FISHERY DATA SERIES NO. 90-52 ESCAPEMENTSOF CHINOOK SALMON IN SOUTHEASTALASKA AND TRANSBOUNDARYRIVERS IN 1989l BY Robert D. Mecum Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fish Anchorage, Alaska September 1990 1 This investigation was partially financed by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777-777K) under Project F-10-5, Job Number S-l-6. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game operates all of its public programs and activities free from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, or handicap. Because the department receives federal funding, any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against should write to: O.E.O. U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20240 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pane LISTOFTABLES ............................. ii LISTOFFIGURES ............................ iii LIST OF APPENDICES ........................... vi ABSTRACT ................................ 1 INTRODUCTION .............................. 2 METHODS ................................. 2 Description of Study Areas .................... 3 Enumeration of Adult Chinook Salmon ................ 14 RESULTS ................................. 15 TakuRiver ............................ 15 Stikine River ........................... 20 AlsekRiver ............................ 24 UnukRiver ............................ 24 Chickamin River .......................... 32 Chilkat River ............................ 32 OtherRivers ........................... 32 DISCUSSION ............................... 41 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................ 51 LITERATURECITED ............................ 52 APPENDIXA ............................... 54 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Peak escapement counts of chinook salmon for tributaries of the Taku River, 1951-1989 . 17 2. Percentages of escapement observed in tributaries of the Taku River during years when all index tributaries were surveyed . 18 3. Peak escapement counts for Stikine River tributaries, 1956-1989 . 22 4. Peak escapement and weir counts of chinook salmon for Andrew Creek, 1976-1989............................. 23 5. Comparison of weir counts and aerial survey estimates of chinook salmon escapements to the Little Tahltan River, 1985-1989 . 25 6. Peak escapement and weir counts of chinook salmon for tributaries of the Alsek River, 1960-1989 . 28 7. Peak escapement counts of chinook salmon to index tributaries of the Unuk River, 1960-1989 . 30 8. Percentages of total escapements of chinook salmon to index tributaries of the Unuk River for years when all index tributaries were surveyed . 31 9. Peak escapements of chinook salmon to tributaries of the Chickamin River, 1960-1989 . 34 10 Percentages of total escapements of chinook salmon to index tributaries of the Chickamin River for years when all index tributaries were surveyed . I . 35 11 Peak escapements of chinook salmon to index tributaries of the Chilkat River, 1960-1989 . 37 12 Peak escapement counts of chinook salmon for selected rivers in Behm Canal, 1948-1989 . 39 13 Peak escapements and weir counts of chinook salmon for the King Salmon River, 1957-1989 . 44 14 Harvest, escapement, and minimum total run of Situk River chinook salmon, 1915-1989 . 46 -ii- LIST OF FIGURES Figure PaRe 1. Taku River drainage . 4 2. Stikine River drainage . 5 3. Alsek River drainage . 6 4. Unuk River drainage . 7 5. Chickamin River drainage . 9 6. Chilkat River drainage . 10 7. Blossom and Keta River drainages . 11 8. King Salmon River drainage . 12 9. Situk River drainage . 13 10. Length distribution by age of Taku River chinook salmon captured in the Canyon Island fishwheel, 1988 . 16 11. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Taku River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 25,600 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 19 12. Distribution of chi-square values from chi-square test of independence, ordered by run timing (early versus late stocks) for index tributaries of the Taku River for years when all tributaries were surveyed . 21 13. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Stikine River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 13,440 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 26 14. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to Andrew Creek, 1975-1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 750 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three-cycle rebuilding program . 27 -iii- LIST OF FIGURES (Continued) Figure 15. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Alsek River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 5,000 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 29 16. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Unuk River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 2,880 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 33 17. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Chickamin River, 1975-1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 1,440 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three-cycle rebuilding program . 36 18. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Chilkat River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 2,000 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 38 19. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Blossom River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 1,280 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 42 20 Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Keta River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 800 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 43 21. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the King Salmon River,1975-1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trendstarting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 250 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three-cycle rebuilding program , . 45 -iv- LIST OF FIGURES (Continued) Figure Pane 22. Estimated escapements of chinook salmon to the Situk River, 1975- 1989. The base-to-goal line is a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average escapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 2,100 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three- cycle rebuilding program . 48 23. Estimated total escapement of chinook salmon to southeast Alaska and transboundary river index systems, 1975-1989. The base-to-goal line a linear rebuilding trend starting in 1981 at the average izcapement level during the first cycle of rebuilding (1975-1980), and ending at the management escapement goal of 64,000 large chinook salmon in 1995, the final year of the three-cycle rebuilding program.............................. 50 -v- LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Paae Al. Management escapement goals and survey and tributary expansion factors for southeast Alaska and transboundary rivers. The total escapement goal for each category equals the survey escapement goal times the survey and tributary expansion factors . 55 A2. Survey dates for indexing escapements by helicopter (h) or foot (f) during 1989. Dates are selected to encompass the historical dates of peak spawning . 56 -vi- ABSTRACT The estimated total escapement of chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha for all Southeast Alaska and transboundary rivers declined from 60,500 fish in 1988, to 54,100 fish in 1989, reversing the trend of increasing escapements observed over the last six years. The total escapement of chinook salmon in 1989 was 11 percent or 6,400 fish less than in 1988 and only 85 percent of the management escapement goal of 64,000 chinook salmon. The 1989 escapement represented an increase of approximately 108 percent or 28,100 chinook salmon over the 1975-1980 average of 26,000 chinook salmon, and an increase of 38 percent or 15,000 chinook salmon over the 1981-1985 average of 39,100. Although total escapements of chinook salmon declined in 1989, increases were still observed in the Taku (15 percent) Chilkat (74 percent), Alsek (24 percent), Keta (101 percent), Chickamin (19 percent), and King Salmon rivers (16 percent) and in Andrew Creek (13 percent). Chinook salmon escapements declined in four of the 11 index systems. The largest decline occurred in the Stikine River where the 1989 escapement of 18,860 chinook salmon was 35 percent (10,308 fish) below the 1988 record escapement of 29,168 fish. Escapements of chinook salmon also declined in the Unuk (minus 34 percent), Blossom (minus 10 percent), and Situk rivers (minus 26 percent).