488 
Abstract — We examined whether 
the relationship between climate 
and salmon production was linked 
through the effect of climate on the 
growth of sockeye salmon ( Oncorhyn - 
chus nerka) at sea. Smolt length and 
juvenile, immature, and maturing 
growth rates were estimated from 
increments on scales of adult sock- 
eye salmon that returned to the 
Karluk River and Lake system on 
Kodiak Island, Alaska, over 77 years, 
1924—2000. Survival was higher 
during the warm climate regimes and 
lower during the cool regime. Growth 
was not correlated with survival, as 
estimated from the residuals of the 
Ricker stock-recruitment model. Juve- 
nile growth was correlated with an 
atmospheric forcing index and imma- 
ture growth was correlated with the 
amount of coastal precipitation, but 
the magnitude of winter and spring 
coastal downwelling in the Gulf of 
Alaska and the Pacific Northwest 
atmospheric patterns that influence 
the directional bifurcation of the 
Pacific Current were not related to 
the growth of Karluk sockeye salmon. 
However, indices of sea surface tem- 
perature, coastal precipitation, and 
atmospheric circulation in the east- 
ern North Pacific were correlated 
with the survival of Karluk sockeye 
salmon. Winter and spring precipita- 
tion and atmospheric circulation are 
possible processes linking survival to 
climate variation in Karluk sockeye 
salmon. 
Manuscript submitted 8 July 2008. 
Manuscript accepted 14 July 2009. 
Fish. Bull. 107:488-500 (2009). 
The views and opinions expressed 
or implied in this article are those 
of the author and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Growth and survival of sockeye salmon 
( Oncorhynchus nerka ) 
from Karluk Lake and River, Alaska, 
in relation to climatic and oceanic regimes 
and indices, 1922-2000 
Ellen C. Martinson (contact author ) 1 
John H. HeMe 1 
Dennis L. Scarnecchia 2 
Houston H. Stokes 3 
Email address for contact author: Ellen.Martinson@noaa.gov 
1 Auke Bay Laboratories 
Alaska Fisheries Science Center 
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA 
Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute 
17109 Point Lena Loop Road 
Juneau, Alaska 99801-8626 
2 Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources 
University of Idaho 
P.O. Box 441136 
Moscow, Idaho 83844-1136 
3 University of Illinois at Chicago 
601 S. Morgan Street 
Chicago, Illinois 60607 
Fish stocks and fisheries in the Gulf 
of Alaska are strongly influenced by 
climatic and oceanic (C-O) conditions 
(Francis and Hare, 1994; Hare and 
Francis, 1995). In the past century 
C-0 conditions in the North Pacific 
Ocean and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) have 
shifted from a warm regime and higher 
salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.) produc- 
tion (1927-46) to a cool regime and low 
salmon production (1947-76) and back 
to a warm regime and higher salmon 
production (1977-2000) (Francis and 
Hare, 1994; Hare and Francis, 1995). 
Changes in C-0 conditions, either 
annually or over longer regime peri- 
ods, may affect salmon smolt-to-adult 
survival rates by affecting the growth 
rate of smolts after they enter the 
ocean. For example, higher survival 
rates of Alaska sockeye (O. nerka), 
pink (O. gorbuscha ), and chum ( O . 
keta) salmon have been associated 
with warmer coastal sea-surface tem- 
peratures (SST) during the first year 
that young salmon spend in the ocean 
(Mueter et al., 2002a). Relationships 
have been found between faster early 
marine growth and higher survival 
in chum salmon (Healey, 1982), pink 
salmon (Moss et al., 2005), and coho 
salmon ( O . kisutch) (Beamish and 
Mahnken, 2001). The influence of C- 
O indices and regime shifts in the 
GOA on the survival of south central 
Alaska sockeye salmon has yet to be 
specifically linked to changes in ma- 
rine growth rates of fish. 
If marine growth influences sockeye 
salmon survival, then relating marine 
growth to specific C-0 indices over 
an extended time period would pro- 
vide insight into environmental fac- 
tors leading to variation in year-class 
strength. Although direct information 
on fish growth (e.g., growth rates of 
smolts and postsmolts at standard 
times and locations) is not available, 
measurements from archived scales 
can be used to indirectly estimate 
the freshwater and marine growth 
rates of age 2.2 1 sockeye salmon that 
1 In expressing age of salmon in this arti- 
cle, numbers before the decimal refer to 
numbers of freshwater annuli, numbers 
after the decimal refer to numbers of 
marine annuli (Koo, 1962). 
