Carter and others 



Chapter 27 



Mortality in Gill Nets 



Arm); and the mainland slopes near Wrangell (Stikine River 

 south to Ernest Sound). At-sea foraging areas occur near 

 these and other nesting areas, resulting in a complex pattern 

 of aggregations throughout much of southeastern Alaska (figs. 

 I and 2). There are three fishing subdistricts where intensive 

 gill-net fishing overlap with at-sea foraging aggregations of 

 Marbled Murrelets: (1) Area IB, located at the south end of 

 Revillagigedo Channel near the Canadian border; (2) Area 

 6A, located near Point Baker in Sumner Strait; and (3) Area 

 11B, located south of Juneau in the central part of Stevens 

 Passage. Gill-net fisheries in subdistricts 6A and 1 IB are 

 targeted on fish stocks returning to the Stikine and Taku 

 rivers, respectively. Area IB receives the most fishing pressure 

 and is open for the longest period each year (June-October). 

 Although murrelets are not found to aggregate in large 

 numbers in Area 1 B at present, it is possible that large numbers 

 formally occurred in Boca de Quadra, Behm Canal, and Carol 



Inlet before being reduced by gill-net mortality and logging 

 of nesting habitats in old-growth forests. Area 1 F is an offshore 

 area where murrelets are not found in aggregations. In Areas 

 6A and 11B, large numbers of gill-net boats congregate 

 from June through August, and these could have decimated 

 local populations. In Area 6A, dense murrelet foraging 

 aggregations occur at Point Baker and along the north shores 

 of Zarembo Island during gill-net openings. This would be a 

 prime area in southeastern Alaska to monitor the ongoing 

 impacts of gill-net fishing on the Marbled Murrelet. In Area 

 11B, McAllister (unpubl. data) retrieved two floating dead 

 Marbled Murrelets in the vicinity of gill-net boats fishing at 

 Taku Harbor. A former gill-net fisherman reported to 

 McAllister that Marbled Murrelets were killed regularly in 

 area 11B in the late 1970s, stating that up to 12 Marbled 

 Murrelets were found in nets upon retrieving gear at dawn 

 near Taku Harbor in Area 1 IB. Murrelet mortality does not 



tm 



13B 



Gill-net 

 Fishing Areas 



Murrelet At-sea 



Aggregations 



Potential Old-growth 

 Nesting Areas 



Figure 1 North portion of Southeastern Alaska indicating 1988 fishing districts (num- 

 bered) with locations of Marbled Murrelet at-sea aggregations, potential old-growth 

 forest nesting areas, and gill-net fishing areas (McAllister, unpubl. data). Murrelet 

 information for Glacier Bay is not included. 



USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-152. 1995. 



273 



