Rationalizing the Irrational: A Case Study in User Group Participation in Pacific Salmon Management

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 1796-1805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Hilborn ◽  
Wilf Luedke

Acrimony between industry and government managers is commonplace in the management of many Pacific salmon fisheries. A case study of the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) fisheries in southern British Columbia provides insight into the prevailing distrust between fishermen and managers. A recent attempt to bring planned management into what had often been an irrational and highly political activity is described. A management system called the "clockwork" provides all fishermen an opportunity for greater understanding of the management rationale and greater input into the decision-making process. The results of this attempt and implications for achieving management goals are discussed.

2006 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Alexandra Morton ◽  
Rob Williams

Recent recurring infestations of Sea Lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, on juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and subsequent annual declines of these stocks have made it imperative to identify the source of Sea Lice. While several studies now identify farm salmon populations as sources of Sea Louse larvae, it is unclear to what extent wild salmonid hosts also contribute Sea Lice. We measured Sea Louse numbers on adult Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) migrating inshore. We also measured Sea Louse numbers on wild juvenile Pink and Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) migrating to sea before the adults returned, and as the two age cohorts mingled. Adult Pink Salmon carried an average of 9.89 (SE 0.90) gravid lice per fish, and thus were capable of infecting the adjacent juveniles. Salinity and temperature remained favourable to Sea Louse reproduction throughout the study. However, all accepted measures of Sea Louse infestation failed to show significant increase on the juvenile salmon, either in overall abundance of Sea Lice or of the initial infective-stage juvenile lice, while the adult wild salmon were present in the study area. This study suggests that even during periods of peak interaction, wild adult salmon are not the primary source of the recent and unprecedented infestations of Sea Lice on juvenile Pacific Pink and Chum salmon in the inshore waters of British Columbia.


2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (22) ◽  
pp. 3895-3904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideji Tanaka ◽  
Yasuaki Takagi ◽  
Yasuhiko Naito

SUMMARY Although the homing migration of Pacific salmon is well documented, the swimming behaviour of the returning salmon has been poorly described, principally as a result of the difficulties encountered in monitoring salmon behaviour in the sea. The present study describes the use of a recently developed electronic data logger to obtain simultaneous recordings of the swimming speed, depth, fin-beating activity and body angle of free-ranging chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta during their homing migration in coastal waters. Chum salmon migrated horizontally at speeds of 1.5–3.0 km h–1. The gross horizontal distance salmon moved during total recording periods were 1.24- to 19.0-fold greater than the net distance from the release site to the retrieval points. It is suggested that homing salmon did not drift passively but swam actively to the spawning grounds. Salmon preferred the surface water, but also made frequent vertical migrations. The travelled depth of each salmon ranged from 0.36 to 0.64 km per hour. Salmon descended at faster rates and steeper angles than they ascended. Both tailbeat frequency and tail thrust were higher during the ascent than the descent phase. These results suggest that chum salmon spent more energy during the ascent than the descent phase. Profiles of descent rate assumed an arched shape with respect to a change in hydrostatic pressure, while ascent rate increased with decreasing depth. High tailbeat frequencies were found during the course of ascent, which suggests that the salmon did not regulate the volume of air in the swim bladder during short-term vertical migrations.


<em>Abstract.</em>—This paper provides an overview of Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) commercial salmon fisheries, reviews economicvariables affecting the fisheries, and discusses the challenge of increasing the economic benefits from these fisheries. During the years 2004–2006, AYK fisheries accounted for about 1% of total Alaska harvest volume and 2% of total Alaska harvest value. AYK fisheries accounted for 18% of total Alaska permit holdings and 14% of permits fished, but only 1.6% of total earnings. AYK commercial salmon fisheries have faced significant challenges over the past two decades. Harvest volumes fell sharply from the late 1980s to 2002. By 2007, total harvest volume in five of the six AYK fisheries had recovered somewhat from the low levels of the early 2000s, but remained well below the levels of the late 1980s. Prices fell during the 1990s, most importantly because of the growth of salmon farming, which dramatically increased world salmon supply and reduced the market share of Alaska wild salmon. Currently, prices for AYK coho <em>Onchorhynchus kisutch </em>and chum salmon <em>O. keta </em>remain far below levels of the 1980s, while prices for the Chinook salmon <em>O. tshawyscha </em>fisheries are comparable to levels of the late 1980s. Other challenges have included a steep decline in the number of buyers, and a dramatic increase in fuel prices in the late 2000s. AYK wild salmon producers also face new opportunities in world markets to market wild salmon not as a commodity but as a specialty product. Some AYK salmon runs, such as Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon, have unusually high oil content, which have given them reputations as among the best-tasting salmon in the world. To reduce costs and increase value for AYK salmon fisheries, a need exists for (a) implementing improvements in the quality and consistency of salmon products by improvements in how fish are handled at every stage of harvesting, processing, and transportation; (b) sustained investments in marketing; and (c) investments in infrastructure, ranging from ice machines to airport runways, to reduce costs and improve quality.


1953 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Robertson

The differentiation of the gonad is described in chum salmon embryos and alevins. Contrary to classical findings in teleosts, sex differentiation in the chum salmon proceeds in the male or female direction without an intermediate female phase. From an initially indifferent gonad there is a progressive development of one sex or the other. The organ forms as a fold from the splanchnic mesoderm and, at the time of first appearance, contains primordial germ cells. These enlarge to form the definitive germ cells which, after a series of divisions, form smaller oogonia or spermatogonia. Oogonia are followed by primary and secondary (growing) oocytes, the appearance of which is the criterion of sex distinction. Spermatogonia continue to multiply but do not undergo growth in the alevin. The ovary develops an open endovarial canal and is supported by a prominent mesovarium. The testis remains small and, in the alevin, develops no ducts. It is suspended by a mesorchium.


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1431-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Bilinski ◽  
R. E. E. Jonas ◽  
Y. C. Lau ◽  
G. Gibbard

Freshly caught chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, were stored in ice or refrigerated seawater for 0.3 and 10 days and were then gutted and frozen at two different rates (1 or 14.5 h through the temperature range of 0 to −5 °C). The amount of thaw drip (TD) was determined in steaks following 1.5, 4, 8, and 12 mo of storage at −28 °C. A significant increase in TD occurred with the slow freezing rate or with a delay before freezing. These effects were not suppressed by a prolonged frozen storage, which also produced an increase in TD. There was no marked difference between fish held in ice and refrigerated seawater before freezing. Similar results were obtained with coho salmon, O. kisutch, frozen without prior chill stowage. Key words: Pacific salmon, thaw drip, chill stowage, freezing rates Oncorhynchus keta, O. kisutch


1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 936-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Welch

The stomach (but not the intestine) of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is greatly enlarged relative to that of other species of Pacific salmon. This permits the exploitation of gelatinous zooplankton (jellyfish, ctenophores, and salps), an abundant but low-energy prey unused by other species of salmon, as a major food source. The unique gut structure of chum salmon therefore allows efficient feeding on a little-exploited branch of the food web and reduces interspecific trophic competition. The development of this remarkable anatomical specialization suggests that salmon abundances were previously high enough that the resulting trophic competition led to evolutionary selection to reduce trophic competition. As total salmon abundances in the North Pacific are now probably the highest of this century, the carrying capacity of the ocean rather than that of fresh water could limit overall salmon production if abundances are once again approaching pre-exploitation levels.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric B Rondeau ◽  
Kris A. Christensen ◽  
Dionne Sakhrani ◽  
Carlo A Biagi ◽  
Mike Wetklo ◽  
...  

Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is the species with the widest geographic range of the anadromous Pacific salmonids,. Chum salmon is the second largest of the Pacific salmon, behind Chinook salmon, and considered the most plentiful Pacific salmon by overall biomass. This species is of significant commercial and economic importance: on average the commercial chum salmon fishery has the second highest processed value of the Pacific salmon within British Columbia. The aim of this work was to establish genomic baseline resources for this species. Our first step to accomplish this goal was to generate a chum salmon reference genome assembly from a doubled-haploid chum salmon. Gene annotation of this genome was facilitated by an extensive RNA-seq database we were able to create from multiple tissues. Range-wide resequencing of chum salmon genomes allowed us to categorize genome-wide geographic variation, which in turn reinforced the idea that genetic differentiation was best described on a regional, rather than at a stock-specific, level. Within British Columbia, chum salmon regional groupings were described at the conservation unit (CU) level, and there may be substructure within particular CUs. Genome wide associations of phenotypic sex to SNP genetic markers identified two clear peaks, a very strong peak on Linkage Group 15, and another on Linkage Group 3. With these new resources, we were better able to characterize the sex-determining region and gain further insights into sex determination in chum salmon and the general biology of this species.


2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Suzuki ◽  
R. Murata ◽  
K. Sadamasu ◽  
J. Araki

AbstractWe investigated the risk of diphyllobothriasis from ingestion of wild Pacific salmon in Japan by surveying Diphyllobothrium plerocercoids in 182 salmon samples obtained from Japan. The plerocercoids were not detected in chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) (0/26), called Akizake in Japan, caught between September and November. However, the detection rate of plerocercoids in chum salmon, called Tokishirazu in Japan, caught between early April and June, was 51.1% (24/47) with an average of two plerocercoid larvae per fish. The detection rates of cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) and pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) were 12.2% (10/82) and 18.5% (5/27), respectively, and the average number of plerocercoids per fish was 0.45 (37 larvae/82 fishes) and 0.22 larvae (6 larvae/27 fishes), respectively. Plerocercoids isolated from O. keta and O. masou were identified as Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense on the basis of molecular analysis of the cox1 and nad3 genes. Moreover, four tapeworms (three from O. keta and one from O. masou) were obtained by infecting golden hamsters with plerocercoids. The morphological features of these tapeworms were similar to those of D. nihonkaiense isolated from humans. Therefore, we think that O. keta and not O. masou is the most important source of plerocercoid infections in Japan.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 2076-2086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan D Hocking ◽  
Thomas E Reimchen

Anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) subsidize terrestrial food webs with their nutrients and carcasses, a process driven largely by selective foraging by bears (Ursus spp.). We quantify wildlife transfer of salmon carcasses to riparian zones on two watersheds in coastal British Columbia and estimate total terrestrial fly production from remnant carcasses. Large-bodied chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) were transferred into the forest at a greater rate than were pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) (chum salmon mass = 6089–11 031 kg, 16%–48% of salmon run; pink salmon mass = 2266–2808 kg, 4%–6% of salmon run). Blow flies (genus Calliphora) and other Diptera dominated colonization (>90% of salmon carcasses). Between the two watersheds, 196 and 265 g of Calliphora larvae per metre of spawning length (4 and 7 million larvae for whole watersheds) were generated from salmon carcass transfer. Stable isotope analysis of δ15N and δ13C of spring-emerging adult Calliphora revealed that >80% of individuals had salmon-based signatures. Flies are a dominant consumer and vector of salmon nutrients in terrestrial habitats and supplement the diet of at least 16 vertebrate and 22 invertebrate species. Anticipated further declines of salmon in the North Pacific can be expected to further erode the complex associations coupling marine and terrestrial ecosystems.


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