Hatchery Harvest

Discussion area for political and legal issues affecting Alaskan salmon fisheries.
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Ocean Harvester
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Hatchery Harvest

Post by Ocean Harvester »

I was thinking about the issue of Trollers not maximizing there harvests of Enhanced fish and wondered how a delayed release program would work for King Salmon. It has worked in other areas like Puget Sound. By delaying the release the fish seem to stay in the local area's and would offer winter trollers more opportunity to harvest those fish at the higher prices. I have studied the program in Puget Sound and there is some drawbacks. One being the cost of raising the fish goes up and two Puget Sound has been destroyed to the point that the feed isn't there enough to allow the fish to grow at the same rate as those that migrated out. When food is scarce they then tend to out migrate anyways. If Sitka Sound held enough feed it would be interesting if those fish would stay there in enough numbers to make it work and if they would grow at close to the same rate as those the left the area.

Just thought I would see what others think.
Salty
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Re: Hatchery Harvest

Post by Salty »

How long are you thinking of delaying the release? DIPAC has had good success with their late large chum release program, but that is only a few weeks. That program has not worked well here at Deep Inlet or over at Hidden Falls.
We have several different Chinook programs going on in the region including a very interesting program at Little Port Walter where they are comparing the 7 and 8 generation Chickaman River fish that they have with one generation Chickaman fish. Interesting differences between the hatchery and wild fish over time. I will see if I can find the link later today.
I understood that part of what they tried to do in Puget Sound was to raise those fish so they wouldn't migrate to British Columbia and Alaska. I understand it was a miserable failure in terms of survival and return on investment.
I have not been doing so much recently but I used to read quite a bit about the success, actually mostly failures, of our Chinook and Coho hatchery programs in the Northwest and Canada. It is clear to me that something is going on when we intervene in the natural spawning and rearing process of Chinook and Coho that adversely affects survival.
two meter troll
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Re: Hatchery Harvest

Post by two meter troll »

salty
is there any place to get salmon bycatch numbers for the whole salmon migration route?

something to me stinks about all this hatchery stuff. my logic brain says return on investment cant be a trackable number when the investment is in a chaotic system. (we let the fish go into the river, they go to the sea and swim around in a big loop and we count the returns). given a relative mortality and catch before the (estimate); is there any place in this where the mortality greatly exceeds the estimate? I have the feeling the we are going to have a hmmm thats interesting moment.
Ocean Harvester
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Re: Hatchery Harvest

Post by Ocean Harvester »

Salty,

I agree Hatcheries have been a complete failure in helping restore wild Salmon in the lower 48. The delayed release program was implamented to to provide year around sport harvest which isn't the case today with Chinook being closed in the summers most years. The Delayed Chinook are held a year longer then normal(15 Months at release) which I think is to long. Survival seems to be higher than normal because of greater size at release and the use of net pens in certain area's versus concrete ponds. Obviously the drawbacks are cost of holding fish for that longer period of time and in Puget Sound they are only fished in the winter when participation is way down from the summers. Cost wise in washington it doesn't seem to make sence because of a number of factors. It would be an interesting test up there to see if fish would stay local and if enough feed was there to support them. The biggest question is if it would boost up the hatchery component of the winter harvest enough to make it feasible. Just a thought.
mswkickdrum
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Re: Hatchery Harvest

Post by mswkickdrum »

Salmon bycatch

When I read the accompanying sidebar to this article, (which sadly isn't included in the online version of the article)
it talked about the reduction in abundance or pollock and mentioned that the pollock fleet also
caught 350,000 chinook as bycatch last year. That made my eyes pop out. Wasn't this last seasons'
allotment only 270,000 for fishermen actually allowed to be catching them?!?! yet their bycatch was
way beyond that?! Am I alone in thinking trawling might not be the best thing going on in the ocean?

Article in Seattle Weekley a few weeks ago:

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2008-11-19 ... sh-sticks/

The side bar part is not included, if someone needs I can scan it maybe.

MSW
Riversong
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Re: Chinook bycatch

Post by Riversong »

For everything you will ever want to know about Chinook Salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea Pollock fisher try this link:

http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustain ... is1208.pdf
chinook bycatch.png
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John Murray
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Re: Hatchery Harvest/salmon bycatch

Post by John Murray »

I was chosen to receive the 762 page Bering Sea Chinook Bycatch----DEIS/RIR/and lastly theINITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.The due date for comments is Feb.3 2009.Its aamazingly large and comprehensive.I'm glad folks care so much chinook,there's certainly something in there about the other salmon species which trawlers drag up.
Anyway, anyone out there know of anyone in the know on these issues?I already have a pile in the corner I'm chipping away on,but I'd like to write comments to bring down the bycatch.
The preferred alternative allows somewhere between32k and68k bycatch. I hope to see a vessel cap on bycatch.When one's vessel meets their bycatch limit they quit fishing .I heard the BC trawl fleet has that and it cut the bycatch ALOT.
two meter troll
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Re: Hatchery Harvest

Post by two meter troll »

at first blush what i see is they need to go back offshore. looks to me like the trawlers are running in to where the salmon move more and more. the other thing is the per vessel size and number of vessels.

are the pollock folks selling to pacific pride?

that is 800 pages. for most folks it is to much info to absorb before feb 3rd.

I would assume the folks commenting on this for the big guys will be doing specific section defence. any of you know any of the folks who will be arguing for the trawlers and what section they will be arguing?

the other fisheries need to coordinate specific rebuttals to each of these sections and offer some alternatives.
most of the fight will be with the processors due to the amount of money. i would not rule out the state and federal folks sticking there fingers in to this.
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