, these areas have yielded 

 no pink scdmon returns to date. East Kamchatkan pink runs 

 are many times larger than those to northwest Alaska, at 

 least in odd years. The few pinks tagged in the Gxilf of Alaska 



26 



