North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

Technical Report 15

Table of Contents

What can We Learn About the Return Migration of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon from Catches in Alaska?

Authors:
Pasan Samarasin, Stephen J. Latham, Charles M. Guthrie III, and H. Andres Araujo

Abstract Excerpt:
At large spatial scales, aggregating across populations, North American sockeye salmon populations have largely overlapped marine distributions in the North Pacific Ocean (e.g., Bristol Bay and British Columbia stocks, Quinn 2018), but we do not have a good understanding of the marine distribution of sockeye salmon at smaller scales. For example, we do not know how sockeye salmon from different British Columbian rivers are distributed in the North Pacific Ocean. Similarly, we do not know where genetically distinct stocks within a river are distributed in the ocean. Blackbourn (1987) hypothesized that different Fraser River sockeye stocks may reside in different areas in the North Pacific Ocean based on correlations of their run timings and sea surface temperatures in different North Pacific ‘grids’, but this remains conjectural and based on only circumstantial evidence. Understanding the marine distributions and migratory routes at more granular levels (e.g., stocks within rivers) is beneficial because conservation and fisheries management mostly occur at such scales. Also, it is of considerable scientific interest to understand mechanisms governing long-distance animal movement. Here, we focus on the marine distributions and migratory paths of Fraser River sockeye salmon stocks, whose fisheries management is governed by the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the United States and Canada.

*This is the first paragraph of an extended abstract. Download the full abstract below.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/40.43.

Citation

Samarasin, P., S.J. Latham, C.M. Guthrie III, and H.A. Araujo.  2019.  What can we learn about the return migration of Fraser River sockeye salmon from catches in Alaska?  N. Pac. Anadr. Fish Comm. Tech. Rep. 15: 40–43.  https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr15/40.43.