NORTH ALASKA PENINSULA COMMERCIAL SALMON ANNUAL MANAGEMENT REPORT, 1996 By Robert L. Murphy Arnold R. Shaul and Robert S. Berceli Regional Information Report1 No. 4K97-25 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commercial Fisheries Management and Development Division 211 Mission Road Kodiak, Alaska 99615 March 1997 1 The Regional Information Report Series was established in 1987 to provide an information access system for all unpublished division reports. These reports frequently serve diverse ad hoc informational purposes or archive basic uninterpreted data. To accommodate timely reporting of recently collected information, reports in this series undergo only limited internal review and may contain preliminary data; this information may be subsequently finalized and published in the formal literature. Consequently, these reports should not be cited without prior approval of the author or the Commercial Fisheries Management and Development Division. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank the management and research staff that worked on the North Alaska Peninsula during 1996. The following employees worked at projects on the North Peninsula: Dan Connolly, Steve Krueger at Nelson River, Tracy McKinion and Meesha Mangiaracina at Port Moller, Tim Clark and Lee Walters at Bear Lake, Judy Brandt and Matt Batalden at Sandy River, and Mark Witteveen and Ty Swanson at Ilnik River. Other field employees assisted for short periods and then worked on South Peninsula projects. Their names are listed in the acknowledgments of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands commercial salmon fishery summary report. The authors wish to give thanks to all those that contributed countless hours to the success of the projects. Thanks is also extended to Lucinda Neel for her publication expertise, Joanne Shaker for statistical runs, and Wayne Donaldson and Pete Probasco for supervisory direction. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................... i LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................... iii INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 1 HARVEST BY SPECIES................................................................................................................. 2 Chinook Salmon ...................................................................................................................... 2 Sockeye Salmon ...................................................................................................................... 2 Pink Salmon............................................................................................................................. 3 Chum Salmon .......................................................................................................................... 3 Coho Salmon ........................................................................................................................... 3 ALASKA PENINSULA AND BRISTOL BAY SALMON OVERLAP AREA .......................... 3 ESCAPEMENT BY SPECIES......................................................................................................... 4 Chinook Salmon ...................................................................................................................... 4 Sockeye Salmon ...................................................................................................................... 4 Pink Salmon............................................................................................................................. 5 Chum Salmon .......................................................................................................................... 5 Coho Salmon ........................................................................................................................... 5 COMMERCIAL SALMON FISHERY SUMMARY, 1996 .......................................................... 5 Nelson Lagoon Section ........................................................................................................... 5 Bear River and Three Hills Section ........................................................................................ 5 Ilnik Section............................................................................................................................. 6 EMERGENCY ORDERS................................................................................................................. 7 LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................... 8 TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ 9 FIGURES........................................................................................................................................... 113 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. North Peninsula salmon runs by species, 1962-1996........................................................... 9 2. North Peninsula salmon harvest by species, week, and section, all gear combined, 1996................................................................................................................ 13 3. Northern District chinook salmon runs, 1962-1996............................................................. 19 4. North Peninsula salmon harvest, in number of fish, by district, statistical area, and section, 1996 ............................................................................................................. 22 5. Urilia Bay Section salmon harvest by species and day, 1996 ............................................. 24 6. Northwestern District sockeye salmon runs, 1962-1996 ..................................................... 25 7. Nelson Lagoon Section salmon harvest by species and day, 1996 ..................................... 29 8. Bear River Section salmon harvest by species and day, 1996............................................. 31 9. Northern District sockeye salmon runs, 1962-1996............................................................. 33 10. Three Hills Section salmon harvest by species and day, 1996 ............................................ 37 11. Ilnik Section salmon harvest by species and day, 1996....................................................... 39 12. Port Moller Bight, Bear River, Three Hills, and Ilnik Sections combined salmon harvest by species and day, 1996 ....................................................................... 41 13. North Peninsula salmon harvest by species and day, 1996 ................................................. 43 14. Northwestern District pink salmon runs, 1962-1996 ........................................................... 46 15. Northern District chum salmon runs, 1962-1996................................................................. 50 16. Northwestern District chum salmon runs, 1962-1996 ......................................................... 53 17. North Peninsula coho salmon catches by district and section, 1986-1996 ......................... 57 18. Salmon escapement survey counts in the North Peninsula, 1996 ....................................... 58 19. Chinook, pink, and chum salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Nelson River weir, 1996.............................................................................. 75 i LIST OF TABLES (Cont.) Table Page 20. Chinook, pink, and chum salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Bear River weir, 1996.................................................................................. 76 21. Chinook, pink, and chum salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Sandy River weir, 1996 ............................................................................... 78 22. Chinook, pink, and chum salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Ilnik River weir, 1996.................................................................................. 79 23. Sockeye salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Nelson River weir, 1996 .............................................................................................................. 80 24. Sockeye salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Bear River weir, 1996 .............................................................................................................. 82 25. Sockeye salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Sandy River weir, 1996 .............................................................................................................. 84 26. Sockeye salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts through the Ilnik River weir, 1996 .............................................................................................................. 86 27. Emergency orders for the North Peninsula, 1996 ................................................................ 88 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. North and South Alaska Peninsula with North Peninsula districts depicted....................... 113 2. Nelson Lagoon to Strogonof Point reach, with district sections, commercial salmon season opening dates, and major sockeye salmon systems depicted.................... 114 3. North Peninsula commercial sockeye salmon harvest, 1962-96 ........................................