conditions that prevailed through early 

 August in 1957. 



The chum salmon run was light 

 throughout the season. Fall chum salmon 

 abundance dropped off rapidly after 

 three days of concentrated fishing ef- 

 fort following the August 18 opening in 

 the southwestern district. Coho salmon 

 appeared earlier than usual in the fish- 

 ery and were more numerous in the Shuma- 

 gin trap catches than for many years. 

 The sezisonal composition of the South 

 Peninsula pack is shown in figure 26. 



The Bear River and Sandy River 

 red salmon runs were quite opposite in 

 character. In the former, a steady 

 seasonal escapement was maintained de- 

 spite a heavy concentration of gear and 

 reached an estimated 200,000, compared with 

 a total drift and set net catch of approxi- 

 mately 305,000 red salmon. The Sandy River 

 red salmon escapement was very poor in com- 

 parison with past surveys. Purse seine 

 catches between Bear River and Cape Seniavin 

 were low — approximately 85,000 red salmon. 

 The weekly allowance of four 12-hour fishing 

 days in the Bear River district was extended 

 after a substantial decrease in gear occur- 

 red, to six 12-hour days beginning August 8. 

 Severe weather hampered the remnant fleet 

 however, and catches were negligible. 



An experimental mild-cure fishery for 

 eajrly king salmon at Nelson Lagoon, Port 



WEEK ENDING 



Figure 26. --Seasonal composition of South 

 Peninsula salmon packs, \958. 



Moller, and Bear River produced a surprising 

 10,000 fish from a small gill net fleet. A 

 late August fishery in Nelson Lagoon yielded 

 a good supply of coho salmon. 



Research biologists conducted a pink 

 salmon tagging program in the Alaska Penin- 

 sula area. The objectives of the 1958 

 experiments were to determine the origin of 

 the pink salmon in the catch and the rate 

 of movement of the fish through the fishery. 

 Another purpose was to determine if the 

 easterly migration trend observed during the 

 1957 tagging program is common to pink salm- 

 on along the entire south coast of the area 

 and if this movement is persistent through- 

 out the season. 



Figure 27. --Pink salmon tag recoveries, 1958, 



A total of 7,064 pink salmon 

 was tagged between June 23 and August 

 3 from various locations between 

 False Pass and Ivanof Bay, a 175-mile 

 stretch of coast along the western 

 reaches of the south Alaska Penin- 

 sula. In addition to pink salmon, 

 968 chum salmon were tagged at inter- 

 vals throughout the season. The 

 tagging experiments were conducted 

 from traps and seines and were car- 

 ried out during open and closed 

 periods. 



Tag recoveries of pink salmon 

 have been made from such widely sepa- 

 rated points as Norton Sound, the 

 Yukon River, Kuskokwim Bay, Nushagak, 

 Unalaska, Chignik, and Kodiak (figure 

 27). Analyses will be made later tc 

 determine if these various migration 



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