patterns can be differentiated on the basis 

 of time or area of tagging. 



The sea lion studies being conducted 

 by the Fisheries Research Institute, under 

 support of another Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries contract^ are now in their third 

 year. In 1956 and 1957 census techniques 

 were developed that indicated there were 

 upwards of 78,000 sea lions on the major 

 rookeries in the Gulf of Alaska. The 1958 

 research was concerned with developing 

 methods of controlling the numbers of sea 

 lions. A scientific party, working in the 

 Shumagin Islamds in May of this year, made 

 continuous observations on the life history 

 and feeding habits of sea lions in a rook- 

 ery. Some killing experiments were con- 

 ducted. From information gained during 

 this season's work it appears impractical to 

 hziul or move the carcasses to a collecting 

 station on the rookery. Instead, the Jini- 

 mals must be shot near the water where a 

 line CcUi be attached from the receiving 

 boat to the carcass prior to rolling the 

 dead animal into the surf. Thus secured 

 and in the water, the carcasses may be etisi- 

 ly towed to a ship or scow. 



Bristol Bay 



Although the Bristol Bay fishery has 

 declined to a low state since the late 

 1930 's when several packs exceeded one and 

 one-h«ilf million cases, it is still popular- 

 ly regarded as one of the world's foremost 

 producers of red salmon (figure 28). Its 

 major river systems and huge lakes provide 



idCeil spawning cuid nursery environment for 

 this most favored canning species. Gill 

 nets that are drifted on tidal currents 

 from small, specially designed power boats 

 are the principal gear of the fishery, al- 

 though a few set nets are aggregated along 

 the shores. Fishing activity is confined 

 by regulation to localized areas off the 

 river mouths. The red salmon runs normally 

 extend over a 1-month period that commences 

 in late June. 



Lesser runs of king salmon, princi- 

 pally in the Nushagak district, contribute 

 to the Bristol Bay catch as do pink salmon 

 runs, which occur in unpredictable volume 

 in even years. In addition, chum and coho 

 salmon make minor contributions to the 

 Bristol Bay salmon production. 



In order to achieve red salmon escape- 

 ment necessary to conserve the runs, the 

 number of fishing days per week during the 

 season are regulated by the amount of gear 

 that is fished. Management of the fisheries 

 in the major river districts is based on 

 daily reports of escapement and catch per 

 unit of effort (the aver£ige daily catch of 

 a 2-raan boat calculated each fishing peri- 

 od). All other combinations of gear are 

 equated to this unit by applying computed 

 gear equivalents. During the 1958 season, 

 the amount of gear being fished was such 

 that it permitted only about two days fish- 

 ing per week. 



Escapements were enumerated from 

 counting towers on the Ugashik, Egegik, 

 Naknek, Igushik, and Branch Rivers by Bu- 

 reau personnel, and on the Wood and Kvichak 

 Rivers by biologists of the Fisheries Re- 

 search Institute. 



Preliminary red salmon catch and 

 escapement estimates for four Bristol Bay 

 regulatory areas in 1958 are as follows: 



Catch Escapement 



Nushagak 

 Naknek-Kvichak 

 Egegik 

 Ugashik 



1,091,000 

 923,000 

 501,000 

 434,000 



1,105,000 

 878,000 

 246,000 

 295,000 



Figure 28. --Bristol Bay red salmon production. 



Total 2,949,000 2,524,000 



In addition, a catch of about 36,000 

 red salmon was taken from the Togiak 



20 



