Project Information

Title: Use of Hydroacoustic Techniques to Assess the Abundance of Salmon in the Central District of Upper Cook Inlet 94255

Project Year and Number: 1994: 94255

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 1997: 97255-CLO, 1996: 96255, 1996: 96255-1, 1996: 96255-2, 1995: 95255, 1993: 93015, 1992: R053

Principal Investigator (PI): Ken Tarbox (Alaska Department of Fish & Game)

Managing Agency: ADFG

Assisting Personnel: Linda Brannian, Randall Davis, Stephen Fried

Research Location: Kenai River

Restoration Category: General Restoration

Injured Resources Addressed: Sockeye Salmon

Abstract: Greatly reduced fishing time in the Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) area due to EVOS caused sockeye salmon spawning escapement levels in the Kenai River system to exceed the desired amount by three times. Data collected by the Natural Resources Damage Assessment following the EVOS indicated greatly reduced survival of juvenile sockeye salmon during the winter-spring rearing period. Overpopulated rearing juvenile sockeye salmon may have exceeded the carrying capacity of salmon rearing lakes, affecting all trophic levels in the lakes. Limiting sockeye salmon fry production by closely regulating the number of spawning adults may be the only way to restore the productivity of these rearing areas. The goal of this project is to restore Kenai River sockeye salmon stocks injured by the EVOS through improved stock assessment capabilities, more accurate regulation of spawning levels, and modification of human use. Kenai River System sockeye salmon will be identified by Genetic Stock Identification (GSI) techniques. Abundance estimates will be made using hydroacoustic techniques developed in 1992 and 1993.


Proposal: Not Available

Reports:
Annual Report FY94: View (1,422 KB)
Final Report: View (11,230 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available

Datasets:
EVOSTC Data Archive: Hydroacoustic signals; allozyme frequencies; Electronic (Excel, ASCII, Lotus): echograms; Data type. Availability: Limited, based on availability and time to prepare.