Figure 20. — Fyke net used in sampling runs 



A program of test- fishing with 

 large metal fyke traps wi-iich was started 

 this summer on the Kenai River promises 

 to be a satisfactory method of obtaining 

 an index of the escapement of red salmon 

 in turbid glacial rivers (fig. 20). Two 

 of these traps which fished throughout 

 the 1957 red salmon season in the Keneil 

 River clearly indicated the relative 

 abujidance of fish in the river from day 

 to day. Uie effects of the commercial 

 fishery on the run are reflected in the 

 reduction in numbers of fish taken in 

 the fyke traps after each open fishing 

 period (fig. 21). 



Rirther refinements of this test- 

 fishing technique will enable us to 

 determine the rate of catch of Kenai red 

 salmon by the fishery. 



During the test- fishing operations, 2,2^6 red salmon -vrere tagged, and intensive 

 stream surveys for tag recovery were conducted throughout the Kenai River system. The 

 objectives were to determine whether the riuis headed for the various tributaries pass 

 through the fishery as a group or subpopulation. If distinct subpopulations can be 

 identified, it may be possible to either protect or more fully utilize certain of the 

 runs. 



Of the tags recovered to date, 58 percent have been returned from the Russian River, 

 12 percent from the Kenai, 8 percent from Moose Creek, 8 percent from ICaiifonski and 

 Salamatof Beaches, and the remainder from scattered locations in Cook Inlet. Further 

 analysis of the data must wait until all tags are recovered. 



Red salmon have been counted at the peak of spawning in certain clear-water sec- 

 tions of Cook Inlet streams each yeair since 1952 to provide an index of their abundance. 



Tliis year every accessible clear- water section of stream in the Kenai River system 

 was surveyed from the air and on the ground several times during the red salmon season. 

 V/hen combined with other studies, these repetitive count data may provide a basis for 

 determining the extent and freouency of 

 counts needed in the future to obtain a 

 reliable index of the total escapement. 



Tagging was also conducted along 

 the periphery of Cook Inlet by the 

 Fisheries Research Institute under Ff sh 

 anrf '..'ildlife Service contract as part 

 of an overall study of the timing and 

 rate of migration of red and pink 

 salmon. 



About 1,500 salmon were tagged 

 in the open waters of the Inlet. 

 Preliminary analysis of the tags re- 

 covered to date shows that some reds 

 tagged in late June, and pinks and 

 chums tagged in mid- July, migrated from 

 the tagging sites at Seldovla Bay and 

 Cliisik Island to the Prince William 



FYKE TRAP CATCH- 



Figure 21. --Kenai River test-fishing catches 

 in relation to commercial fishing periods 



11 



