Northern Southeast Alaska Chinook Salmon Stock Status And Action Plan 2022 PDF Download

Escapements of Chinook salmon have fallen below the lower bound of the current BEG range for Chilkat River in 3 of the past 5 years, for King Salmon River in 4 of the past 5 years, and for the Taku River in 5 of the past 5 years. In response to guidelines established in the Policy for the management of sustainable salmon fisheries (SSFP), the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (department) recommended the Chilkat and King Salmon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stocks be designated as stocks of “management concern” in 2017 followed by approval from the Alaska Board of Fisheries at the 2018 Southeast and Yakutat Finfish and Shellfish meeting. In October 2020, the department recommended the continuation of stock of management concern status for the Chilkat and King Salmon Rivers and to add the Taku River Chinook salmon stock at 2021 Southeast Alaska and Yakutat meeting. A “management concern” is defined as “a concern arising from a chronic inability, despite use of specific management measures, to maintain escapements for a salmon stock within the bounds of the SEG [sustainable escapement goal], BEG [biological escapement goal], OEG [optimum escapement goal], or other specified management objectives for the fishery.” Since 2012, the department has implemented conservative management measures to reduce the harvest of the Chilkat River stock of Chinook salmon and increase escapement. Through these measures, and from actions taken to reduce the harvest of the Taku River stock of Chinook salmon, by extension, harvest on the stock of Chinook salmon from the King Salmon River may likewise have been reduced. Although these management actions have been effective at reducing overall harvest rates, the poor runs have been so low that achievement of BEGs has been problematic.