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waters. There have been no records of tag recoveries for this listed stock in SEAK 

 salmon fisheries. There have been some tag recoveries for this stock in Canadian 

 fisheries. Overall the number of recoveries has been very low and exploitation in 

 Canadian fisheries has been estimated to be less than 1 percent. 



On the other hand, harvest impacts on Snake River Fall chinook are an important 

 concern in PST fisheries. In SEAK fisheries, estimates of harvest impacts (relative ;o 

 coast-wide harvest impacts) have ranged from 4.5 to 11.4 percent. In 1993, this was 

 expected to be on the order of two or three hundred Snake River Fall chinook. The 

 1992/1993 fishery was ruled to be "not likely to jeopardize" Snake River Fall chinook 

 by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) because harvest impacts were 

 estimated to include a 3 percent reduction in the exploitation rate index relative to the 

 1986-1990 base period. In addition, NMFS considered information which suggested 

 that the abundance of fish in the fishery may be higher than expected (post-season 

 estimates of chinook abundance have been higher than preseason estimates for 5 

 consecutive years) (NMFS, 1994). Higher overall chinook abundance may result in 

 additional reductions in the Snake River Fall chinook exploitation rate - when overall 

 abundance is high, the proportion of Snake River Fall chinook is reduced, and hence, 

 harvest impacts on them are decreased. By reducing fall chinook mortality in non- 

 retention fisheries, the SEAK fishery was able to maintain the PST harvest ceiling of 

 263,000 fish (NMFS, 1994). For 1994, the harvest ceiling for the SEAK fishery has 

 been reduced to 240,000 in order to achieve a 3% reduction in the exploitation rate 

 index relative to the 1986-1990 base period (NMFS, 1994). 



Canadian fisheries are a significant source of harvest impacts on the Snake River Fall 

 chinook. For the years 1985-1991, mortality for this stock in North/Central B.C. 

 fisheries (relative to coast-wide fishing mortality) averaged 9.6 percent, while mortality 

 in the WCVI (troll only) fishery averaged 28 percent. Although the PST established a 

 fixed ceiling for WCVI chinook troll harvest at 360,000, the Canadians have in recent 

 years managed the fishery to achieve the 1985-1987 average harvest rate. 

 Consequently, WCVI troll catches were only 296,000, 196,000, and 339,800 in 1990, 

 1991, and 1992 respectively. In 1993, the U.S. pressed ftirther for the WCVI troll 

 fishery to be managed for the 1985 target harvest rate of 24%. The 1993 catch was 

 271,000 chinook. In addition, the U.S. pressed for a full accounting of catches taken 

 by the WCVI sport sector, which was projected to be 48,700 in 1993. For 1994, the 

 ocean escapement (fish returning to the mouth of the Columbia River) of Snake River 

 fall chinook is projected to be at a near record low of 803 fish (in contrast to the 1986- 

 1993 average of 1,936) (NMFS, 1994). 



Immediate reduction of harvest impacts is important to the survival and recovery 

 of Snake River fall chinook. The harvest of depressed and listed stocks in PST 



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