Abundance and Run Timing of Adult Pacific Salmon in the Kwethluk River, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2006. Alaska Fisherie Data Series Number 2007-9

摘要

The Kwethluk River, a lower Kuskokwim River tributary located on the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), provides important spawning and rearing habitat for chum Oncorhynchus keta, Chinook O. tshawytscha, sockeye O. nerka, pink O. gorbuscha, and coho O. kisutch salmon (Alt 1977; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) 1992). Adult salmon returning to the Kwethluk River migrate 130 river kilometers (rkms) through the lower Kuskokwim River and up to an additional 160 rkms in the Kwethluk River before reaching spawning grounds. In the lower Kuskokwim River, salmon pass through one of Alaska's most intensive subsistence fisheries (Burkey et al. 2001; Service 1988). In general, half of the total Chinook salmon statewide subsistence harvest occurs in the Kuskokwim drainage (Alaska Department Fish and Game (Department), 2001, 2002, 2003a, 2003b). The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) mandates that salmon populations and their habitats be conserved in their natural diversity within federal lands; that international treaty obligations are fulfilled, and subsistence opportunities for local residents be maintained. Salmon escapement studies for the Kuskokwim River tributaries on the Refuge are priorities in the Refuge Fishery Management Plan (Service 1992).