Pacific salmon and Pacific herring mortalities in the Fraser River plume caused by river lamprey (Lampetra ayresi)

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 644-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Beamish ◽  
Chrys-Ellen M. Neville
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
River Plume ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Pacific Herring ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Abundance Estimates ◽  
River Lamprey

River lamprey (Lampetra ayresi) enter the Strait of Georgia from the Fraser River and feed almost exclusively on Pacific herring (Clupea harengus) and salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). Although the major prey of river lamprey is Pacific herring, the greater effect of lamprey predation was on the populations of chinook (O. tshawytscha) and coho (O. kisutch) salmon. In 1990 and 1991, river lamprey killed a minimum of 20 million and 18 million chinook salmon, respectively, and a minimum of 2 million and 10 million coho salmon in the same years. In 1991, river lamprey in the Fraser River plume killed an equivalent of approximately 65 and 25% of the total Canadian hatchery and wild production of coho and chinook salmon, respectively. These estimates are probably low because river lamprey also feed in other areas and the abundance estimates are conservative. These high mortality rates indicate that river lamprey predation must be considered as a major source of natural mortality of chinook and coho salmon in the Strait of Georgia.

Parasitism on Juvenile Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus) and Pacific Herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) in the Strait of Georgia by the River Lamprey (Lampetra ayresi)

1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Roos ◽  
P. Gilhousen ◽  
S. R. Killick ◽  
E. R. Zyblut
Keyword(s):  
Size Range ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Pacific Herring ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Clupea Harengus Pallasi ◽  
River Lamprey ◽  
Juvenile Pacific Salmon ◽  
Healing Wounds ◽  
Narrow Size Range

River lamprey (Lampetra ayresi) were found to parasitize the young of five species of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) and Pacific herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) in the Strait of Georgia, B.C. The dorsal attachment of the river lamprey is in sharp contrast to the usually ventral attachment of other species of lampreys that parasitize salmonids. Up to 1.9% of young salmon showed evidence of lamprey marks, and marked fish were generally restricted to a narrow size-range. Some of the fish exhibited severe wounds. Evidence from healing wounds on fingerlings and scars on adults indicates that some juvenile salmon survive the attacks of the river lamprey.

A Relationship between Fraser River Discharge and Interannual Production of Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) in the Strait of Georgia

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 2843-2855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Beamish ◽  
Chrys-Ellen M. Neville ◽  
Barbara L. Thomson ◽  
Paul J. Harrison ◽  
Mike St. John
Keyword(s):  
River Discharge ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Pacific Herring ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Clupea Pallasi

We identified years of anomalously high and low discharge from the Fraser River and compared these years with indices of anomalously high and low production of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi). For chinook (O. tshawytscha) and coho salmon (O. kisutch), we found that brood years that went to sea in a year when the Fraser River discharge was very high compared with the previous year virtually never had an index of production that was higher than the previous year. Similarly, brood years that went to sea in a year when the Fraser River discharge was very low compared with the previous year almost never had an index of productivity that was lower than the previous year. The analysis identified a weaker association between extreme discharge anomalies and chum salmon (O. keta) production. A close association was not found between extreme discharge anomalies and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), sockeye salmon (O. nerka), or herring production. The relationships identify a connection between annual fluctuations in river flow and production of some marine fishes and may be of use in forecasting abundance changes.

Challenges for Diadromous Fishes in a Dynamic Global Environment

2009 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Commercial Catch ◽  
Atmospheric Processes ◽  
Energy Transfers ◽  
Salmon Production ◽  
The Impact

<em>Abstract</em>.-Pacific salmon <em>Oncorhynchus </em>spp. catches are at historic high levels. It is significant that one of the world's major fisheries for a group of species that dominates the surface waters of the subarctic Pacific is actually very healthy. Natural trends in climate are now recognized to cause large fluctuations in Pacific salmon production, as shown in historical records of catch and recent changes probably have been affected by greenhouse gas induced climate changes. Pink salmon <em>O. gorbuscha </em>and chum salmon <em>O. keta </em>production and catch has increased in the past 30 years and may continue in a similar trend for for the next few decades. Coho salmon <em>O. kisutch </em>and Chinook salmon <em>O. tshawytscha </em>catches have been declining for several decades, particularly at the southern end of their range, and they may continue to decline. In the 1970s, hatcheries were considered to be a method of adding to the wild production of coho and Chinook salmon because the ocean capacity to produce these species was assumed to be underutilized. Large-scale changes in Pacific salmon abundances are linked to changes in large-scale atmospheric processes. These large-scale atmospheric processes are also linked to planetary energy transfers, and there is a decadal scale pattern to these relationships. Pacific salmon production in general is higher in decades of intense Aleutian lows than in periods of weak Aleutian lows. Key to understanding the impact of climate change on Pacific salmon is understanding how the Aleutian low will change. Chinook and coho salmon are minor species in the total commercial catch, but important socially and economically in North America. A wise use of hatcheries may be needed to maintain abundances of these species in future decades.

Protandry in Pacific salmon

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1252-1257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Morbey
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Statistical Procedure ◽  
Timing Data ◽  
Mating Opportunities ◽  
Gender Specific ◽  
Specific Timing

Protandry, the earlier arrival of males to the spawning grounds than females, has been reported in several studies of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). However, the reasons for protandry in salmon are poorly understood and little is known about how protandry varies among and within populations. In this study, protandry was quantified in a total of 105 years using gender-specific timing data from seven populations (one for pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), three for coho salmon (O. kisutch), two for sockeye salmon (O. nerka), and one for chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha)). Using a novel statistical procedure, protandry was found to be significant in 90% of the years and in all populations. Protandry may be part of the males' strategy to maximize mating opportunities and may facilitate mate choice by females.

Changes in the Average Size and Average Age of Pacific Salmon

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 1636-1656 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. Ricker
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Gill Nets ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Mean Size ◽  
Average Size

Of the five species of Pacific salmon in British Columbia, chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (O. kisutch) are harvested during their growing seasons, while pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), chum salmon (O. keta), and sockeye salmon (O. nerka) are taken only after practically all of their growth is completed. The size of the fish caught, of all species, has decreased, but to different degrees and over different time periods, and for the most part this results from a size decrease in the population. These decreases do not exhibit significant correlations with available ocean temperature or salinity series, except that for sockeye lower temperature is associated with larger size. Chinook salmon have decreased greatly in both size and age since the 1920s, most importantly because nonmaturing individuals are taken by the troll fishery; hence individuals that mature at older ages are harvested more intensively, which decreases the percentage of older ones available both directly and cumulatively because the spawners include an excess of younger fish. Other species have decreased in size principally since 1950, when the change to payment by the pound rather than by the piece made it profitable for the gill-netters to harvest more of the larger fish. Cohos and pinks exhibit the greatest decreases, these being almost entirely a cumulative genetic effect caused by commercial trolls and gill nets removing fish of larger than average size. However, cohos reared in the Strait of Georgia have not decreased in size, possibly because sport trolling has different selection characteristics or because of the increase in the hatchery-reared component of the catch. The mean size of chum and sockeye salmon caught has changed much less than that of the other species. Chums have the additional peculiarity that gill nets tend to take smaller individuals than seines do and that their mean age has increased, at least between 1957 and 1972. That overall mean size has nevertheless decreased somewhat may be related to the fact that younger-maturing individuals grow much faster than older-maturing ones; hence excess removal of the smaller younger fish tends to depress growth rate. Among sockeye the decrease in size has apparently been retarded by an increase in growth rate related to the gradual cooling of the ocean since 1940. However, selection has had two important effects: an increase in the percentage of age-3 "jacks" in some stocks, these being little harvested, and an increase in the difference in size between sockeye having three and four ocean growing seasons, respectively.Key words: Pacific salmon, age changes, size changes, fishery, environment, selection, heritability

Alternative Harvest Strategies for Pacific Herring (Clupea harengus pallasi)

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 888-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Hall ◽  
R. Hilborn ◽  
M. Stocker ◽  
C. J. Walters
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Pacific Herring ◽  
Harvest Rate ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Clupea Harengus Pallasi ◽  
Current Management Strategy ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Spawning Biomass ◽  
Constant Escapement

A simulated Pacific herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) population is used to evaluate alternative management strategies of constant escapement versus constant harvest rate for a roe herring fishery. The biological parameters of the model are derived from data on the Strait of Georgia herring stock. The management strategies are evaluated using three criteria: average catch, catch variance, and risk. The constant escapement strategy provides highest average catches, but at the expense of increased catch variance. The harvest rate strategy is favored for its reduced variance in catch and only a slight decrease in mean catch relative to the fixed escapement strategy. The analysis is extended to include the effects of persistent recruitment patterns. Stock–recruitment analysis suggests that recruitment deviations are autocorrelated. Correlated deviations may cause bias in regression estimates of stock–recruitment parameters (overestimation of stock productivity) and increase in variation of spawning stock biomass. The latter effect favors the constant escapement strategy, which fully uses persistent positive recruitment fluctuations. Mean catch is depressed for the harvest rate strategy, since the spawning biomass is less often located in the productive region of the stock–recruitment relationship. The model is used to evaluate the current management strategy for Strait of Georgia herring. The strategy of maintaining a minimum spawning biomass reserve combines the safety of the constant escapement strategy and the catch variance reducing features of the harvest rate strategy.

Environmental Variation and Recruitment of Pacific Herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) in the Strait of Georgia

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (S1) ◽  
pp. s174-s180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Stocker ◽  
Vivian Haist ◽  
David Fournier
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Pacific Herring ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Clupea Harengus Pallasi ◽  
Age Structured ◽  
Age Structured Model ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Spawning Success

We used an age-structured model to estimate recruitment for the Strait of Georgia Pacific herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) population. The model used for herring is a version of the model described in Fournier and Archibald (1982. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 39: 1195–1207), modified to include spawn survey information. Three structural assumptions are made to include the spawn data: (1) the form of the relationship between the actual spawn and the observed spawn, (2) the form of the relationship between escapement and actual spawn, and (3) the existence of a Ricker spawn–recruitment relationship, with a multiplicative environmental component. In order to determine which environmental factors had a significant effect on recruitment, we attempted to explain the residual variation from the Ricker curve with the environmental variables using exploratory correlations. Temperature, river discharge, sea level, and sunlight were examined. A multiplicative, environmental-dependent Ricker spawn–recruitment model was used to identify significant environmental variables. The model suggests a significant dome-shaped relationship between temperature and spawning success with an optimal temperature during larval stages resulting in maximum production of recruits. Also, increased spawning success is associated with increased summer river discharge. The significant environmental variables were included in the age-structured model in a stock–environment–recruitment relationship, and all model parameters were reestimated. The overall model fit improved only marginally with the inclusion of environmental variables, as indicated by the objective function value. However, the S–R component of the objective function dropped by 23% when environmental variables were included.

Production of germline transgenic Pacific salmonids with dramatically increased growth performance

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 1376-1384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Devlin ◽  
Timothy Y. Yesaki ◽  
Edward M. Donaldson ◽  
Shao Jun Du ◽  
Choy-Leong Hew
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Transgenic Fish ◽  
Somatic Tissue ◽  
Growth Enhancement ◽  
Gene Construct ◽  
Average Size

Transgenic Pacific salmon have been produced by microinjection of a DNA construct consisting of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) growth hormone sequences driven by an ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus) antifreeze protein promoter. This construct was retained in approximately 4% of fish derived from injected eggs, and resulted in dramatic enhancement of growth relative to controls. For coho salmon (O. kisutch) at 15 months of age, the average size of transgenic fish was more than 10-fold that of controls, with the largest fish more than 30-fold larger than nontransgenic siblings. Dramatic growth enhancement was also observed in transgenic rainbow trout (O. mykiss), cutthroat trout (O. clarki), and chinook salmon using this same gene construct. Transgenic coho salmon underwent precocious parr–smolt transformation during their first fall, approximately 6 months in advance of their nontransgenic siblings. At 2 years of age, five male transgenic coho salmon became sexually mature, and four of these transmitted the gene construct to sperm, the negative fish being transgenic in blood but not fin tissue. These results show that while some fish are mosaic for the gene construct in different tissues, most are transgenic in both germline and somatic tissue.

Variation in Body Morphology Among British Columbia Populations of Coho Salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 2020-2028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric B. Taylor ◽  
J. D. McPhail
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Oncorhynchus Kisutch ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Coastal Streams ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
Median Fins ◽  
Coastal British Columbia

Ten populations of juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, from streams tributary to the upper Fraser River, the lower Fraser River, and the Strait of Georgia region were morphologically compared. Juveniles from coastal streams (Fraser River below Hell's Gate and the Strait of Georgia) were more robust (deeper bodies and caudal peduncles, shorter heads, and larger median fins) than interior Juveniles. Discriminant function analysis indicated that juvenile coho could be identified as to river of origin with 71% accuracy. Juvenile coho from coastal streams were less successfully classified as to stream of origin; however, juveniles could be successfully identified as either coastal or interior with 93% accuracy. Juvenile coho from north coastal British Columbia, Alaska, and the upper Columbia system also fitted this coastal and interior grouping. This suggests that a coastwide coastal–interior dichotomy in juvenile body form exists. Three populations (one interior and two coastal) were studied in more detail. In these populations the coastal versus interior morphology was consistent over successive years, and was also displayed in individuals reared from eggs in the laboratory. Adult coho salmon also showed some of the coastal–interior morphological differences exhibited by juveniles. We concluded that the morphological differences between coastal and interior coho salmon are at least partially inherited.

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