akfish
2013-10-11 17:43:41
Interesting article in the Pacific Fishing's newswraper today! Stating basicly that output of pinks and chums could be killing off King Salmon while young?
fveureka
2013-10-12 02:59:49
After catching 80 chums(#5 brass emeralds) during the July king opener I am believer, way to many pinks and chums being pumped out and to close to rearing rivers and streams.
Salty
2013-10-12 04:53:26
Personally, I wouldn't worry about hatchery chums and pinks out competing or eating king salmon smolts. What might be a concern is the amount of small king salmon killed in intensive fisheries on the returning pink and chum abundance in the straits. In SE the strait fisheries are managed primarily on wild abundance, or hatchery king % in the spring troll fishery, so additional hatchery pinks and chum would not add more time.
My thinking is that pink and chum abundance, both wild and hatchery, are probably good for both king and coho populations. But I will bring it up with the NSRAA manager.
What I do see is those coho full of out migrating chum and pinks.
Trnaround
2013-10-12 13:56:39
I agree with Salty, especially noted the amount of smolt this year in the bellies of the Coho. Maybe less feed and more outgoing smolt? I think one of the problems with ratios of species is that it is so expensive to rear Chinook that the efforts are going to raising the more cost effective fish. Kings are getting left behind.
Salty
2013-10-12 14:25:39
As many of you know I have been involved with the SE hatchery programs since I went to school at Sheldon Jackson in 1976 with plans to start my own non-profit hatchery. I ended up helping start NSRAA and then going trolling. I have been interested and involved with the SE hatchery program ever since.
The problem with kings, in spite of tens of millions of investment in Alaska, and hundreds of millions in US and Canada, is that they have not responded well over time to hatchery rearing. Hatchery scientists continue to work on doing better and incremental progress has been made. But, if king hatcheries worked as hoped we would have no shortage of kings.
My personal thinking is that for some reason the hatchery broodstocks decline in fitness over time. That freshening the brood with wild stocks helps for some reason. Some hatcheries in the south 48 are experimenting with this.
Off to go catch some. Didn't get fishing till about noon yesterday. Hope they bite today.
akfish
2013-10-12 16:15:44
Salty after you talk to your people at the NSRAA I would like to hear their response. The person who wrote the article had to have gotten the info somewhere so would be interesting to find out where?