2005 chum salmon Bering Sea bycatch sample locations.

Understanding the marine distribution of chum salmon stocks in the Bering Sea is important ecologically and institutionally. Ecologically, chum salmon are prominent components as predators and prey in the food webs of the pelagic zone. Institutionally, chum salmon pose difficult management problems in commercial fisheries that target pollock and salmon. Chum salmon returns to northwest Alaska have declined for several years. One possible reason is interception by the Bering Sea-Aleutian Island (BSAI) groundfish fishery. The chum salmon bycatch in this fishery has been increasing, culminating in a bycatch of over 700,000 fish in 2005. Concurrently, the amount of Asian origin chum salmon entering the eastern Bering Sea has increased, with Japan alone releasing more than eight billion fry per year. Is the increased chum salmon bycatch a result of increased numbers of Asian origin fish in the BSAI area or is the groundfish fishery taking more northwest Alaskan chum salmon, or are both factors important? How has the composition of stocks in the bycatch changed over time? Answers to these questions based on earlier studies are explained in this poster "Origin of chum Salmon in the Bering Sea Trawl Fishery Bycatch".

The National Marine Fisheries Service Observer Program is providing samples of chum salmon bycatch from the 2005-2006 BSAI fishery to the Auke Bay Laboratories for genetic analysis. DNA-based markers will be used to determine the stock origins of the chum salmon bycatch.

Salmon Bycatch in the Bering Sea Groundfish Fishery

Co-investigators and cooperating agencies:
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
University of Alaska Fairbanks

Funding:
ABL, Alaska Regional Office