KARLUK RIVER RED-SALMON INVESTIGATION 



27 



Perhaps associated with the dry season, there was a noticeably heavy mortality 

 among the unspawned fish in 1926. This was observed throughout the season and 

 in all the spawning streams. On July 18, in Spring Creek, "it was very noticeable 

 that many of the females were not completely spawned out; 6 of 12 examined had 

 eggs apparently still in good condition. Most of these were apparently not spawned 

 at all, although ripe." On the same date, in upper Thumb River "we saw many 

 dead females, ripe but unspawned, and many others that were not completely spawned 

 out. Causes of death quite unknown, as most of them appeared to be in fine condi- 

 tion." On August 16, at the foot of O'Malley Lake, there were "about a thousand 

 dead [salmon] alongshore and * * * all the dead females had apparently died 

 without spawning and before the eggs had ripened; roe still solid." These, of course, 

 were the late run mentioned above. Similar observations were made frequently 

 during the summer, and the general impression given was that about 25 per cent of 

 the females that reached the lake died only partially spawned out. This is strik- 

 ingly different from the conditions observed by both Rutter and Bower, mentioned 

 above, both of whom reported nearly all of the females as spawning completely. 

 In 1924 Mr. Lucas noted the death of large numbers of unspawned salmon in Grassy 

 Point Creek, but specifically states in his notes that dead unspawned fish were not 

 found in several of the other streams. It is apparent that the death of unspawned 

 fish in 1926 was quite unusual. This may have been due to low water, the crowded 

 conditions on the spawning beds, a combination of these two, or to some other cause. 



LIFE HISTORY OF KARLUK RED SALMON 



The run of red salmon to the Karluk River extends over a period of about 

 five months, beginning in May and ending in October. The commercial fishing 

 season for the years 1916 to 1926 is given in Table 2. 



Table 2. — Fishing season at Karluk, Alaska, from 1916 to 1926 



Year 



Began 

 fishing 



Stopped 

 fishing 



Year 



Began 

 fishing 



Stopped 

 fishing 



1916-- 



June 3 

 June 4 

 June 10 

 June 6 

 May 26 

 June IS 



Oct. 2 

 Sept. 27 

 Sept. 28 

 Sept. 25 

 Sept. 27 

 Sept. 24 



1922. 



June 5 

 June 8 

 June 1 

 June 15 

 ...do 



Sept. 19 

 Sept. 15 

 Sept. 30 

 Sept. 10 

 Sept. 15 



1917. 



1923.. 



1918-. 



1924 



1919.. 



1925. 



1920-. 



1926.. 



1921.. 







The first fish to appear are, in general, well advanced toward spawning and 

 certainly do not linger long in the lake before seeking the spawning gravels. The 

 earliest spawning has not been observed, but it is believed to take place not later 

 than the middle of June. From that time until late in the fall uninterrupted spawn- 

 ing is in progress in suitable gravels about the shores of the lake and in all favorable 

 tributaries. 



The spawning grounds have been visited frequently in the middle of the season, 

 when, in favorable years, the tributaries are thickly lined with dead and dying fish, 

 many of the dead even then in the last stages of decay. At the same time, spawning 

 is actively in progress, and a constant procession of new arrivals from the lake is 

 prepared to work again every available stretch of gravels. Undoubtedly the late 



