reach formerly inaccessible places such as 

 Alexander Creek and the Deshka River on the 

 west side of the inlet. Since 1951 daily pas- 

 senger service by the Alaska Railroad has 

 provided cheap and convenient transportation 

 to the lower Susitna River tributaries such as 

 Willow and Montana Creeks (fig. 1). 



The sport fishery is carried out only in 

 fresh water because of the extreme tidal 

 ranges, rough water, and glacial turbidity in 

 the salt-water fishing areas. We did not in- 

 ventory the sport fishery in 1958, but previous 

 surveys made on the Anchor River and on 

 streams on the Kenai Peninsula provide some 

 information and show that the sport fishery 

 plays an important role in the area's economy. 

 In 1954 an estimated 3,000 anglers spent 

 15,000 man hours on the Anchor River. In 

 1955 the calculated number of fishermen on 

 the Anchor River was 5,228 and on streams on 

 the Kenai Peninsula, 20,450, an estimated 

 83,322 man days of fishing. ' In 1957, 5,800 man 

 days of fishing was estimated for the Anchor 

 River. ' This report also stated that fishing 

 followed an unusual pattern that year, with the 

 lowest effort in May and June. The king salmon 

 runs are the largestfor the season during these 

 2 months, and usually the greatest number 

 of fishermen are reported then. 



BIOLOGY OF KING SALMON 

 IN COOK INLET 



The commercial catch by the set and drift 

 gill net fisheries was sampled for length and 

 age in 1958 and 1959. To maintain catch identity 

 with gear, area, and time, sampling was 

 carried out on the fishing grounds from a 

 cannery tender. In 1959 additional data were 



U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Game 

 Commission. 1954. Game fish investigations of Alaska. 

 Quarterly Progress Report, Federal Aid in Fish Res- 

 toration, 80 p. [Processed.] On file in Branch of River 

 Basin Studies, Juneau, Alaska. 



'[U. SJ Fish and WildUfe Service. 1957. A special 

 report on fishery resources of the Kenai Peninsula, 

 33 p. [Processed,] On file in Branch of River Basin 

 Studies, Juneau, Alaska. 



U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Game 

 Commission. 1958. Steelhead trout studies in Alaska. 

 Job Completion Report, Federal Aid in Fish Restora- 

 tion, 26 p. [Processed.] On file in Branch of River 

 Basin Studies, Juneau, Alaska. 



collected for length-weight relationships and 

 for fecundity. Catch data in 1959 were col- 

 lected by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 Statistical Unit in Juneau. 



Seasonal Distribution 



The seasonal distribution of the king salmon 

 catch for 1959 is shown by the weekly catch 

 for statistical areas in figure 3. Statistical 

 areas are geographical units assigned number 

 designations for convenience in reporting the 

 location of a catch. The weeks referred to in 

 the graph began on May 24 and are numbered 

 consecutively. After the 12th week, catches of 

 king salmon decrease, whereas catches of 

 other salmon species, which are caught with 

 gear of a different mesh size, increase. 



Peak catches occur earlier in areas near 

 the latitude of Anchor Point than in inner 

 areas. In areas along the Kenai Peninsula 

 shore south of Boulder Point, the king salmon 

 areas have a bimodal pattern, for peak catches 

 occurred during weeks 1 to 4 and 8 to 12 

 (fig. 3). 



Length and Age 



Lengths were measured from mideyetofork 

 of tail and recorded by sex, which was deter- 

 mined by examining the gonads. Age was 

 determined from scales. Samples were taken 

 from each of the 9 fishing days between May 

 25 and June 30 in both 1958 and 1959. In 1958 

 length measurements were taken from 1,463 

 fish, and age was deterrfiined for 621. One 

 scale was taken from each fish for determining 

 age, but 41 percent of the scales were re- 

 generated and had to be discarded because 

 they were of no value for determining age. 

 In 1959, therefore, several scales were taken 

 from each fish. With the larger selection to 

 choose from, only 11 percent of the scale 

 samples had to be discarded because of re- 

 generation. Length measurements were taken 

 from 1,705 fish, and age was determined for 

 1,519. 



Ten age groups were found in the com- 

 mercial catch (fig. 4 and table 5). Of the males 

 aged in 1958 and 1959, 99 and 97 percent 

 respectively were in the three age groups. 



