Fishery Data Series No. 03-16 Abundances, Length and Age Compositions, and CPUE of Northern Pike Within Selected Sloughs of the Nowitna River, 1997 by John Burr and Stafford Roach August 2003 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fish Symbols and Abbreviations The following symbols and abbreviations, and others approved for the Système International d'Unités (SI), are used in Division of Sport Fish Fishery Manuscripts, Fishery Data Series Reports, Fishery Management Reports, and Special Publications without definition. Weights and measures (metric) General Mathematics, statistics, fisheries centimeter cm All commonly accepted e.g., Mr., Mrs., alternate hypothesis HA deciliter dL abbreviations. a.m., p.m., etc. base of natural e gram g All commonly accepted e.g., Dr., Ph.D., logarithm professional titles. R.N., etc. hectare ha catch per unit effort CPUE and & kilogram kg coefficient of variation CV at @ χ2 kilometer km common test statistics F, t, , etc. Compass directions: liter L confidence interval C.I. east E meter m correlation coefficient R (multiple) north N metric ton mt correlation coefficient r (simple) south S milliliter ml covariance cov west W millimeter mm degree (angular or ° Copyright temperature) Weights and measures (English) Corporate suffixes: degrees of freedom df cubic feet per second ft3/s Company Co. divided by ÷ or / (in foot ft Corporation Corp. equations) gallon gal Incorporated Inc. equals = inch in Limited Ltd. expected value E mile mi et alii (and other et al. fork length FL ounce oz people) greater than > ≥ pound lb et cetera (and so forth) etc. greater than or equal to quart qt exempli gratia (for e.g., harvest per unit effort HPUE example) yard yd less than < id est (that is) i.e., ≤ less than or equal to latitude or longitude lat. or long. logarithm (natural) ln monetary symbols $, ¢ Time and temperature logarithm (base 10) log (U.S.) day d logarithm (specify base) log2, etc. months (tables and Jan,...,Dec mideye to tail fork MEF degrees Celsius °C figures): first three degrees Fahrenheit °F letters minute (angular) ' hour (spell out for 24-hour clock) h number (before a # (e.g., #10) multiplied by x minute min number) not significant NS second s pounds (after a number) # (e.g., 10#) null hypothesis HO registered trademark percent % trademark probability P Physics and chemistry United States U.S. probability of a type I α all atomic symbols (adjective) error (rejection of the null hypothesis when alternating current AC United States of USA America (noun) true) ampere A β U.S. state and District use two-letter probability of a type II calorie cal of Columbia abbreviations error (acceptance of direct current DC abbreviations (e.g., AK, DC) the null hypothesis when false) hertz Hz horsepower hp second (angular) " hydrogen ion activity pH standard deviation SD parts per million ppm standard error SE parts per thousand ppt, ‰ standard length SL volts V total length TL watts W variance var FISHERY DATA SERIES NO. 03-16 ABUNDANCES, LENGTH AND AGE COMPOSITIONS, AND CPUE OF NORTHERN PIKE WITHIN SELECETED SLOUGHS OF THE NOWITNA RIVER, 1997 by John Burr and Stafford Roach Division of Sport Fish, Fairbanks Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fish, Research and Technical Services 333 Raspberry Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99518-1599 August 2003 Development and publication of this manuscript were partially financed by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777-777K) under Project F-10-13, Job Nos. R-3-4(d) and R-3-4(e). The Fishery Management Reports series was established in 1989 for the publication of an overview of Division of Sport Fish management activities and goals in a specific geographic area. Fishery Management Reports are intended for fishery and other technical professionals, as well as lay persons. Fishery Management Reports are available through the Alaska State Library and on the Internet: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/statewide/divreports/html/intersearch.cfm This publication has undergone regional peer review. John Burr and Stafford Roach Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, Region III, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, AK 99701-1599,USA This document should be cited as: Burr, J. and S. M. Roach. 2003. Abundances, length and age compositions, and CPUE of northern pike within selected sloughs of the Nowitna River, 1997. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Data Series No. 03-16, Anchorage. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................................ii LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................................................................ii LIST OF APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................................1 Research Objectives ......................................................................................................................................................1 Description of the Nowitna River Study Area...............................................................................................................2 Description of the Nowitna River Northern Pike Fishery .............................................................................................2 METHODS....................................................................................................................................................................2 Sampling Techniques ....................................................................................................................................................4 Estimation of Abundance ..............................................................................................................................................4 Estimation of Length and Age Composition .................................................................................................................6 Estimation of CPUE ......................................................................................................................................................6 RESULTS......................................................................................................................................................................6 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................................................15 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...........................................................................................................................................16 LITERATURE CITED................................................................................................................................................16 APPENDIX A: Data File Listing ................................................................................................................................19 APPENDIX B: Record of Tag Colors and Tag Numbers ...........................................................................................21 i LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Fin clips used as secondary marks during the marking and recapture events by month.................................4 2. Number of northern pike ≥ 550 mm FL marked (M), captured and examined for marks (C), recaptured with marks (R), and recapture rates (R/C) by study area and month. .............................................................7 3. Estimated abundances and 95% confidence intervals of northern pike ≥ 550 mm FL by study area and month...............................................................................................................................................................8 4. Minimum, maximum, average, and standard deviation of northern pike lengths sampled by study area and month......................................................................................................................................................10