How do other states estimate abundance
How do other states estimate abundance
I am curious how states other than CA estimate abundance of salmon. California uses jack count and they have been so wrong quite often, in fact last year they overstated the estimated amount by more than 100%. There has to be a better way to get a clearer picture of how many salmon are to be expected in the season.
Re: How do other states estimate abundance
I think that Washington uses jack counts as well. I agree, there needs to be a better way that provides us with better data.
Re: How do other states estimate abundance
Actually, CA uses different models for each of the primary runs. The Sacramento fall run uses jacks and adults, the late fall and winter runs look at jacks and grilse, and the Klamath looks at the 3 year average of 3 and 4 year olds (its called a geometrical average). F&W was off by 25%, not 100% and considering the water conditions and weather presented by el nino that's pretty good. If you break it down by run, they were right on with winter run, pretty close on fall run, and lost 50% if the Klamath run and no one knows where they went. Speculation is someone's trawl or drift net.