)

middot J

AGE ARCTIC-YUKON-KUSKOKWIM REGION

SEX AND SIZE COMPOSITION OF SALMON 1967

(From AYK Area 1967 Arctic Anadromous Fish l Investigations

AYK Staff

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Commercial Fisheries

Anchorage Alaska

AYK REGION AWL REPORT 6

(

)

AGE SE( AND SIZE COMPOSITION OF SALIVION

middot middot-

~y L A ~J L-

11o7 -A )(2

j INTRODUCTION

J

-

_

The Arctfc-Yukon-Kuskokwi~ area catch and escapement sampling programiddotm initiated in 1964 was expanded in 1967middot A larger number of samples was obtained from all speciesmiddot except pink salmon than in any previous year However due to the vast size of the study area and the large number of salmon runs comprehensive age determinations are either lacking or incomplete formiddotthe following Kuskokwim River chum and red salmon Yukon River fall chum and coho salmon and Norton Sound king and coho salmon

The objective of this program is to provide such basic _management information as age length weight and sex composition of the various salmon runs This ir1poundon~1ation can be used in assessing the effects of a fishery upon middot run productivity and may be eventually used L-1 making nm predictions

middotbull

METHODS

Samples were obtained from commercial subsistence and Department test fishL11g arid tagging site catches middotA few samples vvere also obtained from salmon carcasses found on various spavming grounds Sea le samples were

taken from the area of the first or second scale rovmiddot1 above the lateral line and located on a diagonal line down from the insertion of the dorsal fin to the origin of the anal fin

With the eceptlon of Kuskok~vim Piver tagging and test fisl1iig site catches all lengths were te1ken from mid-eye tc the fork of the ce ucal fin

- 39 middot

middotmiddot bullbull

I

) middot Salmon captured in Kuskokwim River tagging and test fishing nets were measured from the snout to the caudal fin fork Sex was determined by

examining the gonads of each fish sampled

For purposes of this report a 42 salmon returning to spawn in 1967 would be the progeny of the 19 63 run that migrated from freshwater to the ocean in the spring of 19 65 Chum salmon do not over-winter inmiddot fresh water so only the ii total ages are shown in this repoft -

It has been middotimpossible to determine whether a few king salmon scale samples (usually less than 10) middothave one or two freshwater annuli This cannot be resolved until adequate samples of smolt are obtained for age andmiddot sizeianalyses middot

bull

KUSKOJ0NIM RIVER KING SALMON

Commercia_l Catch Samoles Table 16 shows the age composition or 610 Kuskobvini River king-salmon representing commercial catches taken mainly with 8-12 inch gill nets that were sampled throughcut the run A majority of the fish sampled were 62

1 s (73 4) followed by the 7z (15 9) 5z (102) and 42 (5) age classesmiddot The sex ratio of the sample was nelt-rly equal 474 percent males and 526 percent ferrales

bull bull I

Appendix Tables A and B show the age-length and age-weight data respectively for the 1967 sample The average weight per fish (combined sexes) of the sample was -27 2 pounds and the average length (mid-eye to caudal fn fork) was BB 4 centimeters

Department Test Fishing and Taqging Site Catches Table 17 shows the age compositions of king salmon captured in test fishing and tagging site gill nets of varying mesh size Ihe age composition bf the 8-12 inch mesh sample was very similar to that of the commercial catch sample shown in Table 16 The

middotsample from the 5-12 inch mesh net contained much greater percentages of the 42 and 52 age classes A total of 42 fish or 43 3 percent of the sample was composed of the 42 age group The smaller sample from the 9-12 inch mesh net had an age composition similar to thqt-of the B-12 inch mesh sample

Appendix Table C s_hows the fork length frequencies of all king salmon captured by test fishing and tagging site gear This table a-lso includes those salmon that were tagged and released

-

Aniak River On July 18-21 a totalmiddot of 42 carcasses was sampled on the

- 40

(

)

AGE SE( AND SIZE COMPOSITION OF SALIVION

middot middot-

~y L A ~J L-

11o7 -A )(2

j INTRODUCTION

J

-

_

The Arctfc-Yukon-Kuskokwi~ area catch and escapement sampling programiddotm initiated in 1964 was expanded in 1967middot A larger number of samples was obtained from all speciesmiddot except pink salmon than in any previous year However due to the vast size of the study area and the large number of salmon runs comprehensive age determinations are either lacking or incomplete formiddotthe following Kuskokwim River chum and red salmon Yukon River fall chum and coho salmon and Norton Sound king and coho salmon

The objective of this program is to provide such basic _management information as age length weight and sex composition of the various salmon runs This ir1poundon~1ation can be used in assessing the effects of a fishery upon middot run productivity and may be eventually used L-1 making nm predictions

middotbull

METHODS

Samples were obtained from commercial subsistence and Department test fishL11g arid tagging site catches middotA few samples vvere also obtained from salmon carcasses found on various spavming grounds Sea le samples were

taken from the area of the first or second scale rovmiddot1 above the lateral line and located on a diagonal line down from the insertion of the dorsal fin to the origin of the anal fin

With the eceptlon of Kuskok~vim Piver tagging and test fisl1iig site catches all lengths were te1ken from mid-eye tc the fork of the ce ucal fin

- 39 middot

middotmiddot bullbull

I

) middot Salmon captured in Kuskokwim River tagging and test fishing nets were measured from the snout to the caudal fin fork Sex was determined by

examining the gonads of each fish sampled

For purposes of this report a 42 salmon returning to spawn in 1967 would be the progeny of the 19 63 run that migrated from freshwater to the ocean in the spring of 19 65 Chum salmon do not over-winter inmiddot fresh water so only the ii total ages are shown in this repoft -

It has been middotimpossible to determine whether a few king salmon scale samples (usually less than 10) middothave one or two freshwater annuli This cannot be resolved until adequate samples of smolt are obtained for age andmiddot sizeianalyses middot

bull

KUSKOJ0NIM RIVER KING SALMON

Commercia_l Catch Samoles Table 16 shows the age composition or 610 Kuskobvini River king-salmon representing commercial catches taken mainly with 8-12 inch gill nets that were sampled throughcut the run A majority of the fish sampled were 62

1 s (73 4) followed by the 7z (15 9) 5z (102) and 42 (5) age classesmiddot The sex ratio of the sample was nelt-rly equal 474 percent males and 526 percent ferrales

bull bull I

Appendix Tables A and B show the age-length and age-weight data respectively for the 1967 sample The average weight per fish (combined sexes) of the sample was -27 2 pounds and the average length (mid-eye to caudal fn fork) was BB 4 centimeters

Department Test Fishing and Taqging Site Catches Table 17 shows the age compositions of king salmon captured in test fishing and tagging site gill nets of varying mesh size Ihe age composition bf the 8-12 inch mesh sample was very similar to that of the commercial catch sample shown in Table 16 The

middotsample from the 5-12 inch mesh net contained much greater percentages of the 42 and 52 age classes A total of 42 fish or 43 3 percent of the sample was composed of the 42 age group The smaller sample from the 9-12 inch mesh net had an age composition similar to thqt-of the B-12 inch mesh sample

Appendix Table C s_hows the fork length frequencies of all king salmon captured by test fishing and tagging site gear This table a-lso includes those salmon that were tagged and released

-

Aniak River On July 18-21 a totalmiddot of 42 carcasses was sampled on the

- 40

middotmiddot bullbull

I

) middot Salmon captured in Kuskokwim River tagging and test fishing nets were measured from the snout to the caudal fin fork Sex was determined by

examining the gonads of each fish sampled

For purposes of this report a 42 salmon returning to spawn in 1967 would be the progeny of the 19 63 run that migrated from freshwater to the ocean in the spring of 19 65 Chum salmon do not over-winter inmiddot fresh water so only the ii total ages are shown in this repoft -

It has been middotimpossible to determine whether a few king salmon scale samples (usually less than 10) middothave one or two freshwater annuli This cannot be resolved until adequate samples of smolt are obtained for age andmiddot sizeianalyses middot

bull

KUSKOJ0NIM RIVER KING SALMON

Commercia_l Catch Samoles Table 16 shows the age composition or 610 Kuskobvini River king-salmon representing commercial catches taken mainly with 8-12 inch gill nets that were sampled throughcut the run A majority of the fish sampled were 62

1 s (73 4) followed by the 7z (15 9) 5z (102) and 42 (5) age classesmiddot The sex ratio of the sample was nelt-rly equal 474 percent males and 526 percent ferrales

bull bull I

Appendix Tables A and B show the age-length and age-weight data respectively for the 1967 sample The average weight per fish (combined sexes) of the sample was -27 2 pounds and the average length (mid-eye to caudal fn fork) was BB 4 centimeters

Department Test Fishing and Taqging Site Catches Table 17 shows the age compositions of king salmon captured in test fishing and tagging site gill nets of varying mesh size Ihe age composition bf the 8-12 inch mesh sample was very similar to that of the commercial catch sample shown in Table 16 The

middotsample from the 5-12 inch mesh net contained much greater percentages of the 42 and 52 age classes A total of 42 fish or 43 3 percent of the sample was composed of the 42 age group The smaller sample from the 9-12 inch mesh net had an age composition similar to thqt-of the B-12 inch mesh sample

Appendix Table C s_hows the fork length frequencies of all king salmon captured by test fishing and tagging site gear This table a-lso includes those salmon that were tagged and released

-

Aniak River On July 18-21 a totalmiddot of 42 carcasses was sampled on the

- 40

)

i

middotJ

_ middot bull -

middotmiddot

middot middotmiddot

middot-

Table 16 middotAge Composition of K~skokwim River Commercial _ ~-- __ Kjng Salmon Catches _sa11_1pled During June 1-23 19671

MALES FEMALES COMBINED SEXES

Acre Class-middot Number Percentacre N~mber Percentage Numbermiddot Percentage

4 i--2 3 0 5 0 00 3 05

5z 47 77 15 25 62 10 2

6z zoo 328 248 406 448 734

7z middot 39 64 58 9 5 97 159 - -bull

COMBINED AGES 289 474 321 526 610 100 0

-

y MajorHy of ktng ~alm~n capt~ired with 8-12 inch stretched mesh drift gill nets

~

middot bull middot

- --41 -

bull -

-

-~ middot

-

- - Table 17 Age Composition of Kuskokwim River King Salmon C~pttirecl by

J Department Tagging and Test Fishing Nets of Varying Mesh Size 1967

NIA LES FEMALES COMBINED SEXES

Mesh Size Aae No Percent No Percent - No Percent

5-12 42 42 433 o oo 42 - 43 3

52 23 237 5 52 28 289

62 9 93 12 123 21 21 6

72 2 -2 1 4 ~ 6 62

Totals 76 784 21 21 7 g7 1000

8-12 - 42 1 11 0 oo 1 1 1

-5 - 7 7 4 0 00 7 74 --- 2 _)

62 29 309 41 43 6 70 745

72 6 _sect_d 10 106 16 l 70 --middot Totals 43 458 51 542 94 1000

9-12 42 3 52 0 oo 3 52

52 5 88 1 1 8 6 105

6 19 333 19 33 3 - 38 66 6 2

72 5 ~ 5 _Ll 10 1 l 6

middot_Totals 32 56 1 25 439 57 1000

J_

- 42 -

_middot

bull middot

-) _ spawning grounds of the upper Aniak Ri~er tributary to Kuskokw1m River

The age composition of this sample was 7 1 11 9 and 81 0 percent for the 42 52 and 62 age groups respectively The sex ratio of thi_~ sample was 27 males andl5 females

-Discussion Table 18 compares age compositions of commercially

caught king salmon sampled during the la st four- years A few fish Vere tentatively assigned to the 53 63 73 and 83~ag~ groups during 1964-1965

middot -These age groups have been included in the 42 5z 62 and 7 2 age groups respectively in Table 18 for comparative purpo_ses

middotThese comparisons indicated ~ery go~d sti~ival and production of 1960 brood year fish during the 1964-1967 period The Kuskokwim River king salmon runs have been above _average in magnitude during the last three years which is probably in part due to the strong return of 19 60 brood year fish - -

OTHER SPECIES - KTJSKOKWIM AND KJNEKTOK RIVERS

) As time allowed limited samples of red coho and cliummiddotsalmon were obtained from the Kuskokwim and Kanektok Rivers Age compositions of these samples are shown in Appendix Tables D and E middotmiddotmiddot

The Kanektok River empties into Kuskokwim Bay abcut 30 miles south of the Kuskokwim River mouth Salmon were taken by commerc~al fishermen operating in the Bay adjacent to the mouth of the Kanektok River A majority of the salmon captured in this area are thought to be of Kanektok River origin but a few Kuskokwim River salmon are probably intercepted here

bull YUKON RIVER KING sectLMON

Lower Yukon Catch Sam12le Table _19 shows th~ age composition by ~ex of 991 king salmon representing commercial catches and Department tagging

) middot

and test fishing site catches made vvith 8-12 inch mesh gill nets The Departshyment gill nts Vere operated in the same manner as commercial nets and therefore the sample was representative of the commercial catch made in the lower Yukon River (subdistrictol) The 62 age Class represented 731 percent ofthe sample followed by the 7 2 (13 2) 52 (10 03) and 13 (2 3) age groups The sample contained -19 2 and 50 8 percent males and females respectively

43 -

I

I -)

I I I I I bull

I )

1)

middotmiddot-middot

Table 18 Percent Age Composition of KuskokwimmiddotRiver Commercial King middotsalmon Catches 1964-19671 middot middot middot middot middotmiddot

4 2

Sz

62

1964

18

Percentages 1965 1966

r -~f 04

~

12 1

3 5 85 2

11 23

l oo

1

1967

05 bull

102

73 4

159

oo

Majority of catches taken with a12 inch mesh drift gill nets

middot - -

Table 19 Age Composition by Sex of Yukon River King Salmon Captured With 8-12 Inch Stretched Mesh Gill Nets During June 2-July 8 1967

Age Class

Combined srns-middot

r =~ ~- -

MALES No Percent

7 bull 7

72 72

335 338 ___

3 3

66 67

4 4

1 1

488 492

FEMALES No Percent

1 1

28 28

389 393

0 po

64 65

19 19

2 ~

503 508

-- --middot -middot-----------~

- 44

COMBINED SEXES No Percent

8 8

100 100

724 731

3 middot3

130 132

23 23

3 3

991 1000

__

J

J

As in previous years_ four and five-year old fish were c9mposed of a majority of males while the older age groups were composed of a near equal sex ratio or a slight majority of females middot

_ -middot_ In T~ble20 the sample is divided into three different sampling perio~s which show trenqs in age and sex composition during the season Considering all age classes males declined in abundance during the season For example

the first sampling period (June 1-11) containedmiddotmiddot53 percent males while the lastmiddot sampling period (June 22-July 8) contained only 44 percent males There were no distinct trends in changing age composition as the season progressed with the exception of a decline in themiddot abundance of the 5 2 age class middot

0 Appendix Table F presents the mean lengths by sex for each age class

The mean length for theentire sample sexes comb_ined was 85 0 centimetersmiddot Weight data is riot presented because the instrument scales used to take indishy

vidual weights were found to be inaccurate after the sampling program was underway

middot Othermiddotsamoles Table 21 presents age compositions of samples taken in krcationsmiddotupstream from the main commercial fishery Age data is shov-m for carcasses sampled in the Andreafsky Anvik and Teslin Rivers and fishwheel subsistence catches taken at Rampart

Although about 15 man days of effort was expended only 45 carc~sses were located and sampled during boat and foot surveys of the Andreafsky middotand Anvik Rivers Thls is probably due to small escapements and large numbers of bear which may selectively seek out king salmon carcasses

The Andreafsky-Anvik River samplemiddot differed from the Teslin River sample bullin being composed of greater percentages of 42 and 5 2 fish and smaller percentshyages of 62 and 7 2 fish The sex ratio in percentage ofmiddot males was 68 percent and 13 percent for the Andreafsky-Anvik River and Teslin River samples respectshyively The 62 age group was dominant in both samples

Egg retention was determined for 67 female Teslin River carcasses The nLunbers of eggs retained per carcass ranged from 0 to 100 andmiddot averaged 9 4 eggs

The Rampart sample was composed of 52 62 4 2 and 72 fish in order of abundance Prior studies by the Department have determined that fishwheels are selective to the smaller sized king salmon

Discussion Age compositions of Lower Yukon catches taken with 8-12 inch mesh nets have differed only slightly during the 1964-1967 period Vlith

45

) - )

61 - 11

612 - 21

622 - 78

TOTALS

300 1000

369 1000

322 1000

991 1000

COMBINED SEXES

o 13 3 I ~

1 4 12l

9 47

8 100

- 46 -

73 0 3 104 27 3 686 bull 5 154 14 bull 6

783 o 130 31 0

731 l ~ 132 23 3

l Samples tltken l27-811 ~g~ could not be assigned to 2 males and 2 females 2 Samples taken 831 91 910 age could not be assigned to 2 maks and 3

females Y Samples taken 713-14

-c47 - middot

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

-~ middot

-

- - Table 17 Age Composition of Kuskokwim River King Salmon C~pttirecl by

J Department Tagging and Test Fishing Nets of Varying Mesh Size 1967

NIA LES FEMALES COMBINED SEXES

Mesh Size Aae No Percent No Percent - No Percent

5-12 42 42 433 o oo 42 - 43 3

52 23 237 5 52 28 289

62 9 93 12 123 21 21 6

72 2 -2 1 4 ~ 6 62

Totals 76 784 21 21 7 g7 1000

8-12 - 42 1 11 0 oo 1 1 1

-5 - 7 7 4 0 00 7 74 --- 2 _)

62 29 309 41 43 6 70 745

72 6 _sect_d 10 106 16 l 70 --middot Totals 43 458 51 542 94 1000

9-12 42 3 52 0 oo 3 52

52 5 88 1 1 8 6 105

6 19 333 19 33 3 - 38 66 6 2

72 5 ~ 5 _Ll 10 1 l 6

middot_Totals 32 56 1 25 439 57 1000

J_

- 42 -

_middot

bull middot

-) _ spawning grounds of the upper Aniak Ri~er tributary to Kuskokw1m River

The age composition of this sample was 7 1 11 9 and 81 0 percent for the 42 52 and 62 age groups respectively The sex ratio of thi_~ sample was 27 males andl5 females

-Discussion Table 18 compares age compositions of commercially

caught king salmon sampled during the la st four- years A few fish Vere tentatively assigned to the 53 63 73 and 83~ag~ groups during 1964-1965

middot -These age groups have been included in the 42 5z 62 and 7 2 age groups respectively in Table 18 for comparative purpo_ses

middotThese comparisons indicated ~ery go~d sti~ival and production of 1960 brood year fish during the 1964-1967 period The Kuskokwim River king salmon runs have been above _average in magnitude during the last three years which is probably in part due to the strong return of 19 60 brood year fish - -

OTHER SPECIES - KTJSKOKWIM AND KJNEKTOK RIVERS

) As time allowed limited samples of red coho and cliummiddotsalmon were obtained from the Kuskokwim and Kanektok Rivers Age compositions of these samples are shown in Appendix Tables D and E middotmiddotmiddot

The Kanektok River empties into Kuskokwim Bay abcut 30 miles south of the Kuskokwim River mouth Salmon were taken by commerc~al fishermen operating in the Bay adjacent to the mouth of the Kanektok River A majority of the salmon captured in this area are thought to be of Kanektok River origin but a few Kuskokwim River salmon are probably intercepted here

bull YUKON RIVER KING sectLMON

Lower Yukon Catch Sam12le Table _19 shows th~ age composition by ~ex of 991 king salmon representing commercial catches and Department tagging

) middot

and test fishing site catches made vvith 8-12 inch mesh gill nets The Departshyment gill nts Vere operated in the same manner as commercial nets and therefore the sample was representative of the commercial catch made in the lower Yukon River (subdistrictol) The 62 age Class represented 731 percent ofthe sample followed by the 7 2 (13 2) 52 (10 03) and 13 (2 3) age groups The sample contained -19 2 and 50 8 percent males and females respectively

43 -

I

I -)

I I I I I bull

I )

1)

middotmiddot-middot

Table 18 Percent Age Composition of KuskokwimmiddotRiver Commercial King middotsalmon Catches 1964-19671 middot middot middot middot middotmiddot

4 2

Sz

62

1964

18

Percentages 1965 1966

r -~f 04

~

12 1

3 5 85 2

11 23

l oo

1

1967

05 bull

102

73 4

159

oo

Majority of catches taken with a12 inch mesh drift gill nets

middot - -

Table 19 Age Composition by Sex of Yukon River King Salmon Captured With 8-12 Inch Stretched Mesh Gill Nets During June 2-July 8 1967

Age Class

Combined srns-middot

r =~ ~- -

MALES No Percent

7 bull 7

72 72

335 338 ___

3 3

66 67

4 4

1 1

488 492

FEMALES No Percent

1 1

28 28

389 393

0 po

64 65

19 19

2 ~

503 508

-- --middot -middot-----------~

- 44

COMBINED SEXES No Percent

8 8

100 100

724 731

3 middot3

130 132

23 23

3 3

991 1000

__

J

J

As in previous years_ four and five-year old fish were c9mposed of a majority of males while the older age groups were composed of a near equal sex ratio or a slight majority of females middot

_ -middot_ In T~ble20 the sample is divided into three different sampling perio~s which show trenqs in age and sex composition during the season Considering all age classes males declined in abundance during the season For example

the first sampling period (June 1-11) containedmiddotmiddot53 percent males while the lastmiddot sampling period (June 22-July 8) contained only 44 percent males There were no distinct trends in changing age composition as the season progressed with the exception of a decline in themiddot abundance of the 5 2 age class middot

0 Appendix Table F presents the mean lengths by sex for each age class

The mean length for theentire sample sexes comb_ined was 85 0 centimetersmiddot Weight data is riot presented because the instrument scales used to take indishy

vidual weights were found to be inaccurate after the sampling program was underway

middot Othermiddotsamoles Table 21 presents age compositions of samples taken in krcationsmiddotupstream from the main commercial fishery Age data is shov-m for carcasses sampled in the Andreafsky Anvik and Teslin Rivers and fishwheel subsistence catches taken at Rampart

Although about 15 man days of effort was expended only 45 carc~sses were located and sampled during boat and foot surveys of the Andreafsky middotand Anvik Rivers Thls is probably due to small escapements and large numbers of bear which may selectively seek out king salmon carcasses

The Andreafsky-Anvik River samplemiddot differed from the Teslin River sample bullin being composed of greater percentages of 42 and 5 2 fish and smaller percentshyages of 62 and 7 2 fish The sex ratio in percentage ofmiddot males was 68 percent and 13 percent for the Andreafsky-Anvik River and Teslin River samples respectshyively The 62 age group was dominant in both samples

Egg retention was determined for 67 female Teslin River carcasses The nLunbers of eggs retained per carcass ranged from 0 to 100 andmiddot averaged 9 4 eggs

The Rampart sample was composed of 52 62 4 2 and 72 fish in order of abundance Prior studies by the Department have determined that fishwheels are selective to the smaller sized king salmon

Discussion Age compositions of Lower Yukon catches taken with 8-12 inch mesh nets have differed only slightly during the 1964-1967 period Vlith

45

) - )

61 - 11

612 - 21

622 - 78

TOTALS

300 1000

369 1000

322 1000

991 1000

COMBINED SEXES

o 13 3 I ~

1 4 12l

9 47

8 100

- 46 -

73 0 3 104 27 3 686 bull 5 154 14 bull 6

783 o 130 31 0

731 l ~ 132 23 3

l Samples tltken l27-811 ~g~ could not be assigned to 2 males and 2 females 2 Samples taken 831 91 910 age could not be assigned to 2 maks and 3

females Y Samples taken 713-14

-c47 - middot

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

_middot

bull middot

-) _ spawning grounds of the upper Aniak Ri~er tributary to Kuskokw1m River

The age composition of this sample was 7 1 11 9 and 81 0 percent for the 42 52 and 62 age groups respectively The sex ratio of thi_~ sample was 27 males andl5 females

-Discussion Table 18 compares age compositions of commercially

caught king salmon sampled during the la st four- years A few fish Vere tentatively assigned to the 53 63 73 and 83~ag~ groups during 1964-1965

middot -These age groups have been included in the 42 5z 62 and 7 2 age groups respectively in Table 18 for comparative purpo_ses

middotThese comparisons indicated ~ery go~d sti~ival and production of 1960 brood year fish during the 1964-1967 period The Kuskokwim River king salmon runs have been above _average in magnitude during the last three years which is probably in part due to the strong return of 19 60 brood year fish - -

OTHER SPECIES - KTJSKOKWIM AND KJNEKTOK RIVERS

) As time allowed limited samples of red coho and cliummiddotsalmon were obtained from the Kuskokwim and Kanektok Rivers Age compositions of these samples are shown in Appendix Tables D and E middotmiddotmiddot

The Kanektok River empties into Kuskokwim Bay abcut 30 miles south of the Kuskokwim River mouth Salmon were taken by commerc~al fishermen operating in the Bay adjacent to the mouth of the Kanektok River A majority of the salmon captured in this area are thought to be of Kanektok River origin but a few Kuskokwim River salmon are probably intercepted here

bull YUKON RIVER KING sectLMON

Lower Yukon Catch Sam12le Table _19 shows th~ age composition by ~ex of 991 king salmon representing commercial catches and Department tagging

) middot

and test fishing site catches made vvith 8-12 inch mesh gill nets The Departshyment gill nts Vere operated in the same manner as commercial nets and therefore the sample was representative of the commercial catch made in the lower Yukon River (subdistrictol) The 62 age Class represented 731 percent ofthe sample followed by the 7 2 (13 2) 52 (10 03) and 13 (2 3) age groups The sample contained -19 2 and 50 8 percent males and females respectively

43 -

I

I -)

I I I I I bull

I )

1)

middotmiddot-middot

Table 18 Percent Age Composition of KuskokwimmiddotRiver Commercial King middotsalmon Catches 1964-19671 middot middot middot middot middotmiddot

4 2

Sz

62

1964

18

Percentages 1965 1966

r -~f 04

~

12 1

3 5 85 2

11 23

l oo

1

1967

05 bull

102

73 4

159

oo

Majority of catches taken with a12 inch mesh drift gill nets

middot - -

Table 19 Age Composition by Sex of Yukon River King Salmon Captured With 8-12 Inch Stretched Mesh Gill Nets During June 2-July 8 1967

Age Class

Combined srns-middot

r =~ ~- -

MALES No Percent

7 bull 7

72 72

335 338 ___

3 3

66 67

4 4

1 1

488 492

FEMALES No Percent

1 1

28 28

389 393

0 po

64 65

19 19

2 ~

503 508

-- --middot -middot-----------~

- 44

COMBINED SEXES No Percent

8 8

100 100

724 731

3 middot3

130 132

23 23

3 3

991 1000

__

J

J

As in previous years_ four and five-year old fish were c9mposed of a majority of males while the older age groups were composed of a near equal sex ratio or a slight majority of females middot

_ -middot_ In T~ble20 the sample is divided into three different sampling perio~s which show trenqs in age and sex composition during the season Considering all age classes males declined in abundance during the season For example

the first sampling period (June 1-11) containedmiddotmiddot53 percent males while the lastmiddot sampling period (June 22-July 8) contained only 44 percent males There were no distinct trends in changing age composition as the season progressed with the exception of a decline in themiddot abundance of the 5 2 age class middot

0 Appendix Table F presents the mean lengths by sex for each age class

The mean length for theentire sample sexes comb_ined was 85 0 centimetersmiddot Weight data is riot presented because the instrument scales used to take indishy

vidual weights were found to be inaccurate after the sampling program was underway

middot Othermiddotsamoles Table 21 presents age compositions of samples taken in krcationsmiddotupstream from the main commercial fishery Age data is shov-m for carcasses sampled in the Andreafsky Anvik and Teslin Rivers and fishwheel subsistence catches taken at Rampart

Although about 15 man days of effort was expended only 45 carc~sses were located and sampled during boat and foot surveys of the Andreafsky middotand Anvik Rivers Thls is probably due to small escapements and large numbers of bear which may selectively seek out king salmon carcasses

The Andreafsky-Anvik River samplemiddot differed from the Teslin River sample bullin being composed of greater percentages of 42 and 5 2 fish and smaller percentshyages of 62 and 7 2 fish The sex ratio in percentage ofmiddot males was 68 percent and 13 percent for the Andreafsky-Anvik River and Teslin River samples respectshyively The 62 age group was dominant in both samples

Egg retention was determined for 67 female Teslin River carcasses The nLunbers of eggs retained per carcass ranged from 0 to 100 andmiddot averaged 9 4 eggs

The Rampart sample was composed of 52 62 4 2 and 72 fish in order of abundance Prior studies by the Department have determined that fishwheels are selective to the smaller sized king salmon

Discussion Age compositions of Lower Yukon catches taken with 8-12 inch mesh nets have differed only slightly during the 1964-1967 period Vlith

45

) - )

61 - 11

612 - 21

622 - 78

TOTALS

300 1000

369 1000

322 1000

991 1000

COMBINED SEXES

o 13 3 I ~

1 4 12l

9 47

8 100

- 46 -

73 0 3 104 27 3 686 bull 5 154 14 bull 6

783 o 130 31 0

731 l ~ 132 23 3

l Samples tltken l27-811 ~g~ could not be assigned to 2 males and 2 females 2 Samples taken 831 91 910 age could not be assigned to 2 maks and 3

females Y Samples taken 713-14

-c47 - middot

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

I

I -)

I I I I I bull

I )

1)

middotmiddot-middot

Table 18 Percent Age Composition of KuskokwimmiddotRiver Commercial King middotsalmon Catches 1964-19671 middot middot middot middot middotmiddot

4 2

Sz

62

1964

18

Percentages 1965 1966

r -~f 04

~

12 1

3 5 85 2

11 23

l oo

1

1967

05 bull

102

73 4

159

oo

Majority of catches taken with a12 inch mesh drift gill nets

middot - -

Table 19 Age Composition by Sex of Yukon River King Salmon Captured With 8-12 Inch Stretched Mesh Gill Nets During June 2-July 8 1967

Age Class

Combined srns-middot

r =~ ~- -

MALES No Percent

7 bull 7

72 72

335 338 ___

3 3

66 67

4 4

1 1

488 492

FEMALES No Percent

1 1

28 28

389 393

0 po

64 65

19 19

2 ~

503 508

-- --middot -middot-----------~

- 44

COMBINED SEXES No Percent

8 8

100 100

724 731

3 middot3

130 132

23 23

3 3

991 1000

__

J

J

As in previous years_ four and five-year old fish were c9mposed of a majority of males while the older age groups were composed of a near equal sex ratio or a slight majority of females middot

_ -middot_ In T~ble20 the sample is divided into three different sampling perio~s which show trenqs in age and sex composition during the season Considering all age classes males declined in abundance during the season For example

the first sampling period (June 1-11) containedmiddotmiddot53 percent males while the lastmiddot sampling period (June 22-July 8) contained only 44 percent males There were no distinct trends in changing age composition as the season progressed with the exception of a decline in themiddot abundance of the 5 2 age class middot

0 Appendix Table F presents the mean lengths by sex for each age class

The mean length for theentire sample sexes comb_ined was 85 0 centimetersmiddot Weight data is riot presented because the instrument scales used to take indishy

vidual weights were found to be inaccurate after the sampling program was underway

middot Othermiddotsamoles Table 21 presents age compositions of samples taken in krcationsmiddotupstream from the main commercial fishery Age data is shov-m for carcasses sampled in the Andreafsky Anvik and Teslin Rivers and fishwheel subsistence catches taken at Rampart

Although about 15 man days of effort was expended only 45 carc~sses were located and sampled during boat and foot surveys of the Andreafsky middotand Anvik Rivers Thls is probably due to small escapements and large numbers of bear which may selectively seek out king salmon carcasses

The Andreafsky-Anvik River samplemiddot differed from the Teslin River sample bullin being composed of greater percentages of 42 and 5 2 fish and smaller percentshyages of 62 and 7 2 fish The sex ratio in percentage ofmiddot males was 68 percent and 13 percent for the Andreafsky-Anvik River and Teslin River samples respectshyively The 62 age group was dominant in both samples

Egg retention was determined for 67 female Teslin River carcasses The nLunbers of eggs retained per carcass ranged from 0 to 100 andmiddot averaged 9 4 eggs

The Rampart sample was composed of 52 62 4 2 and 72 fish in order of abundance Prior studies by the Department have determined that fishwheels are selective to the smaller sized king salmon

Discussion Age compositions of Lower Yukon catches taken with 8-12 inch mesh nets have differed only slightly during the 1964-1967 period Vlith

45

) - )

61 - 11

612 - 21

622 - 78

TOTALS

300 1000

369 1000

322 1000

991 1000

COMBINED SEXES

o 13 3 I ~

1 4 12l

9 47

8 100

- 46 -

73 0 3 104 27 3 686 bull 5 154 14 bull 6

783 o 130 31 0

731 l ~ 132 23 3

l Samples tltken l27-811 ~g~ could not be assigned to 2 males and 2 females 2 Samples taken 831 91 910 age could not be assigned to 2 maks and 3

females Y Samples taken 713-14

-c47 - middot

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

J

J

As in previous years_ four and five-year old fish were c9mposed of a majority of males while the older age groups were composed of a near equal sex ratio or a slight majority of females middot

_ -middot_ In T~ble20 the sample is divided into three different sampling perio~s which show trenqs in age and sex composition during the season Considering all age classes males declined in abundance during the season For example

the first sampling period (June 1-11) containedmiddotmiddot53 percent males while the lastmiddot sampling period (June 22-July 8) contained only 44 percent males There were no distinct trends in changing age composition as the season progressed with the exception of a decline in themiddot abundance of the 5 2 age class middot

0 Appendix Table F presents the mean lengths by sex for each age class

The mean length for theentire sample sexes comb_ined was 85 0 centimetersmiddot Weight data is riot presented because the instrument scales used to take indishy

vidual weights were found to be inaccurate after the sampling program was underway

middot Othermiddotsamoles Table 21 presents age compositions of samples taken in krcationsmiddotupstream from the main commercial fishery Age data is shov-m for carcasses sampled in the Andreafsky Anvik and Teslin Rivers and fishwheel subsistence catches taken at Rampart

Although about 15 man days of effort was expended only 45 carc~sses were located and sampled during boat and foot surveys of the Andreafsky middotand Anvik Rivers Thls is probably due to small escapements and large numbers of bear which may selectively seek out king salmon carcasses

The Andreafsky-Anvik River samplemiddot differed from the Teslin River sample bullin being composed of greater percentages of 42 and 5 2 fish and smaller percentshyages of 62 and 7 2 fish The sex ratio in percentage ofmiddot males was 68 percent and 13 percent for the Andreafsky-Anvik River and Teslin River samples respectshyively The 62 age group was dominant in both samples

Egg retention was determined for 67 female Teslin River carcasses The nLunbers of eggs retained per carcass ranged from 0 to 100 andmiddot averaged 9 4 eggs

The Rampart sample was composed of 52 62 4 2 and 72 fish in order of abundance Prior studies by the Department have determined that fishwheels are selective to the smaller sized king salmon

Discussion Age compositions of Lower Yukon catches taken with 8-12 inch mesh nets have differed only slightly during the 1964-1967 period Vlith

45

) - )

61 - 11

612 - 21

622 - 78

TOTALS

300 1000

369 1000

322 1000

991 1000

COMBINED SEXES

o 13 3 I ~

1 4 12l

9 47

8 100

- 46 -

73 0 3 104 27 3 686 bull 5 154 14 bull 6

783 o 130 31 0

731 l ~ 132 23 3

l Samples tltken l27-811 ~g~ could not be assigned to 2 males and 2 females 2 Samples taken 831 91 910 age could not be assigned to 2 maks and 3

females Y Samples taken 713-14

-c47 - middot

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

) - )

61 - 11

612 - 21

622 - 78

TOTALS

300 1000

369 1000

322 1000

991 1000

COMBINED SEXES

o 13 3 I ~

1 4 12l

9 47

8 100

- 46 -

73 0 3 104 27 3 686 bull 5 154 14 bull 6

783 o 130 31 0

731 l ~ 132 23 3

l Samples tltken l27-811 ~g~ could not be assigned to 2 males and 2 females 2 Samples taken 831 91 910 age could not be assigned to 2 maks and 3

females Y Samples taken 713-14

-c47 - middot

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

l Samples tltken l27-811 ~g~ could not be assigned to 2 males and 2 females 2 Samples taken 831 91 910 age could not be assigned to 2 maks and 3

females Y Samples taken 713-14

-c47 - middot

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

1

l 1

middotJ

I

I l-

I

middot _)

1

only minor exceptions age composition of the 19 67 sample was similar to middotthat of past samples

Most of the 32 42 and 52 age Classes in the Yukon River run are composed of males Due to the selectivity of the commercial fishery for the larger kif1g salmon (62 und 72 age clusses) it vvas speculated that

middotspawning ground sex ratios ltvould be in favor of males The age composi-shymiddottionmiddot of the Andreafsky-AnviJ River sample seems to confirm this The Teslin River samp_le differed greatly in age composition which may be a result of

middotracial differ~nces between these stocks Until larger more representative samples can be obtained this cannot be accura te~y determined

LOfER YUKON RIVER CHUM SALMON

Table middot22 compares age sex and size compositions of chumsalmon

captured by 5-_l2 inch mesh and 8-12 inch mesl) gill riets These samples were taken from commercial catches tagging and test fishing catches in the lbwer Yukon River during June 6 to August 2 Itwas estimated that sampling occurred only during about one-half of the fall chum salmon run bull

bull ult A total 1 359 samples was qbtained and as in most previiJus years four-yea[ olds were the most abundant age group (75 2) followed by fiveshyyear olds (20 6) three-year olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3)

The d_ata shown inmiddot Table 22 indicated that the 8-12 inch mesh nets selected out five-year old males and the 5-12 inch mesh nets selected out three and four--year old females Nets of both mesh sizes were not alwa)s fished during the same middottime and so Table 23 compares samples taken ~rom gear (5-12 arid 8-12 inch mesh) fished during a similar period of time This comparison shows the same degree of selectivity _noted above

Although not shown In any table in this report definite changes in age and sex composition occurred as the season progressed The abundance of the five-year old age class and males in au age classes declfoed during the season The abundance of the three-year old age class and females in all age classes increased during the season For the last three years three-year olds have not a_ppeared in the samples until June 25-26

48 -

_

TfBIZ 22 middot A03 iilrrgt SIZB co-~csr2rc OP ~-iLCOl-i JVER C~U1i s~lJmiddotKli

ClPTU3D tmiddotr1-n GIJL lBTJ DUTiI~middotfG 19 67 (Saples ob~atreltl fron t~~t fi~r-ii ZLld cor=middot)rciz11- orgtcrzted net~)

1 middot 1 I Bz Imiddotesh 1 5~- 11 esh Y Conbinccl middotesl

AG3SEX CLicSS 21 ~j 21 ----------Jo----=-P-e-=-r-0_en-_-t-Jre~~-~--L fo Perc~rrt middot~ L middotio Pe-~nt middot~il Tnrec -Y~ Cr -0 ds

I-2les

Eiarales Both Sexes

0

2

bull o J 3

middot oo 16 2-1 569 16 l2 sG9

~----~~fmiddot ___ ~amp___2~5~--~---~~--~~~ 36 21 55l 00 oo middotso 67 558 52 39 557

middot~ -bull

Four-Ye~1-Clds

) __ __ middotmiddot -

gtIales 189 308 sss 33~6l --=F~e~i2les zo-~6~-~

Both Scmiddot~s~ 395 6~ 4

~-Ye2r-0l1S

Iales l2lf 202 F1nale s 88~--- it l

Both S=es 212 34-6

Sic-Yoar-Old

s

2 I-icles 3

--~Jl~Jc~-----~l----~ Botl1 Sa~e3 4 7

57t -

6l3 _58 2 600

6Z~o

~-middot 628

CotQ1_ne ct lpound 2

middotales 316 515 598

256 172 628

36 31 67

0 l l

308

--=F~e=~~les ____ ~22~7~middot---~8~5~~6~middot1~--~ 4~8 -Both Sc~cs 613 l~O o ~a 5 746

11 Sazple middotcollect-tl 6G - 7Smiddot y S~9le ccllact3d 613 - 82 21 Ic15t1 in ce11tirtc1~s fr on raiC-yc to ior1 Of

49

34-3 597 4tfS 327 593 4_f9 22 5 ~J8 42 5__lt_5 bull 7

84-~ 572 1023 75 _2 573

q 8 619 160 ll8 61t 1~middot2 583 ____ ]d9 88 bull8 ~ 90 Go5 middot 279 206 601

amiddot oo 3 2 eio

L_52_0 2 l 5J__o

2middot 550 5 3 612

413 59 8 624- 459 59S _5-8 1____55_ 735 sr~] 56l 1000 57 ~ 1--q n 1000 57Q

caudal lir

bullmiddot

middotJ

middot

Table 23 Age and Size Composition of Yu~on River Chum Salmon Captured with 8-12 and-5-12 Inch Mesh Gill Nets Operated During Similar Time Periods (622-72) 1967 i

AgeSAx Class

Three-Year--Olds Iviaes

-Females middot middot-

Both Sexes

Fo u1-YearOlds Males middot

Females

bull

8-12 inch mesh No Percent Mean Length

0 00 00

0 00 00

0 0Q 00

middot 80 3 4 8 60 8

--86 37 4

5-12 inch mesh No Percent Mean Length

0 00 00

2 14 525

2 14 525

31 221 503

79 565

~~o--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both Sexes

Five-Year-0 lds Males

Females

BothSexes

middot Six-Year-Olds

Males

F~males

Both Sexe~

Combined J1~1cs Males Feli1ales

Both S ex8 i

166 722

39 i69

24 10 5

63 2 7 4

0 00

1 04

1 04

119 51 7 11i 483

23_0 1000

587

629

58_ 0

598

Q o 590

590

61 5 570

593

c

middot ier1gth fro_rn 1nid-eyemiddotto for ~f caudal finmiddot

- 50 -

1

bull

llO 786

13 93

15 107

28 200

0 00

0 00

0

44 96

00

314 686

526

613

middot middot53 2

596

00

550

5-50

598 58 2

~~~~-~~~~

140 100 0 590

I

f )

I I (

I

l [

l _)

r _

_

middot

Discussion As shown in Table 24 age compositions of YL1kon Rive

chun1s have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period These differshyences are probably due to unusually good s mvival and return of certain _brood year fish For example it is apparent that the 1961 brood year stock experishyenced very good survival and these fish were unusually abundant during the 1964-1966 seaso11s Once r1Jn magnitudes can be ~etter determined age comparisons may be used in making run predictions

~

Tabie 24 percentage Age Composition of Lower Yukon River Chum Salmon -

1961-1967

bull ltgt

Age 19 51 l 1962l 1963l 1964y 196s 21 19663 1967 31middot

3 -

4

5

6 - - -

No in Sample

41 1 9

-75 j 69 3

206 288

00 00

middot9 7 915

-~

60 332

83 3 630

102 37

5 00

650 268

l Captured by fishwheel mostly summer chums

02 76

9 7 3 71 8

25 20 6

00 00

486 684

2 Captured by 5-12 and 8-12 gill nets mostly summerchums 3 Captured by 5-12 and 8-12 gill nets summer and fall chums

NORTON SOUND DISTRICT CHUM SAT_iVON

INTRODUCTION

39

752

206

3

1359

Samplingmiddot of Norton Sound District salmon in 19 67 for age sex and middot size composition data was restricted middotto catch samples collected at Moses Point ~--A total of 784 chums middot1as s~mpled fron1 t1e subsistence set gillnet fisi-1ery near

the mouth of the Kwinilk River (l-Ioses Point) and also from subsistence and test

-middotSJ -

)

_)

J middot

middotbeach seine catches taken in the Kwiniuk River Samples were collected periodically from June 21 to July 13 Due to the similarity o~ the Moses Point fishery and the Kwiniuk River to other fisheries and streams in Norton Sound age-sex and size data obtained from this study can generally be applied to the entire Norton Sound district

Age Sex Size Comoosition In 1967 four-year old chums (86l percent) were the dominant ege class followed bymiddotS-year olds (12 2 percent) 3-year olds (1 4 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent) Age and sex composhysition data by sampling period is presented in Table 25 It is interesting to note the similarity of the age cotnposition pattern for the years 1967 and 1965

middot 3-year olds 0 8 percent 4-yecgtr olds 89 8 percent 5-year olds 9 0 percent and 6-year olds 0 ~ 4 percent Comparative age and sex composition for the middotyears 1965-1967 ispresented in Table 26 In 1967 agemiddot Classes 3 and 4

increased as the season progressed v1hile 5-year olds decreased in abundance

During the sea son the proportion of males tended to decrease while females increased For the total season sample females (60 7 percent) outshynumbered malesmiddot (39 3 percent) The greater proportion of females in 1967 contrast with the morenumerous males observed ia 1965 and 1966 (see Table 2 6)

Size cornmiddotpositibn data of Moses Point chum salmon by sampling period middotis shown in Appendix Table G As the season progressed there was a tendency for the average size to decrease This change in the average size was mainly attributed to the proportion of males present and also to a decrease in the proshyportion of 5-year olds and a corresponding increase in 3 and 4-year olds For the entire 1967 season sample the mean Iength was 584 cm (mid-eye to fork of tail) and the mean weight was 7 3 lbs Mean lengths and weights of Moses Point chums for previous years are as follows 1965 (591 cm and 71 lbs) and 19 6 5 ( 5 7 3 cm and 7 8 lbs ) middot middot

bull middot middot Fecundity-of Chnm Salmon A total of 24 chum samiddotlrrion ovaries was col-lected for fecundity counts The middotfecundity of Moses Pointchums averaged 2817 eggs per female with a range froin 2093 to 3482 eggs In 1965 the fecundity of Moses Point chums averaged 2 931 eggs per fema1e (25 samples)

middotToo few chum salmon ovaries were collected in 19 6 6 to makemiddot similar comparisons

KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

middotCommercial Catch Sampling In 19 67 scmpling of the Kotze~Jue District

-52 ~

-middot - - - - - - - - - - -middot

l ~

G --- middot--

Table 25 Age and Sex Composition of S~ib-District Z-3 (Moses Point) Chu~ S~lmo~ Subsistence CatchmiddotSa(TIJ 1967

Age 3 Age LJ Age 5 Age 6

J)ate middotof Samples Sex No Percent Nomiddot Percent No Percentmiddot Nomiddot Percent No Percent

621 - 623 Males 81 43 5 0 67 middot 3 6 0 14 75 0 Females 105 565 0 83 446 22 1L8 Q

Combined middotseies 186 1000 0 150 806 36 193 0

627 - 71 Males 102 440 0 84 362 18 7 8 0 Females 130 560 3 13 middotmiddotus 496 11 47 1 04

Combined Sexes 232 1000 3 13 199 858 29 125 1 04

Ul

77 - 78 29 w Males 31 3Q4 0 284 2 20 omiddot Females 71 69 6 2 20 60 588 8 73 1 10

Combined Sexes 102 1000 2 20 89 872 10 98 1 10

bull 7lo - 713 Males middot~4 356 1 O 4 86 3 2 6 7 27 0

middot Females 170 ~44 5 19 l 51 572 14 53 0

Combined Sexes 264 1000 6 23 23 7 898 21 80 0

TOTAL Males 308 393 1 01 middot266 339 41middot 52 0 SAMPLE Femalesmiddot 476 60 7 10 13 409 522 55 70 2 03

Combined Sexes 784 1000 11 14 675 86 1 96 122 2 03

bull

bullmiddot

middot middot

middotTable 26 Age and Sex Composition of Moses Point (Sub-DistrictZ-3-Norton Sound District) of Chum Salmon 1965-1967 bull

Number cf Males Females lge Con1position - Percent Year Samples Percent Percent 3 4 5middot 6

1965 568 523 477 08 898 90 0 4

1966 ~79 549 451 73 65_ l 276

~i 1967 784 39 3 607 14 86-1 12 2 03

~

-

bull

bullbull

-middot

) - 54 -

bull

)

j )

l I I (

I I I

1

[ bull

-~

)

f I

Imiddot

r I

_)

chum salmon commerciaicatch vias considerably expanded over previous years A total of l 865 chums representing 6 3 percent of the catch was sampled periodically during the seasor from July 22 to August 26 middotcommershyciamiddotl fishing gear consisted of mainly 60 inch mesh (stretched measure) Results of the catch sampling program are discus sec _below

-Age Sex Size Composition of the Commercial Catch In 1967 the 4-year old age class was dominant (70 9 percent) followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds (7 6 percent) and 6-year olds (O 7 percent) six-year olds were present in the sample for the first time since 19 63 Dur-middot

bull ing the season there was a tendency for the proportion of 3-year olds to increase while the older age groups decreased in proportion In Table 27 age and sex composition by sampling period is shown Comparative age and sex composition data for the Kotzebue commercial catch during the years 1962-1967 is presented in Table 28

middot

In 19 67 as in other years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commerctal ca~ch sample exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percenti As the seasmiddotonmiddotprogressed there was a tendency for the proportion of males to decrease while females increased (Table 27) A similar sex ratio pattern was observed in 1965 and 1966 middot middot middot-

bull In Appendix Table H mean lengths mid-8ye to fork of tail) and mean weights of Kotzebue chum salmon by sampling period are presented The size of the fish by period was generaiiy related to the propotion of males in the sample Also the size of the fish was related to the timing of the Kobuk and Noatak River chum salmon run through the fishery The larger fish sampled during the last three periods can be attributed to the greater abundance of the larger Noatak River chums at this time

Overall the total 1967 sample chums averaged 614 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs In comparison the average size for Kotzebue chum

salmon for the years 1964 to 1966 are as follows 1964 (58 6 cm and 83 lbs) 1965 (595 cm and 90 lbs) and 1966 (614 cm and 101 lbs)

Noatak and Kobuk River Escapement Segtmoling Table 29 compares age sex and size compositions of 106 Noatak River and 59 SquirrelRiver (tributary to Kobuk River) chum salmmiddoton captured by beach seines on September 10 and August 25 respectively Compared to the Squirrel Rivmiddoter sample the Noa tak River sample was characte~izecl by a greater proportion of males (54 7) a greater proportion of 4year olds (68 6) and 5-year olds (28 4) and larger

sized fish Squirrel River chums were smaller than No=itak River chums in all age-sex groups The entire Noatak River sample ags and smiddotexes combined

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

middotJ

middot

Table 23 Age and Size Composition of Yu~on River Chum Salmon Captured with 8-12 and-5-12 Inch Mesh Gill Nets Operated During Similar Time Periods (622-72) 1967 i

AgeSAx Class

Three-Year--Olds Iviaes

-Females middot middot-

Both Sexes

Fo u1-YearOlds Males middot

Females

bull

8-12 inch mesh No Percent Mean Length

0 00 00

0 00 00

0 0Q 00

middot 80 3 4 8 60 8

--86 37 4

5-12 inch mesh No Percent Mean Length

0 00 00

2 14 525

2 14 525

31 221 503

79 565

~~o--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both Sexes

Five-Year-0 lds Males

Females

BothSexes

middot Six-Year-Olds

Males

F~males

Both Sexe~

Combined J1~1cs Males Feli1ales

Both S ex8 i

166 722

39 i69

24 10 5

63 2 7 4

0 00

1 04

1 04

119 51 7 11i 483

23_0 1000

587

629

58_ 0

598

Q o 590

590

61 5 570

593

c

middot ier1gth fro_rn 1nid-eyemiddotto for ~f caudal finmiddot

- 50 -

1

bull

llO 786

13 93

15 107

28 200

0 00

0 00

0

44 96

00

314 686

526

613

middot middot53 2

596

00

550

5-50

598 58 2

~~~~-~~~~

140 100 0 590

I

f )

I I (

I

l [

l _)

r _

_

middot

Discussion As shown in Table 24 age compositions of YL1kon Rive

chun1s have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period These differshyences are probably due to unusually good s mvival and return of certain _brood year fish For example it is apparent that the 1961 brood year stock experishyenced very good survival and these fish were unusually abundant during the 1964-1966 seaso11s Once r1Jn magnitudes can be ~etter determined age comparisons may be used in making run predictions

~

Tabie 24 percentage Age Composition of Lower Yukon River Chum Salmon -

1961-1967

bull ltgt

Age 19 51 l 1962l 1963l 1964y 196s 21 19663 1967 31middot

3 -

4

5

6 - - -

No in Sample

41 1 9

-75 j 69 3

206 288

00 00

middot9 7 915

-~

60 332

83 3 630

102 37

5 00

650 268

l Captured by fishwheel mostly summer chums

02 76

9 7 3 71 8

25 20 6

00 00

486 684

2 Captured by 5-12 and 8-12 gill nets mostly summerchums 3 Captured by 5-12 and 8-12 gill nets summer and fall chums

NORTON SOUND DISTRICT CHUM SAT_iVON

INTRODUCTION

39

752

206

3

1359

Samplingmiddot of Norton Sound District salmon in 19 67 for age sex and middot size composition data was restricted middotto catch samples collected at Moses Point ~--A total of 784 chums middot1as s~mpled fron1 t1e subsistence set gillnet fisi-1ery near

the mouth of the Kwinilk River (l-Ioses Point) and also from subsistence and test

-middotSJ -

)

_)

J middot

middotbeach seine catches taken in the Kwiniuk River Samples were collected periodically from June 21 to July 13 Due to the similarity o~ the Moses Point fishery and the Kwiniuk River to other fisheries and streams in Norton Sound age-sex and size data obtained from this study can generally be applied to the entire Norton Sound district

Age Sex Size Comoosition In 1967 four-year old chums (86l percent) were the dominant ege class followed bymiddotS-year olds (12 2 percent) 3-year olds (1 4 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent) Age and sex composhysition data by sampling period is presented in Table 25 It is interesting to note the similarity of the age cotnposition pattern for the years 1967 and 1965

middot 3-year olds 0 8 percent 4-yecgtr olds 89 8 percent 5-year olds 9 0 percent and 6-year olds 0 ~ 4 percent Comparative age and sex composition for the middotyears 1965-1967 ispresented in Table 26 In 1967 agemiddot Classes 3 and 4

increased as the season progressed v1hile 5-year olds decreased in abundance

During the sea son the proportion of males tended to decrease while females increased For the total season sample females (60 7 percent) outshynumbered malesmiddot (39 3 percent) The greater proportion of females in 1967 contrast with the morenumerous males observed ia 1965 and 1966 (see Table 2 6)

Size cornmiddotpositibn data of Moses Point chum salmon by sampling period middotis shown in Appendix Table G As the season progressed there was a tendency for the average size to decrease This change in the average size was mainly attributed to the proportion of males present and also to a decrease in the proshyportion of 5-year olds and a corresponding increase in 3 and 4-year olds For the entire 1967 season sample the mean Iength was 584 cm (mid-eye to fork of tail) and the mean weight was 7 3 lbs Mean lengths and weights of Moses Point chums for previous years are as follows 1965 (591 cm and 71 lbs) and 19 6 5 ( 5 7 3 cm and 7 8 lbs ) middot middot

bull middot middot Fecundity-of Chnm Salmon A total of 24 chum samiddotlrrion ovaries was col-lected for fecundity counts The middotfecundity of Moses Pointchums averaged 2817 eggs per female with a range froin 2093 to 3482 eggs In 1965 the fecundity of Moses Point chums averaged 2 931 eggs per fema1e (25 samples)

middotToo few chum salmon ovaries were collected in 19 6 6 to makemiddot similar comparisons

KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

middotCommercial Catch Sampling In 19 67 scmpling of the Kotze~Jue District

-52 ~

-middot - - - - - - - - - - -middot

l ~

G --- middot--

Table 25 Age and Sex Composition of S~ib-District Z-3 (Moses Point) Chu~ S~lmo~ Subsistence CatchmiddotSa(TIJ 1967

Age 3 Age LJ Age 5 Age 6

J)ate middotof Samples Sex No Percent Nomiddot Percent No Percentmiddot Nomiddot Percent No Percent

621 - 623 Males 81 43 5 0 67 middot 3 6 0 14 75 0 Females 105 565 0 83 446 22 1L8 Q

Combined middotseies 186 1000 0 150 806 36 193 0

627 - 71 Males 102 440 0 84 362 18 7 8 0 Females 130 560 3 13 middotmiddotus 496 11 47 1 04

Combined Sexes 232 1000 3 13 199 858 29 125 1 04

Ul

77 - 78 29 w Males 31 3Q4 0 284 2 20 omiddot Females 71 69 6 2 20 60 588 8 73 1 10

Combined Sexes 102 1000 2 20 89 872 10 98 1 10

bull 7lo - 713 Males middot~4 356 1 O 4 86 3 2 6 7 27 0

middot Females 170 ~44 5 19 l 51 572 14 53 0

Combined Sexes 264 1000 6 23 23 7 898 21 80 0

TOTAL Males 308 393 1 01 middot266 339 41middot 52 0 SAMPLE Femalesmiddot 476 60 7 10 13 409 522 55 70 2 03

Combined Sexes 784 1000 11 14 675 86 1 96 122 2 03

bull

bullmiddot

middot middot

middotTable 26 Age and Sex Composition of Moses Point (Sub-DistrictZ-3-Norton Sound District) of Chum Salmon 1965-1967 bull

Number cf Males Females lge Con1position - Percent Year Samples Percent Percent 3 4 5middot 6

1965 568 523 477 08 898 90 0 4

1966 ~79 549 451 73 65_ l 276

~i 1967 784 39 3 607 14 86-1 12 2 03

~

-

bull

bullbull

-middot

) - 54 -

bull

)

j )

l I I (

I I I

1

[ bull

-~

)

f I

Imiddot

r I

_)

chum salmon commerciaicatch vias considerably expanded over previous years A total of l 865 chums representing 6 3 percent of the catch was sampled periodically during the seasor from July 22 to August 26 middotcommershyciamiddotl fishing gear consisted of mainly 60 inch mesh (stretched measure) Results of the catch sampling program are discus sec _below

-Age Sex Size Composition of the Commercial Catch In 1967 the 4-year old age class was dominant (70 9 percent) followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds (7 6 percent) and 6-year olds (O 7 percent) six-year olds were present in the sample for the first time since 19 63 Dur-middot

bull ing the season there was a tendency for the proportion of 3-year olds to increase while the older age groups decreased in proportion In Table 27 age and sex composition by sampling period is shown Comparative age and sex composition data for the Kotzebue commercial catch during the years 1962-1967 is presented in Table 28

middot

In 19 67 as in other years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commerctal ca~ch sample exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percenti As the seasmiddotonmiddotprogressed there was a tendency for the proportion of males to decrease while females increased (Table 27) A similar sex ratio pattern was observed in 1965 and 1966 middot middot middot-

bull In Appendix Table H mean lengths mid-8ye to fork of tail) and mean weights of Kotzebue chum salmon by sampling period are presented The size of the fish by period was generaiiy related to the propotion of males in the sample Also the size of the fish was related to the timing of the Kobuk and Noatak River chum salmon run through the fishery The larger fish sampled during the last three periods can be attributed to the greater abundance of the larger Noatak River chums at this time

Overall the total 1967 sample chums averaged 614 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs In comparison the average size for Kotzebue chum

salmon for the years 1964 to 1966 are as follows 1964 (58 6 cm and 83 lbs) 1965 (595 cm and 90 lbs) and 1966 (614 cm and 101 lbs)

Noatak and Kobuk River Escapement Segtmoling Table 29 compares age sex and size compositions of 106 Noatak River and 59 SquirrelRiver (tributary to Kobuk River) chum salmmiddoton captured by beach seines on September 10 and August 25 respectively Compared to the Squirrel Rivmiddoter sample the Noa tak River sample was characte~izecl by a greater proportion of males (54 7) a greater proportion of 4year olds (68 6) and 5-year olds (28 4) and larger

sized fish Squirrel River chums were smaller than No=itak River chums in all age-sex groups The entire Noatak River sample ags and smiddotexes combined

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

I

f )

I I (

I

l [

l _)

r _

_

middot

Discussion As shown in Table 24 age compositions of YL1kon Rive

chun1s have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period These differshyences are probably due to unusually good s mvival and return of certain _brood year fish For example it is apparent that the 1961 brood year stock experishyenced very good survival and these fish were unusually abundant during the 1964-1966 seaso11s Once r1Jn magnitudes can be ~etter determined age comparisons may be used in making run predictions

~

Tabie 24 percentage Age Composition of Lower Yukon River Chum Salmon -

1961-1967

bull ltgt

Age 19 51 l 1962l 1963l 1964y 196s 21 19663 1967 31middot

3 -

4

5

6 - - -

No in Sample

41 1 9

-75 j 69 3

206 288

00 00

middot9 7 915

-~

60 332

83 3 630

102 37

5 00

650 268

l Captured by fishwheel mostly summer chums

02 76

9 7 3 71 8

25 20 6

00 00

486 684

2 Captured by 5-12 and 8-12 gill nets mostly summerchums 3 Captured by 5-12 and 8-12 gill nets summer and fall chums

NORTON SOUND DISTRICT CHUM SAT_iVON

INTRODUCTION

39

752

206

3

1359

Samplingmiddot of Norton Sound District salmon in 19 67 for age sex and middot size composition data was restricted middotto catch samples collected at Moses Point ~--A total of 784 chums middot1as s~mpled fron1 t1e subsistence set gillnet fisi-1ery near

the mouth of the Kwinilk River (l-Ioses Point) and also from subsistence and test

-middotSJ -

)

_)

J middot

middotbeach seine catches taken in the Kwiniuk River Samples were collected periodically from June 21 to July 13 Due to the similarity o~ the Moses Point fishery and the Kwiniuk River to other fisheries and streams in Norton Sound age-sex and size data obtained from this study can generally be applied to the entire Norton Sound district

Age Sex Size Comoosition In 1967 four-year old chums (86l percent) were the dominant ege class followed bymiddotS-year olds (12 2 percent) 3-year olds (1 4 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent) Age and sex composhysition data by sampling period is presented in Table 25 It is interesting to note the similarity of the age cotnposition pattern for the years 1967 and 1965

middot 3-year olds 0 8 percent 4-yecgtr olds 89 8 percent 5-year olds 9 0 percent and 6-year olds 0 ~ 4 percent Comparative age and sex composition for the middotyears 1965-1967 ispresented in Table 26 In 1967 agemiddot Classes 3 and 4

increased as the season progressed v1hile 5-year olds decreased in abundance

During the sea son the proportion of males tended to decrease while females increased For the total season sample females (60 7 percent) outshynumbered malesmiddot (39 3 percent) The greater proportion of females in 1967 contrast with the morenumerous males observed ia 1965 and 1966 (see Table 2 6)

Size cornmiddotpositibn data of Moses Point chum salmon by sampling period middotis shown in Appendix Table G As the season progressed there was a tendency for the average size to decrease This change in the average size was mainly attributed to the proportion of males present and also to a decrease in the proshyportion of 5-year olds and a corresponding increase in 3 and 4-year olds For the entire 1967 season sample the mean Iength was 584 cm (mid-eye to fork of tail) and the mean weight was 7 3 lbs Mean lengths and weights of Moses Point chums for previous years are as follows 1965 (591 cm and 71 lbs) and 19 6 5 ( 5 7 3 cm and 7 8 lbs ) middot middot

bull middot middot Fecundity-of Chnm Salmon A total of 24 chum samiddotlrrion ovaries was col-lected for fecundity counts The middotfecundity of Moses Pointchums averaged 2817 eggs per female with a range froin 2093 to 3482 eggs In 1965 the fecundity of Moses Point chums averaged 2 931 eggs per fema1e (25 samples)

middotToo few chum salmon ovaries were collected in 19 6 6 to makemiddot similar comparisons

KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

middotCommercial Catch Sampling In 19 67 scmpling of the Kotze~Jue District

-52 ~

-middot - - - - - - - - - - -middot

l ~

G --- middot--

Table 25 Age and Sex Composition of S~ib-District Z-3 (Moses Point) Chu~ S~lmo~ Subsistence CatchmiddotSa(TIJ 1967

Age 3 Age LJ Age 5 Age 6

J)ate middotof Samples Sex No Percent Nomiddot Percent No Percentmiddot Nomiddot Percent No Percent

621 - 623 Males 81 43 5 0 67 middot 3 6 0 14 75 0 Females 105 565 0 83 446 22 1L8 Q

Combined middotseies 186 1000 0 150 806 36 193 0

627 - 71 Males 102 440 0 84 362 18 7 8 0 Females 130 560 3 13 middotmiddotus 496 11 47 1 04

Combined Sexes 232 1000 3 13 199 858 29 125 1 04

Ul

77 - 78 29 w Males 31 3Q4 0 284 2 20 omiddot Females 71 69 6 2 20 60 588 8 73 1 10

Combined Sexes 102 1000 2 20 89 872 10 98 1 10

bull 7lo - 713 Males middot~4 356 1 O 4 86 3 2 6 7 27 0

middot Females 170 ~44 5 19 l 51 572 14 53 0

Combined Sexes 264 1000 6 23 23 7 898 21 80 0

TOTAL Males 308 393 1 01 middot266 339 41middot 52 0 SAMPLE Femalesmiddot 476 60 7 10 13 409 522 55 70 2 03

Combined Sexes 784 1000 11 14 675 86 1 96 122 2 03

bull

bullmiddot

middot middot

middotTable 26 Age and Sex Composition of Moses Point (Sub-DistrictZ-3-Norton Sound District) of Chum Salmon 1965-1967 bull

Number cf Males Females lge Con1position - Percent Year Samples Percent Percent 3 4 5middot 6

1965 568 523 477 08 898 90 0 4

1966 ~79 549 451 73 65_ l 276

~i 1967 784 39 3 607 14 86-1 12 2 03

~

-

bull

bullbull

-middot

) - 54 -

bull

)

j )

l I I (

I I I

1

[ bull

-~

)

f I

Imiddot

r I

_)

chum salmon commerciaicatch vias considerably expanded over previous years A total of l 865 chums representing 6 3 percent of the catch was sampled periodically during the seasor from July 22 to August 26 middotcommershyciamiddotl fishing gear consisted of mainly 60 inch mesh (stretched measure) Results of the catch sampling program are discus sec _below

-Age Sex Size Composition of the Commercial Catch In 1967 the 4-year old age class was dominant (70 9 percent) followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds (7 6 percent) and 6-year olds (O 7 percent) six-year olds were present in the sample for the first time since 19 63 Dur-middot

bull ing the season there was a tendency for the proportion of 3-year olds to increase while the older age groups decreased in proportion In Table 27 age and sex composition by sampling period is shown Comparative age and sex composition data for the Kotzebue commercial catch during the years 1962-1967 is presented in Table 28

middot

In 19 67 as in other years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commerctal ca~ch sample exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percenti As the seasmiddotonmiddotprogressed there was a tendency for the proportion of males to decrease while females increased (Table 27) A similar sex ratio pattern was observed in 1965 and 1966 middot middot middot-

bull In Appendix Table H mean lengths mid-8ye to fork of tail) and mean weights of Kotzebue chum salmon by sampling period are presented The size of the fish by period was generaiiy related to the propotion of males in the sample Also the size of the fish was related to the timing of the Kobuk and Noatak River chum salmon run through the fishery The larger fish sampled during the last three periods can be attributed to the greater abundance of the larger Noatak River chums at this time

Overall the total 1967 sample chums averaged 614 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs In comparison the average size for Kotzebue chum

salmon for the years 1964 to 1966 are as follows 1964 (58 6 cm and 83 lbs) 1965 (595 cm and 90 lbs) and 1966 (614 cm and 101 lbs)

Noatak and Kobuk River Escapement Segtmoling Table 29 compares age sex and size compositions of 106 Noatak River and 59 SquirrelRiver (tributary to Kobuk River) chum salmmiddoton captured by beach seines on September 10 and August 25 respectively Compared to the Squirrel Rivmiddoter sample the Noa tak River sample was characte~izecl by a greater proportion of males (54 7) a greater proportion of 4year olds (68 6) and 5-year olds (28 4) and larger

sized fish Squirrel River chums were smaller than No=itak River chums in all age-sex groups The entire Noatak River sample ags and smiddotexes combined

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

)

_)

J middot

middotbeach seine catches taken in the Kwiniuk River Samples were collected periodically from June 21 to July 13 Due to the similarity o~ the Moses Point fishery and the Kwiniuk River to other fisheries and streams in Norton Sound age-sex and size data obtained from this study can generally be applied to the entire Norton Sound district

Age Sex Size Comoosition In 1967 four-year old chums (86l percent) were the dominant ege class followed bymiddotS-year olds (12 2 percent) 3-year olds (1 4 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent) Age and sex composhysition data by sampling period is presented in Table 25 It is interesting to note the similarity of the age cotnposition pattern for the years 1967 and 1965

middot 3-year olds 0 8 percent 4-yecgtr olds 89 8 percent 5-year olds 9 0 percent and 6-year olds 0 ~ 4 percent Comparative age and sex composition for the middotyears 1965-1967 ispresented in Table 26 In 1967 agemiddot Classes 3 and 4

increased as the season progressed v1hile 5-year olds decreased in abundance

During the sea son the proportion of males tended to decrease while females increased For the total season sample females (60 7 percent) outshynumbered malesmiddot (39 3 percent) The greater proportion of females in 1967 contrast with the morenumerous males observed ia 1965 and 1966 (see Table 2 6)

Size cornmiddotpositibn data of Moses Point chum salmon by sampling period middotis shown in Appendix Table G As the season progressed there was a tendency for the average size to decrease This change in the average size was mainly attributed to the proportion of males present and also to a decrease in the proshyportion of 5-year olds and a corresponding increase in 3 and 4-year olds For the entire 1967 season sample the mean Iength was 584 cm (mid-eye to fork of tail) and the mean weight was 7 3 lbs Mean lengths and weights of Moses Point chums for previous years are as follows 1965 (591 cm and 71 lbs) and 19 6 5 ( 5 7 3 cm and 7 8 lbs ) middot middot

bull middot middot Fecundity-of Chnm Salmon A total of 24 chum samiddotlrrion ovaries was col-lected for fecundity counts The middotfecundity of Moses Pointchums averaged 2817 eggs per female with a range froin 2093 to 3482 eggs In 1965 the fecundity of Moses Point chums averaged 2 931 eggs per fema1e (25 samples)

middotToo few chum salmon ovaries were collected in 19 6 6 to makemiddot similar comparisons

KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

middotCommercial Catch Sampling In 19 67 scmpling of the Kotze~Jue District

-52 ~

-middot - - - - - - - - - - -middot

l ~

G --- middot--

Table 25 Age and Sex Composition of S~ib-District Z-3 (Moses Point) Chu~ S~lmo~ Subsistence CatchmiddotSa(TIJ 1967

Age 3 Age LJ Age 5 Age 6

J)ate middotof Samples Sex No Percent Nomiddot Percent No Percentmiddot Nomiddot Percent No Percent

621 - 623 Males 81 43 5 0 67 middot 3 6 0 14 75 0 Females 105 565 0 83 446 22 1L8 Q

Combined middotseies 186 1000 0 150 806 36 193 0

627 - 71 Males 102 440 0 84 362 18 7 8 0 Females 130 560 3 13 middotmiddotus 496 11 47 1 04

Combined Sexes 232 1000 3 13 199 858 29 125 1 04

Ul

77 - 78 29 w Males 31 3Q4 0 284 2 20 omiddot Females 71 69 6 2 20 60 588 8 73 1 10

Combined Sexes 102 1000 2 20 89 872 10 98 1 10

bull 7lo - 713 Males middot~4 356 1 O 4 86 3 2 6 7 27 0

middot Females 170 ~44 5 19 l 51 572 14 53 0

Combined Sexes 264 1000 6 23 23 7 898 21 80 0

TOTAL Males 308 393 1 01 middot266 339 41middot 52 0 SAMPLE Femalesmiddot 476 60 7 10 13 409 522 55 70 2 03

Combined Sexes 784 1000 11 14 675 86 1 96 122 2 03

bull

bullmiddot

middot middot

middotTable 26 Age and Sex Composition of Moses Point (Sub-DistrictZ-3-Norton Sound District) of Chum Salmon 1965-1967 bull

Number cf Males Females lge Con1position - Percent Year Samples Percent Percent 3 4 5middot 6

1965 568 523 477 08 898 90 0 4

1966 ~79 549 451 73 65_ l 276

~i 1967 784 39 3 607 14 86-1 12 2 03

~

-

bull

bullbull

-middot

) - 54 -

bull

)

j )

l I I (

I I I

1

[ bull

-~

)

f I

Imiddot

r I

_)

chum salmon commerciaicatch vias considerably expanded over previous years A total of l 865 chums representing 6 3 percent of the catch was sampled periodically during the seasor from July 22 to August 26 middotcommershyciamiddotl fishing gear consisted of mainly 60 inch mesh (stretched measure) Results of the catch sampling program are discus sec _below

-Age Sex Size Composition of the Commercial Catch In 1967 the 4-year old age class was dominant (70 9 percent) followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds (7 6 percent) and 6-year olds (O 7 percent) six-year olds were present in the sample for the first time since 19 63 Dur-middot

bull ing the season there was a tendency for the proportion of 3-year olds to increase while the older age groups decreased in proportion In Table 27 age and sex composition by sampling period is shown Comparative age and sex composition data for the Kotzebue commercial catch during the years 1962-1967 is presented in Table 28

middot

In 19 67 as in other years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commerctal ca~ch sample exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percenti As the seasmiddotonmiddotprogressed there was a tendency for the proportion of males to decrease while females increased (Table 27) A similar sex ratio pattern was observed in 1965 and 1966 middot middot middot-

bull In Appendix Table H mean lengths mid-8ye to fork of tail) and mean weights of Kotzebue chum salmon by sampling period are presented The size of the fish by period was generaiiy related to the propotion of males in the sample Also the size of the fish was related to the timing of the Kobuk and Noatak River chum salmon run through the fishery The larger fish sampled during the last three periods can be attributed to the greater abundance of the larger Noatak River chums at this time

Overall the total 1967 sample chums averaged 614 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs In comparison the average size for Kotzebue chum

salmon for the years 1964 to 1966 are as follows 1964 (58 6 cm and 83 lbs) 1965 (595 cm and 90 lbs) and 1966 (614 cm and 101 lbs)

Noatak and Kobuk River Escapement Segtmoling Table 29 compares age sex and size compositions of 106 Noatak River and 59 SquirrelRiver (tributary to Kobuk River) chum salmmiddoton captured by beach seines on September 10 and August 25 respectively Compared to the Squirrel Rivmiddoter sample the Noa tak River sample was characte~izecl by a greater proportion of males (54 7) a greater proportion of 4year olds (68 6) and 5-year olds (28 4) and larger

sized fish Squirrel River chums were smaller than No=itak River chums in all age-sex groups The entire Noatak River sample ags and smiddotexes combined

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

-middot - - - - - - - - - - -middot

l ~

G --- middot--

Table 25 Age and Sex Composition of S~ib-District Z-3 (Moses Point) Chu~ S~lmo~ Subsistence CatchmiddotSa(TIJ 1967

Age 3 Age LJ Age 5 Age 6

J)ate middotof Samples Sex No Percent Nomiddot Percent No Percentmiddot Nomiddot Percent No Percent

621 - 623 Males 81 43 5 0 67 middot 3 6 0 14 75 0 Females 105 565 0 83 446 22 1L8 Q

Combined middotseies 186 1000 0 150 806 36 193 0

627 - 71 Males 102 440 0 84 362 18 7 8 0 Females 130 560 3 13 middotmiddotus 496 11 47 1 04

Combined Sexes 232 1000 3 13 199 858 29 125 1 04

Ul

77 - 78 29 w Males 31 3Q4 0 284 2 20 omiddot Females 71 69 6 2 20 60 588 8 73 1 10

Combined Sexes 102 1000 2 20 89 872 10 98 1 10

bull 7lo - 713 Males middot~4 356 1 O 4 86 3 2 6 7 27 0

middot Females 170 ~44 5 19 l 51 572 14 53 0

Combined Sexes 264 1000 6 23 23 7 898 21 80 0

TOTAL Males 308 393 1 01 middot266 339 41middot 52 0 SAMPLE Femalesmiddot 476 60 7 10 13 409 522 55 70 2 03

Combined Sexes 784 1000 11 14 675 86 1 96 122 2 03

bull

bullmiddot

middot middot

middotTable 26 Age and Sex Composition of Moses Point (Sub-DistrictZ-3-Norton Sound District) of Chum Salmon 1965-1967 bull

Number cf Males Females lge Con1position - Percent Year Samples Percent Percent 3 4 5middot 6

1965 568 523 477 08 898 90 0 4

1966 ~79 549 451 73 65_ l 276

~i 1967 784 39 3 607 14 86-1 12 2 03

~

-

bull

bullbull

-middot

) - 54 -

bull

)

j )

l I I (

I I I

1

[ bull

-~

)

f I

Imiddot

r I

_)

chum salmon commerciaicatch vias considerably expanded over previous years A total of l 865 chums representing 6 3 percent of the catch was sampled periodically during the seasor from July 22 to August 26 middotcommershyciamiddotl fishing gear consisted of mainly 60 inch mesh (stretched measure) Results of the catch sampling program are discus sec _below

-Age Sex Size Composition of the Commercial Catch In 1967 the 4-year old age class was dominant (70 9 percent) followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds (7 6 percent) and 6-year olds (O 7 percent) six-year olds were present in the sample for the first time since 19 63 Dur-middot

bull ing the season there was a tendency for the proportion of 3-year olds to increase while the older age groups decreased in proportion In Table 27 age and sex composition by sampling period is shown Comparative age and sex composition data for the Kotzebue commercial catch during the years 1962-1967 is presented in Table 28

middot

In 19 67 as in other years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commerctal ca~ch sample exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percenti As the seasmiddotonmiddotprogressed there was a tendency for the proportion of males to decrease while females increased (Table 27) A similar sex ratio pattern was observed in 1965 and 1966 middot middot middot-

bull In Appendix Table H mean lengths mid-8ye to fork of tail) and mean weights of Kotzebue chum salmon by sampling period are presented The size of the fish by period was generaiiy related to the propotion of males in the sample Also the size of the fish was related to the timing of the Kobuk and Noatak River chum salmon run through the fishery The larger fish sampled during the last three periods can be attributed to the greater abundance of the larger Noatak River chums at this time

Overall the total 1967 sample chums averaged 614 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs In comparison the average size for Kotzebue chum

salmon for the years 1964 to 1966 are as follows 1964 (58 6 cm and 83 lbs) 1965 (595 cm and 90 lbs) and 1966 (614 cm and 101 lbs)

Noatak and Kobuk River Escapement Segtmoling Table 29 compares age sex and size compositions of 106 Noatak River and 59 SquirrelRiver (tributary to Kobuk River) chum salmmiddoton captured by beach seines on September 10 and August 25 respectively Compared to the Squirrel Rivmiddoter sample the Noa tak River sample was characte~izecl by a greater proportion of males (54 7) a greater proportion of 4year olds (68 6) and 5-year olds (28 4) and larger

sized fish Squirrel River chums were smaller than No=itak River chums in all age-sex groups The entire Noatak River sample ags and smiddotexes combined

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

middot middot

middotTable 26 Age and Sex Composition of Moses Point (Sub-DistrictZ-3-Norton Sound District) of Chum Salmon 1965-1967 bull

Number cf Males Females lge Con1position - Percent Year Samples Percent Percent 3 4 5middot 6

1965 568 523 477 08 898 90 0 4

1966 ~79 549 451 73 65_ l 276

~i 1967 784 39 3 607 14 86-1 12 2 03

~

-

bull

bullbull

-middot

) - 54 -

bull

)

j )

l I I (

I I I

1

[ bull

-~

)

f I

Imiddot

r I

_)

chum salmon commerciaicatch vias considerably expanded over previous years A total of l 865 chums representing 6 3 percent of the catch was sampled periodically during the seasor from July 22 to August 26 middotcommershyciamiddotl fishing gear consisted of mainly 60 inch mesh (stretched measure) Results of the catch sampling program are discus sec _below

-Age Sex Size Composition of the Commercial Catch In 1967 the 4-year old age class was dominant (70 9 percent) followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds (7 6 percent) and 6-year olds (O 7 percent) six-year olds were present in the sample for the first time since 19 63 Dur-middot

bull ing the season there was a tendency for the proportion of 3-year olds to increase while the older age groups decreased in proportion In Table 27 age and sex composition by sampling period is shown Comparative age and sex composition data for the Kotzebue commercial catch during the years 1962-1967 is presented in Table 28

middot

In 19 67 as in other years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commerctal ca~ch sample exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percenti As the seasmiddotonmiddotprogressed there was a tendency for the proportion of males to decrease while females increased (Table 27) A similar sex ratio pattern was observed in 1965 and 1966 middot middot middot-

bull In Appendix Table H mean lengths mid-8ye to fork of tail) and mean weights of Kotzebue chum salmon by sampling period are presented The size of the fish by period was generaiiy related to the propotion of males in the sample Also the size of the fish was related to the timing of the Kobuk and Noatak River chum salmon run through the fishery The larger fish sampled during the last three periods can be attributed to the greater abundance of the larger Noatak River chums at this time

Overall the total 1967 sample chums averaged 614 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs In comparison the average size for Kotzebue chum

salmon for the years 1964 to 1966 are as follows 1964 (58 6 cm and 83 lbs) 1965 (595 cm and 90 lbs) and 1966 (614 cm and 101 lbs)

Noatak and Kobuk River Escapement Segtmoling Table 29 compares age sex and size compositions of 106 Noatak River and 59 SquirrelRiver (tributary to Kobuk River) chum salmmiddoton captured by beach seines on September 10 and August 25 respectively Compared to the Squirrel Rivmiddoter sample the Noa tak River sample was characte~izecl by a greater proportion of males (54 7) a greater proportion of 4year olds (68 6) and 5-year olds (28 4) and larger

sized fish Squirrel River chums were smaller than No=itak River chums in all age-sex groups The entire Noatak River sample ags and smiddotexes combined

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

)

j )

l I I (

I I I

1

[ bull

-~

)

f I

Imiddot

r I

_)

chum salmon commerciaicatch vias considerably expanded over previous years A total of l 865 chums representing 6 3 percent of the catch was sampled periodically during the seasor from July 22 to August 26 middotcommershyciamiddotl fishing gear consisted of mainly 60 inch mesh (stretched measure) Results of the catch sampling program are discus sec _below

-Age Sex Size Composition of the Commercial Catch In 1967 the 4-year old age class was dominant (70 9 percent) followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds (7 6 percent) and 6-year olds (O 7 percent) six-year olds were present in the sample for the first time since 19 63 Dur-middot

bull ing the season there was a tendency for the proportion of 3-year olds to increase while the older age groups decreased in proportion In Table 27 age and sex composition by sampling period is shown Comparative age and sex composition data for the Kotzebue commercial catch during the years 1962-1967 is presented in Table 28

middot

In 19 67 as in other years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commerctal ca~ch sample exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percenti As the seasmiddotonmiddotprogressed there was a tendency for the proportion of males to decrease while females increased (Table 27) A similar sex ratio pattern was observed in 1965 and 1966 middot middot middot-

bull In Appendix Table H mean lengths mid-8ye to fork of tail) and mean weights of Kotzebue chum salmon by sampling period are presented The size of the fish by period was generaiiy related to the propotion of males in the sample Also the size of the fish was related to the timing of the Kobuk and Noatak River chum salmon run through the fishery The larger fish sampled during the last three periods can be attributed to the greater abundance of the larger Noatak River chums at this time

Overall the total 1967 sample chums averaged 614 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs In comparison the average size for Kotzebue chum

salmon for the years 1964 to 1966 are as follows 1964 (58 6 cm and 83 lbs) 1965 (595 cm and 90 lbs) and 1966 (614 cm and 101 lbs)

Noatak and Kobuk River Escapement Segtmoling Table 29 compares age sex and size compositions of 106 Noatak River and 59 SquirrelRiver (tributary to Kobuk River) chum salmmiddoton captured by beach seines on September 10 and August 25 respectively Compared to the Squirrel Rivmiddoter sample the Noa tak River sample was characte~izecl by a greater proportion of males (54 7) a greater proportion of 4year olds (68 6) and 5-year olds (28 4) and larger

sized fish Squirrel River chums were smaller than No=itak River chums in all age-sex groups The entire Noatak River sample ags and smiddotexes combined

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

I

Tab

le 2

7

Ag

e an

d S

ex C

om

po

siti

on

of

Ko

tzeb

ue

Dis

tric

t C

hu

m S

alm

on

C

om

mer

Cia

l C

atc

h S

amp

le

19 6

7

Age

3

Ag

e4

A

ge 5

A

ge 6

middot

Dat

e o

f S

a m

ole

s S

ex

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

nt

No

P

erce

7

22

-7

26

M

ale

s 7

3

45

9

2 1

3

47

2

9

6

22

13

8

2 1

F

em

ale

s 8

6

54

1

2

1 3

5

4

34

0

28

17

G

2 l

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

15

9

10

00

4

26

1

01

6

36

50

3

14

4

2

72

8 -

82

Male

s 1

30

3

78

8

23

93

2

70

29

84

middotO

Fem

ales

21

4

62

2 4

1 2

1

35

3

92

70

2

03

5

l

Co

mb

ined

Sex

es

34

4

10

00

12

3

5

22

8

66

2

99

28

7

5

1

84

-8

9

middotM

ale

s 1

25

3

92

1

4

44

93

2

92

1

8

56

0

Fem

ales

1

94

6

08

7

22

1

48

46

4

39

1

22

0

U1

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

31

9

10

00

21

6

6 2

41

7

56

5

7

17

8

0 O

l

81

1 -

81

7

Male

s 1

89

3

4 9

2

4

44

1

29

2

38

middot3

5

6

5 1

0

Fem

ales

3

53

6

51

1

5

28

2

67

4

9 3

71

13

1

0 C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

54

2

10

00

3

9

72

39

6

73

1

10

6

19

6

1 0

middot

82

0 -

82

6

middotmiddotM

ale

s

17

8

35

5

26

5

2

12

0

24

0

31

62

1

0

F

emal

es

32

3

64

5

39

7

8

238

47

5

44

8

8

2 0

C

om

bin

ed S

ex

es

501

10

00

65

1

3 0

3

58

7

1 5

75

1

50

3

0

TO

TA

L

Male

s 69

5 3

7 3

74

4

0

48

2

25

8

13

5

7

2

4

0

SA

MP

LE

F

emal

es

l1

70

6

27

67

3

6

84

2

45

l

252

13

5

9 0

C

om

bin

ed

1

865

10

00

14

1 7

6

13

24

7

09

3

87

2

07

13

0

~ S

ex

es

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

middot - - bullbullt

middotbull

_ bull middot bull I

Table 28 Age arid Sex Composition of Commercial Caught Cham Salmon Kotzebue District 1962-1967

Number of Sa moles

~=o--~~middot

69

255

463

480

430 f

middot

1865~

middot - -middot

Males Percent

261 middotmiddotmiddot

350

436

421

40 2

373

Females Perccnt

739

650

56 4

57 9

59 8

627

- 57 -

Age - Percent 3 4 5 6

87 62 3 275 15

326 474 188 1 2

557 425 18

27 923 50

86 65 8 256

76middotmiddot 709 207 07

-

middotmiddot

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

(11

OJ I

~

middotTab

le 2

9

middot

A

ge

C

lass

N

o

middot

N

3 0

0 I

A

4 42

T

A

middot5

1

6

K

R

TO

TA

L

58

K

2 1

0 13 3

1

4

u

Kmiddotmiddot

4 middot9

Rmiddotmiddot

5

1

bull

middotTO

TA

L

25

-

- -

--middot

bullbullbull

J

~-

--

-middot --

middot

middotmiddot~

Ag

e

Sex

an

d S

ize C

om

po

siti

on

of

Bea

ch S

ein

emiddot C

aug

ht middot

~~

t~k~nd

middotKob

qk Riv

e~ C

hum

sri

1mon

middot 1

96

7

MA

LE

S

FE

MA

LE

S

C

OM

BIN

ED

S

EX

ES

Mean

Mean

middot

Mean

M

ean

M

ean

middot

Len

gth

Weig

ht

A

ge

L

eng

th

Weig

ht

Age

L

eng

thmiddot

1

middotPerc

en

tmiddot middot

(cm

)

(lb

s )

C

lass

N

o

Per

cen

t (c

m)

(lb

s bull )

C

lass

No

P

erce

nt

(cm

)

3 3

28

5

7

8 6

8

3

3middot

28

5

78

39

6

66

3

12

0

4 31

2

92

6

22

8

6

4 73

6

88

6

45

middot]

middotmiddot

15

l

middot68

9

14

0

5 1

4

13

3

65

4

10

0

~ 30

8 4

6

72

l

54

7

67

0

12

6

TO

TA

L

48

45

3

62

8middot

8 9

T

OT

AL

10

6

10

00

6

51

l

1 7

4

05

2

8

2

0 n

1 1

7

40

5

2~ 7

5

27

6

9

3 22

3

73

52

1

5 5

3

36

6

10

52

3

1

53

6

10

middot 1

1 0

4

10

1

69

5

7

7

82

4

19

3

22

5

92

1

7

6

25

1

28

5

2 3

4

57

0

middot a4

5

3 5~1

58

8

4

24

5

56

8

4

TO

TA

Lmiddot

34

5

7

5

54

0

bull

65

T

OT

AL

59

1

00

0

5

4

7

-

Mid

ey

e t

o f

ork

of

ta 11

middotmiddot

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

ii

i )

I (

[

I

I

I

I

I

_ _)

I

I

I

I

J

]

1 J

]

~

middot middot ~ middotmiddot

~

averaged 651 centimeters in length and 109 pounds in weight compared to 54 7 centimeters and 7 3 pounds for the Squirrel River sample Carcass

middot sampling and gill net catch samples from additional tributaries of the Kobuk River also consisted of smaller sized fish but a lesser percentage of 3-year oids (Table 30) middot middot middot

middot A tag and recovery program conducted Gluring 19 66-6 7 has shown that themiddot peak of the Kobuk River chum salmon run passes through Kotzebue Sound earlier in the season when compared to the Noatak River runmiddot Differences in sizes noted above are probablyrelated to differences in the amount of ocean growth made during the current season of these two runs Larger more represhysentative samples of Noa tak and Kobuk River chum salmon are required befor~ it can be accurately determined if differences in age sex and size compositions represent racial characteristics

-

It is interesting to note the occurrence ofa 2-year old chummiddot salmon in the Kobuk River (Squirrel R) sample (Table 29) The specimen was a mature male J40 5 cm length 2 8 lbs weight) Two-year old chums are extremely rare and arso the chance for capture is very unlikely by use of conventional

middot

gill nets (5-12 inch to 6 inch mesh) A cursory search of some of the literature also indicated middotthat i-year old chumsmiddot are seldom found elsewhere middotTwo-year old middot middot chum salmon have been previously reported from Honshu Hokkaido and British dol umbia

SUMMARY

Kuskokwim River

middot 1 Age composition of 610 king salmon s~mpled from commercial catches was 73 4 percent 62 fish followed by the 7 2 (15 9)

52 (102) and 42 middot(5) age classes middot

2 Samples from Department test fishing and tagging gill nets indishycated that 5-12 inch mesh nets captured a preponderance of themiddot

middot 42 and s2 age groups ~ompared to the 8-12 and 9~12 inch mesh samples which exhibited similar age and sex compositions as that

middotof the commercial catch sample

3 middotmiddot Age compositions of commercialcatches during the 19 64-19 67 period indicate verf good survival and production of the 1960

middotbrood year of kuskokwim River king salmon

bull

- 59

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

middot-l

-

~ -

i

(_

__

_

)

middot

middotmiddot

middotmiddotmiddot

bull

C

3 8

14

5

middot55

4

Jj

3 4

73

5

34

3

1

2

21

B

54

8

A

R c

4 9

16

4

6

0

6 4

22

40

0

56middot

4 4

31

56

4

57

6

A

bull s

s

5 6

10

9

64

1middot

5 6bull

1

09

5

8 9

5

1

2

21

B

61

5

s

middot

)

A

TO

TA

L

23

41

8

59

7

TO

TA

L

3

2

58

2

56

5

T

OT

AL

55

1

00

o

57

9

M

bull

p r

E

I

s ll M

idey

e to

fo

rk o

f ~a

il

2

Wei

gh

ts n

ot

tak

en f

or

carc

ass

sam

ple

s

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

I

I bull

I )

r

1middot I

[ middotmiddot

r

I

I

__)

I

)

middot

middotbull

Yukon River

l Age composition of 991 king salmon which are believedmiddotto be representative of lower Yukon commercial catches was similar to that of the Kuskokwim River

middot-

middot 2 Males (all age classes) and the 52 age cl~ss declin~d in abundance asmiddot the season progressed ~ middot middot middot - middot -

Lower River

l ~ Andreafsky-Anvik River king almon carcass samples contained

middotmiddot middot fewer females and fewer salmon of the 6z and 7z age groups whemiddotn compared to the upriver Teslin River sample

2

3

- - ~ - - - bull middot gt __ ---

A total of 1 359 chum salmon was sarripled from commercialcatches middotandtagging - test fishing catches The four-year old age group was most abundant (7 5 2) followed by five-middotear olds 20 6) threeshyyear olds (3 9) and six-year olds (O 3) ~

The abundance of fiveyear olds and males I

in all age groups declined during the season

4 The 8~12 inch mesh gill nets selected 6ut five-year old middotchum salmon and 5-12 inch mesh gill nets selected out three and four-year old females

5 Age composition of Yukon River chum salmon have varied considerably during the 1961-1967 period Chum salmon of the 1961 brood year were very abundant in the 1964-1966 samples

Norton Sound middot l middotA total of 784 chum salmon were periodically sampled from subsistence

and test net catches at Moses Point in 1967

2 Age composition of the 1967 catch sample is as follows 4-year olds middot(86l percent) 5-year olds (122 percent) 3-year olds (14 percent) and 6-year olds (0 3 percent)

3 middotmiddotmiddotAs the season prog1essed the proportion of 3 and 4-year olds increased while 5-year olds decreased middot

middot

middot - _61 -middot

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

)

r

r

[

l I

I [ )

I I I

)

middot-middot

middot

bull

middot -middot

-

4 The proportion of females sampled was 60 7 percent middotThe proshyportion of males decreased as the season progressed while females increased middot

smiddot~ Inmiddot1967 Moses Point chums averaged 584 cm in length and bull e1middot--- l-- lV jLLcU I bull -J JJ1

bull middot-

~ _6 The fecundity of 24 samples of Moses Point chum salmon averaged

2817 eggs per female with a range_ of 2093 to 3482 eggs middot middot middot

middot Kotzebue

middot

1 -A totai of 1 865 chum salmon were sampled p~riodicaly from the middotKotzebue commercial catch in 19 67 middot

2 middotFour-year old chum salmon (70 9 percent) were the mostabundant middotage class followed by 5-year olds (20 7 percent) 3-year olds

( q percent) and 6~year olds (0 7 perce~t)

3 As noted in previous years the proportion of females (62 7 percent) in the commercial catch exceeded the proportion of males (3 7 3 percent)

middotmiddot 4 Iii 1967 the size of chum salmon in the commercial catch averaged

61 4 cm in length and weighed 9 3 lbs

S middotA sample of Jpproximately 450 fish was shown to provide reliable middot middot seasona1 estimates of sex composition and of the proportion of the

more abundant age classes

middot 6 Significant differences iri age sex and size composition between bull Noatak and Kobuk River chums was indicated by comparing escape~

meni samples from lioth systems bull

7 Anextremely rare two-year old chum salmon was found in the Kobuk River escapement sample

62 middot

middot-

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

l

I )

I [

[

[

middot

I [

[ J

I [

[ I

r

r

middot

~ ~

i

middot_ --

middot

APPENDIX

bull

- 74 -

-

-~

-

-

middotmiddot

-

-middot

middot

middotmiddot

middot ~ - middot

~

middot

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

l

l -) l l

I I I

bullj bull

llgc Class -I

1~12

2

6

72

Totals or

Mean

middot ~

middotmiddot

middot APPENDIX TABLE A AGE-LENGTH cmbullIPOSITION OF KUSKOK1IM RIVER COIlilERCIAL middotKING SALMON CATCHES

SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1957 1

- -

bull

middot middot -i-

middotLength in centimeters 2 Combined middotMales

Females Sexes middot-

Hean Iengtfi Range Mean length RanZe Hean lemrth 664 6J5- 69 2 - - 66 ~ l~

74middot1 53 3_ 845 778 685- 835 750

898 678-1052 888 7 5 8-1013 89 2

972 - 701-109J middot91 bull 0 70lf-1030 935 -

880 533-109~1 887 68 5-103 bull IJ 88lf ------

-

Number in Sample

Male Female

3 0

middot-47 15

200 248

39 58

-289 321

1 Majority of King Salmon captuied with 8-12 stretched mesh-drift gill nets

Y Mid-eye to fork of caudal fin -middot

middot

middot middot- _middot

- 75 - middot middot

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

bull J

t

j

i I

~

I [

_)

Age Class

41-2

52

62

72

Totals or

Ne an

bull

APPENDIX TABLE B middot AGE-WEIGHT COMPOSITION OF KUSKOKVIH

RIVER CDelHERCIAL KING SALMON CATCHES SAMPLED DURING JUNE 1-23 1967 1J

Weiczht in Pounds Combined Males Females - Sexes

Mean weLczht Rancze Mean weight Ranqe Mean weicrht

111 92-124 - - ill bull l

15 8 48--215 181 124-235 168

288 ll6-l~7 6 269 15 8-lfO 8 277

361 136-540 29 5 156-424 322 bull

-

275 48-5l~O 270 124-424 272

Number in Samo le

Male Female

3 0

47 15

200 2l~8

39 58

289 321

1 Majority of king salmon captured with 8-12 stretched meshshydrift gill nets

76 -

middot-middotmiddot middot

APPENDIX TADIE c LENGTH FREQUENCIES OF KUSKOKHM RIVER

KING SALMON CAPTURED BY DEPARTMENT TAGGING

) AND TEST FISHLNG NETS OF VARYING MESH SIZE 1967

___ Fork length Mesh Size Fork length Mesh Size in cm 5-12 8-l2n 9-12 in cm 5-12 8-12 9-12 11

35 1 87 7 5 4 36 1 88 lf 4- 11

89 4 7 3 90 bull 8 13 13

48 1 91 1 8 5 49 1 92 2 5 1 50 8 93 middot8 9 5 51 I 4 9 4 3 10 11 52 t 5 1 95 4 5 8 53 5 bull 1 95 2 8 7 54 ) 7 ~

97 5 9 7 55 11 1 98 5 2 11 56 3 1 99 2 5 8

57 9 1 100 7 middota 12 middot 58 5 ldl 1 2 - 5

59 j 102 3 5 50 t 12 1-- 103 2 5 51 2 104 middots 3

52 2 105 1 2 1 ) 53 5 105 2 3 2

5 - 2 l 107 - 1 1 55 l l 108 1 1 56 l 109

bull L L

J 57 1 - 110 1 58 111 1 59 112 70 5 4 113 1 --middotmiddot 71 4

-72 1 Totals 210 155 170 73 2 3 74 7 middotl 75 5 76 1 1 1 77 4 1 2 78 2 79 2 80 7 5 4 81 2 1 5 82 2 3 2 middot

83 3 4 84 4 l

_ 85 2 7 3 85 3 3 5

middot- ---

-77 middot

)

Species

Red Salmon

f bull

Coho Salmon

)

Chum Salmon

middot

APPENDIX TABLE D AGE COiYJPOSITIONS OF KUSKOKJIM

RIVER RED COHO AND CHUH SALNON CAPTURED WITH 5-12 MESH TEST AlD COMMERCIAL

GILL NETS 1957

Male Female middot Age No No middot -

4-2 a aa 2 4- 4-52 11 24- 5 15 33 4-53 2 4- 4- 5 11l 5middot 2 l 22 a aa 5 3 -2 111 3 -~

rotals 19 4-2 2 25 578

3 9 4- a 3 13 4-~ fil 518 -21 4-29 --middot middot Totals 125 558 iaa 4-4- 2

~-

31 2 25 a aa 4- 25 32 9 4-1 54- a 5-

l 5 65 3 _11

Totals 32 4-2~1 4-4- 579

-

- 78

middot~

Sexes No

2 25

7 1 ~-

4-5

12 214-

225

2 65

8

75

Combined

4- 4-579 155

22 2aa

iaaa

53 94- 7

iaaa

25 85 9 ia5

laaa

J

)

i Exact mesh size of gill nets not known but probably about 5-12 inch mesh

- -

79 -

Age Class

Combined ages

_

)

-middotmiddotmiddot

middot

APPENDIX TABLE F AGE-LENGTH COMPOSITION OF YUKON KING

SALMON CAPTURED WITH 8-12 STRETCHED MESH GILLNETS DURING JUNE 2 - July 8 1967

I

MEAN ORBIT LENGTHS IN CENfIMETERS

middot f

Males middot Females Combined Sexes Nrnnber Mean length Number Hean length Number Mean len

7 72 332

3 65

q l

q3q

bull

51J 6 73 9 86 _q 71- 0 9lf bull 6

81- 0

I

I I

900

589

-middot--

l 28

389 0

61J 19

l

502

bull

-middot --middot

middot

80 -

600 8 553 71J 5 100 71Jl 85l 721 857

0 3 71-0 89 2 129- 919 81-3 23 81J2 850 2 875

612 986 850

71

C 12laquoc12- u

L~tfgt

-n ~-

if J )

1

I I [ -

I [

r _

I

j J

J

I I J

I I i ) I

bull

bull ~middot

~ APPENDIX TABLE G

MEAN LENGTHS AND NEful WEIGHTS OF SUB-DISTRICT Z-3 (MOSES POINT) CHUM SALNON SUBSISTENCE CATCH SAMPLE 1967

middot ~middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent

Length Weight

Samples middotNumber Males (Cm-) (Lbs) middotbull

621 - 623 186 (lf3 5) 59 4 75

627 - 71 232 (lf4 0) 588 73

77 - 78 102 (30lf) 58l 68

710 713 264 (35 6) 575 71

Total Sample 784 (39 bull 3) 584 73

l Mideye to fork of tail l

bull

- 81 -

~middot ~-

~middot

~middotmiddot)

I I l middot ) j

L

middot middot

middot middot middot middot ~

middot

APPENDIX TABLE H middot MEAN LENGTHS AllD MEAN WEIGHTS OF KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

COMMERCIAL CATCH SAMPLE_ 1967 middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent Length- Weight middotSamples Number Males (Cm) (Lbs)

722 726 159 (4-59) 613 93

728 8 2 3 i+4- (378) 609 87

8 Lj - 8 9 319 (39 2) 618 95

811 - 817 54-2 (34- 9) 616 97

820 - 826 501 (35 5) 611 90 _ -

-

Total Sample 1865 (37 3) 61 4- 93

1 Mid-eye to fork of tail

middotmiddot-

-middot

middot bull

- middot

bull

- 82 -middot

middotmiddot

)

Species

Red Salmon

f bull

Coho Salmon

)

Chum Salmon

middot

APPENDIX TABLE D AGE COiYJPOSITIONS OF KUSKOKJIM

RIVER RED COHO AND CHUH SALNON CAPTURED WITH 5-12 MESH TEST AlD COMMERCIAL

GILL NETS 1957

Male Female middot Age No No middot -

4-2 a aa 2 4- 4-52 11 24- 5 15 33 4-53 2 4- 4- 5 11l 5middot 2 l 22 a aa 5 3 -2 111 3 -~

rotals 19 4-2 2 25 578

3 9 4- a 3 13 4-~ fil 518 -21 4-29 --middot middot Totals 125 558 iaa 4-4- 2

~-

31 2 25 a aa 4- 25 32 9 4-1 54- a 5-

l 5 65 3 _11

Totals 32 4-2~1 4-4- 579

-

- 78

middot~

Sexes No

2 25

7 1 ~-

4-5

12 214-

225

2 65

8

75

Combined

4- 4-579 155

22 2aa

iaaa

53 94- 7

iaaa

25 85 9 ia5

laaa

J

)

i Exact mesh size of gill nets not known but probably about 5-12 inch mesh

- -

79 -

Age Class

Combined ages

_

)

-middotmiddotmiddot

middot

APPENDIX TABLE F AGE-LENGTH COMPOSITION OF YUKON KING

SALMON CAPTURED WITH 8-12 STRETCHED MESH GILLNETS DURING JUNE 2 - July 8 1967

I

MEAN ORBIT LENGTHS IN CENfIMETERS

middot f

Males middot Females Combined Sexes Nrnnber Mean length Number Hean length Number Mean len

7 72 332

3 65

q l

q3q

bull

51J 6 73 9 86 _q 71- 0 9lf bull 6

81- 0

I

I I

900

589

-middot--

l 28

389 0

61J 19

l

502

bull

-middot --middot

middot

80 -

600 8 553 71J 5 100 71Jl 85l 721 857

0 3 71-0 89 2 129- 919 81-3 23 81J2 850 2 875

612 986 850

71

C 12laquoc12- u

L~tfgt

-n ~-

if J )

1

I I [ -

I [

r _

I

j J

J

I I J

I I i ) I

bull

bull ~middot

~ APPENDIX TABLE G

MEAN LENGTHS AND NEful WEIGHTS OF SUB-DISTRICT Z-3 (MOSES POINT) CHUM SALNON SUBSISTENCE CATCH SAMPLE 1967

middot ~middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent

Length Weight

Samples middotNumber Males (Cm-) (Lbs) middotbull

621 - 623 186 (lf3 5) 59 4 75

627 - 71 232 (lf4 0) 588 73

77 - 78 102 (30lf) 58l 68

710 713 264 (35 6) 575 71

Total Sample 784 (39 bull 3) 584 73

l Mideye to fork of tail l

bull

- 81 -

~middot ~-

~middot

~middotmiddot)

I I l middot ) j

L

middot middot

middot middot middot middot ~

middot

APPENDIX TABLE H middot MEAN LENGTHS AllD MEAN WEIGHTS OF KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

COMMERCIAL CATCH SAMPLE_ 1967 middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent Length- Weight middotSamples Number Males (Cm) (Lbs)

722 726 159 (4-59) 613 93

728 8 2 3 i+4- (378) 609 87

8 Lj - 8 9 319 (39 2) 618 95

811 - 817 54-2 (34- 9) 616 97

820 - 826 501 (35 5) 611 90 _ -

-

Total Sample 1865 (37 3) 61 4- 93

1 Mid-eye to fork of tail

middotmiddot-

-middot

middot bull

- middot

bull

- 82 -middot

middotmiddot

J

)

i Exact mesh size of gill nets not known but probably about 5-12 inch mesh

- -

79 -

Age Class

Combined ages

_

)

-middotmiddotmiddot

middot

APPENDIX TABLE F AGE-LENGTH COMPOSITION OF YUKON KING

SALMON CAPTURED WITH 8-12 STRETCHED MESH GILLNETS DURING JUNE 2 - July 8 1967

I

MEAN ORBIT LENGTHS IN CENfIMETERS

middot f

Males middot Females Combined Sexes Nrnnber Mean length Number Hean length Number Mean len

7 72 332

3 65

q l

q3q

bull

51J 6 73 9 86 _q 71- 0 9lf bull 6

81- 0

I

I I

900

589

-middot--

l 28

389 0

61J 19

l

502

bull

-middot --middot

middot

80 -

600 8 553 71J 5 100 71Jl 85l 721 857

0 3 71-0 89 2 129- 919 81-3 23 81J2 850 2 875

612 986 850

71

C 12laquoc12- u

L~tfgt

-n ~-

if J )

1

I I [ -

I [

r _

I

j J

J

I I J

I I i ) I

bull

bull ~middot

~ APPENDIX TABLE G

MEAN LENGTHS AND NEful WEIGHTS OF SUB-DISTRICT Z-3 (MOSES POINT) CHUM SALNON SUBSISTENCE CATCH SAMPLE 1967

middot ~middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent

Length Weight

Samples middotNumber Males (Cm-) (Lbs) middotbull

621 - 623 186 (lf3 5) 59 4 75

627 - 71 232 (lf4 0) 588 73

77 - 78 102 (30lf) 58l 68

710 713 264 (35 6) 575 71

Total Sample 784 (39 bull 3) 584 73

l Mideye to fork of tail l

bull

- 81 -

~middot ~-

~middot

~middotmiddot)

I I l middot ) j

L

middot middot

middot middot middot middot ~

middot

APPENDIX TABLE H middot MEAN LENGTHS AllD MEAN WEIGHTS OF KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

COMMERCIAL CATCH SAMPLE_ 1967 middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent Length- Weight middotSamples Number Males (Cm) (Lbs)

722 726 159 (4-59) 613 93

728 8 2 3 i+4- (378) 609 87

8 Lj - 8 9 319 (39 2) 618 95

811 - 817 54-2 (34- 9) 616 97

820 - 826 501 (35 5) 611 90 _ -

-

Total Sample 1865 (37 3) 61 4- 93

1 Mid-eye to fork of tail

middotmiddot-

-middot

middot bull

- middot

bull

- 82 -middot

middotmiddot

Age Class

Combined ages

_

)

-middotmiddotmiddot

middot

APPENDIX TABLE F AGE-LENGTH COMPOSITION OF YUKON KING

SALMON CAPTURED WITH 8-12 STRETCHED MESH GILLNETS DURING JUNE 2 - July 8 1967

I

MEAN ORBIT LENGTHS IN CENfIMETERS

middot f

Males middot Females Combined Sexes Nrnnber Mean length Number Hean length Number Mean len

7 72 332

3 65

q l

q3q

bull

51J 6 73 9 86 _q 71- 0 9lf bull 6

81- 0

I

I I

900

589

-middot--

l 28

389 0

61J 19

l

502

bull

-middot --middot

middot

80 -

600 8 553 71J 5 100 71Jl 85l 721 857

0 3 71-0 89 2 129- 919 81-3 23 81J2 850 2 875

612 986 850

71

C 12laquoc12- u

L~tfgt

-n ~-

if J )

1

I I [ -

I [

r _

I

j J

J

I I J

I I i ) I

bull

bull ~middot

~ APPENDIX TABLE G

MEAN LENGTHS AND NEful WEIGHTS OF SUB-DISTRICT Z-3 (MOSES POINT) CHUM SALNON SUBSISTENCE CATCH SAMPLE 1967

middot ~middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent

Length Weight

Samples middotNumber Males (Cm-) (Lbs) middotbull

621 - 623 186 (lf3 5) 59 4 75

627 - 71 232 (lf4 0) 588 73

77 - 78 102 (30lf) 58l 68

710 713 264 (35 6) 575 71

Total Sample 784 (39 bull 3) 584 73

l Mideye to fork of tail l

bull

- 81 -

~middot ~-

~middot

~middotmiddot)

I I l middot ) j

L

middot middot

middot middot middot middot ~

middot

APPENDIX TABLE H middot MEAN LENGTHS AllD MEAN WEIGHTS OF KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

COMMERCIAL CATCH SAMPLE_ 1967 middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent Length- Weight middotSamples Number Males (Cm) (Lbs)

722 726 159 (4-59) 613 93

728 8 2 3 i+4- (378) 609 87

8 Lj - 8 9 319 (39 2) 618 95

811 - 817 54-2 (34- 9) 616 97

820 - 826 501 (35 5) 611 90 _ -

-

Total Sample 1865 (37 3) 61 4- 93

1 Mid-eye to fork of tail

middotmiddot-

-middot

middot bull

- middot

bull

- 82 -middot

middotmiddot

-n ~-

if J )

1

I I [ -

I [

r _

I

j J

J

I I J

I I i ) I

bull

bull ~middot

~ APPENDIX TABLE G

MEAN LENGTHS AND NEful WEIGHTS OF SUB-DISTRICT Z-3 (MOSES POINT) CHUM SALNON SUBSISTENCE CATCH SAMPLE 1967

middot ~middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent

Length Weight

Samples middotNumber Males (Cm-) (Lbs) middotbull

621 - 623 186 (lf3 5) 59 4 75

627 - 71 232 (lf4 0) 588 73

77 - 78 102 (30lf) 58l 68

710 713 264 (35 6) 575 71

Total Sample 784 (39 bull 3) 584 73

l Mideye to fork of tail l

bull

- 81 -

~middot ~-

~middot

~middotmiddot)

I I l middot ) j

L

middot middot

middot middot middot middot ~

middot

APPENDIX TABLE H middot MEAN LENGTHS AllD MEAN WEIGHTS OF KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

COMMERCIAL CATCH SAMPLE_ 1967 middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent Length- Weight middotSamples Number Males (Cm) (Lbs)

722 726 159 (4-59) 613 93

728 8 2 3 i+4- (378) 609 87

8 Lj - 8 9 319 (39 2) 618 95

811 - 817 54-2 (34- 9) 616 97

820 - 826 501 (35 5) 611 90 _ -

-

Total Sample 1865 (37 3) 61 4- 93

1 Mid-eye to fork of tail

middotmiddot-

-middot

middot bull

- middot

bull

- 82 -middot

middotmiddot

~middot ~-

~middot

~middotmiddot)

I I l middot ) j

L

middot middot

middot middot middot middot ~

middot

APPENDIX TABLE H middot MEAN LENGTHS AllD MEAN WEIGHTS OF KOTZEBUE DISTRICT CHUM SALMON

COMMERCIAL CATCH SAMPLE_ 1967 middot

Mean 1 Mean Date of Percent Length- Weight middotSamples Number Males (Cm) (Lbs)

722 726 159 (4-59) 613 93

728 8 2 3 i+4- (378) 609 87

8 Lj - 8 9 319 (39 2) 618 95

811 - 817 54-2 (34- 9) 616 97

820 - 826 501 (35 5) 611 90 _ -

-

Total Sample 1865 (37 3) 61 4- 93

1 Mid-eye to fork of tail

middotmiddot-

-middot

middot bull

- middot

bull

- 82 -middot

middotmiddot