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Prepared by FRASER RIVER ACTION PIAN, Fisbery Correct citation for this publication : Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 1995. Fraser River chinook salmon. Prep. by Fraser River Action Plan , Fishery Management Group. Vancouver, B.C. 24 p. CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................. ............................................ ...... ..... ..... ...... ..... ........................... 2 LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................... ........... .. ............................... 2 SUMMARy .................................. ............................................................ ....... .. ........................ 3 1.0 OVERVIEW ................................... ......................................................... ..... ...... .. ............. 5 2.0 LIFE HISTORY ..................................... .. .... ................................... .................. ... ............. 6 3.0 STOCK DESCRIPTION SUMMARY ............ .................................................... ... ........ ..8 3. 1 SPRING RUN FRASER RIVER CHINOOK STOCKS ... .. .... .......................... ... ..9 3.2 SUMMER RUN FRASER RIVER CHINOOK STOCKS ................................... 10 3.3 FALL RUN FRASER RIVER CHINOOK STOCKS .............. ............................ 11 4.0 HARVEST MANAGEMENT ... ... ..... ...... .. ...... ... .............................................. ... ... ..... ... 12 4.1 CURRENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGy ... ............................. .......... ............... 12 4.2 ALLOCATION ....... ... ............................................................. .............................. 12 International All ocation .......... .. ........................................... ... ........ ...................... 12 Domestic All ocation ... ......... ........................................................... .. ............. .. ..... 13 4.3 STOCK MONITORING .... ..... ........... ... .... .................................................... ..... ... 13 4.4 CHINOOK SALMON FISHERY MANAGEMENT AND CATCHES .............. 14 Northern and Central B.C. Fisheries ...................... ..... ... ...... ................................ 15 WCVI Troll Fishery ......................................... .. ........ .... ... .... .. ......... .............. ....... 15 Strait of Georgia Troll Fishery ................................... .... ....... ...... ................... ....... 15 Fraser River Net Fi sheries ......................................... ...... ....... .............................. 15 Marine Sport Fi shery .......... .......................................... ... ...... ... ........ .................... 15 In-River Sport Fishery .............. ........................................ .. ... ...... ..... .................... 16 Nati ve In-River Net Fishery ........................................ .... ............. ......................... 17 U.S. Fisheri es ................................................................. ......... ........ ...................... 17 Incidental Catches .. ................................... ..................... ... ... ... ... ............... ............ 17 6.0 ENHANCEMENT ......... ... ............. ....... ...... .................................................... ... ... ... ....... 18 7.0 ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCTION POTENTIAL FOR REBUILDING FRASER RIVER CHINOOK STOCKS ........................... ...... ........................................ 19 8.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................. ... ................ ....... ...... ........... 19 9.0 REFERENCES ...................... .................... ........................................................ ............. .20 1 LIST OF FIGURES I. Chinook salmon spawning areas in the Fraser River watershed ........... .. ... .. ..................... 5 2. Terminal catches of Fraser Ri ver chinook, 195 1 - 1991 .. ..................... ............................ 5 3. Escapement trends for (a) spring run, (b) sununer ru n and (c) fa ll run Fraser River chinook, 195 1 - 1993 ... ...................................................................................................... 6 4. Return timing of Fraser Ri ver chinook stocks, based on Albion test fishery catches, 1981 - 199 1 data ................................................................................................ .. ............... 8 5. Percent adu lt equivalent mortality distribution by fi shery of chinook salmon from the upper Fraser River (a) and Harrison River (b), 1985 - 1992 ................................ ........... .. 9 6. Terminal return, terminal catch and total escapement for the Fraser River chinook stocks, 1951 - 1991 .. ... ..... ................................................................................................ 13 7. Nati ve catches of Fraser River chinook, 195 1 - 199 1 .. ..... ..... ...... ..... ..... .. ....................... 17 8. Fraser River enhanced chinook (catch and escapement) 1982 - 1990 ............................ 18 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix I. Major characteristics of three life hi story patterns exhibited by Fraser Ri ve r chinook ....... ... ........ ... ..... ..... ....... ................... ..... ... ........................ 2 1 Appendix 2. Major characteristics of the spring, summer and fall run stocks of Fraser River chinook ................................................................................ .. .......22 Appendix 3. Selected streams in the Fraser watershed associated with the spring, summer and fa ll run return timing of Fraser River chinook .. .. ........................ 23 Appendix 4. Percent catch distribution for selected stocks from each of the spring, summer and fall run groups of Fraser River chinook, 1980 to 1988 data ....... 24 2 SUMMARY 1. The Fraser River is the largest chinook salmon producer in western North America. This chinook population is a major contributor to the ocean and river fisheries, and is heavi ly utilized by each of the commercial, Nati ve and sport fi shing sectors. 2. The Fraser chinook spawn throughout most of the Fraser Ri ver watershed, with the majority of stocks spawning above Hope, B.C.. Chinook adults return to the Fraser River (primaril y as 3, 4 and 5 year olds) from February to November. Two peaks of abundance are observed: mid-May to early August (mostly stocks spawning above Hope) and early September to mid-October (mostly the Harrison River stock). 3. The Fraser River chinook have three distinct life history patterns, based on the length of juvenile residency in freshwater: 1) the "Immediate" fry migrants travel directly to the estuary upon emergence; 2) the "Ocean-type" migrants rear in freshwater for 60 to 150 days before entering the ocean as smolts; and 3) the "Stream-type" mi grants rear in freshwater for approximately one year before entering the ocean as yearlings . The first migration pattern is exhibited mostly by the Harrison Ri ver chinook stock, the second pattern by many of the chinook stocks associated with the Shuswap Lake watershed, and the third pattern by many of the upper Fraser and North Thompson Ri ver chinook stocks. 4. The Fraser Ri ver chinook stocks are divided for management purposes, into three groups. Grouping is based on migration timing through the lower Fraser River: the spring or earl y run consists of stocks migrating before July 15 ; the summer run consists of stocks migrating between July 15 and August 31; and the fall ru n consists of stocks migrating during September and October. 5. The spring run stock group comprises the largest number of Fraser chinook stocks (mostly from the upper and middle Fraser River); the combined spawning escapement of the spring run stocks average approximately 12,000 adults (l95 1-1993). The summer run stock group (mostly the NOlth and South Thompson stocks) has an average spawning escapement of around 18,000 adults. The fall run stock group (mainly the Harrison stock, the largest chinook stock in Canada) has an average adult escapement of approximately 116,000 (1984-1993), with an escapement goal of 240,000 spawners. 6. In 1984, the Harrison River chinook stock was designated as a key indicator stock for evaluating the Fraser River chinook management actions. 7. Chinook fisheries in Canada and the U.S. are regulated by the Pacific Salmon Treaty through a series of catch ceilings. This complements the conservation measures previously adopted for the Fraser chinook which include time and area closures, and mesh-size restrictions. 8. The Fraser Ri ver chinook are harvested mainly in the marine fisheries from southeast Alaska to Washington; as well as in the terminal fi sheri es (commercial net, Native and sport) within the Fraser Ri ver system. 9. Due to the extensive range and number of mi xed-stock fisheries that harvest the Fraser chinook, this population cannot be managed on a stock-specific basis. 10. The marine catch estimates for Fraser River chinook are very rough due to the limited data. The marine catch distribution of Fraser chinook differs considerably among stocks. The early spring/summer run stocks are harvested mainly in Alaska and northern/central B.C.. The later fa ll run stocks are harvested mainly in southern B.C .. 3 11. The Fraser Ri ver chinook are harvested incidentall y in the commercial terminaJ fishery. The majority of the catch is taken during the sockeye fishery (July to September), with few chinook taken later during the pink and chum fi sheries (October and November). The terminal commerciaJ catches of