NPAFC International Workshop on Explanations for the High Abundance of Pink and Chum Salmon and Future Trends

Total commercial catches of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the Subarctic North Pacific are at historic high levels, with recent catches over one million tonnes. High catches were caused by an increase of pink and chum salmon production, which represented over 80% of the total catch. At the same time Chinook, coho, and masu salmon have been decreasing in abundance. These trends in Pacific salmon catches are generally recognized to result from processes within the ocean that appear to improve the capacity to produce pink and chum salmon, perhaps decrease the capacity to produce Chinook and coho salmon, and contribute to recent extreme variability in sockeye salmon production. Understanding how future trends in ocean production capacity will change is particularly important for hatchery programs. The Workshop aims to bring together international experts to identify what is known about the reasons for recent production trends and to identify future research needs.