Earlier information on salmon resources 

 of the Yukon River was reported by Gilbert 

 and O'Malley (1921), by the U.S. Bureau of 

 Fisheries in the reports, Alaska fishery and 

 fur-seal industries from 1919 through 1943; 

 and by the Branch of River Basin Studies, 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Juneau, 

 Alaska. The River Basin Studies group has 

 prepared several reports in the past few years 

 on the fish and wildlife resources of both the 

 upper and lower Yukon River basins. 



The surveys of recent years have been 

 limited in scope, and few biological or sta- 

 tistical data have been collected. The major 

 objectives have been to estimate the numbers 

 of salmon taken by local fishermen for sub- 

 sistence, and to determine the types and units 

 of fishing gear used in the various areas. 

 Data have been gathered during visits to the 

 many small Eskimo and Indian villages, where 

 local residents were interviewed personally. 

 Identification of the species has often been 

 doubtful. Chum salmon taken on the same day 

 in fish wheels on the Yukon River have ranged 

 from silvery bright to a highly colored calico. 

 To residents with limited knowledge of salmon 

 coloration, salmon with such varying markings 

 were often identified incorrectly as to species. 



Data from the several sources mentioned 

 will be discussed in this report in geographical 

 sequence from Bristol Bay to the offshore 

 islands of the Bering Sea. 



BRISTOL BAY REGION 



Chum salmon rank next to sockeye salmon 

 in the commercial pack of the Bristol Bay 

 region, but are much less abundant. From 

 1951 to 1959, commercial catches of chum 

 salmon in Bristol Bay rivers ranged from 

 156,750 to 400,644 fish; the annual average 

 catch was 313,424 (table 1). The Nushagak is 

 the largest producer of chum salmon, followed 

 by the Naknek-Kvichak system (fig. 2). The 

 remainder of the areas produce considerably 

 smaller catches. 



The total annual Bristol Bay case pack of 

 chum salmon from 1933 through 1959 is shown 

 in figure 3. The data were obtained from the 



Pacific Fisherman Yearbook (1959, p. 87 1 ) 

 and the files of the Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries, Alaska. In recent years production 

 has been low, reducing the average pack for 

 the last 10 years to below the preceding 10. 

 Since escapement data are not available, it is 

 not known whether the case pack is an indi- 

 cator of annual abundance. 



Spawning ground surveys in past years were 

 concentrated on areas utilized by sockeye 

 salmon, and data on chum salmon have been 

 gathered only incidentally. Lack of chum sal- 

 mon adults in areas of the various weirs and 

 counting tower sites, which were generally 

 located considerable distances up the major 

 salmon rivers, indicates that most chum sal- 

 mon spawn in the lower reaches of the rivers 

 or in tributary streams entering below these 

 installations. 



Chum salmon for personal use of local resi- 

 dents are taken mainly in the Nushagak, Togiak, 

 and Ugashik Rivers. No data are available to 

 indicate how many thousands are taken each 

 year. 



Brief comments from personnel of the 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries familiar with 

 the Bristol Bay rivers (fig. 2) are presented in 

 the discussion that follows. 



Ugashik River 



The Ugashik is the southernmost of the 

 Bristol Bay rivers. It is located on the Alaska 

 Peninsula and is of minor importance in chum 

 salmon production. Counts of salmon were 

 made at a weir located immediately below the 

 outlet of the lower Ugashik Lake from 1926 

 through 1932. Chum salmon counts ranged from 

 89 in 1927 to a maximum of 1,210 in 1932. 

 Heaviest spawning of this species occurs in 

 Dog Salmon River, although some are found in 

 King Salmon River. 



Egegik River 



The Egegik is the river outlet to Becharof 

 Lake and is another minor producer of chum 



1 1958 a year of surprise in Pacific salmon canning. 

 (January) p. 81-127. 



