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August 25th-Deep Inlet to reopen Tuesday August 26th - Cost recovery has been completed for Deep Inlet. The Deep Inlet THA will reopen starting Tuesday with the following rotation for this week(stat wk 35)-Tuesday-Troll, Wednesday-seine, Thur/Fri-gillnet, Saturday seine. Next week the Deep Inlet rotation will revert to the regular schedule of Sunday-seine, Mon-Wed-gillnet, Thur/Fri-seine and Saturday-troll. The ADFG announcement should be out shortly.
August 22-Deep Inlet Cost Recovery Progress Update - Based upon Friday morning Deep Inlet cost recovery progress, a Deep Inlet reopening announcement will not be issued at this time. At current harvest rates it is unlikely our cost recovery goal will be met by end of day Saturday. The next potential reopening announcement has been pushed back to Monday, August 25th and will […]
Return Update-August 19th - Deep Inlet Last week a total of 276,000 chum salmon returned to Deep Inlet. The majority of the harvest, 156,000, occurred in the pink salmon seine fishery in Eastern Channel. Troll harvest in Sitka Sounds also increased last week with approximately 60,000 chum harvested by 67 troll permit holders. An additional 35,000 chum were harvested […]Hidden Falls Broodstock Looking Promising
Two independent pilot reports corroborate that there are sufficient chum in the Hidden Falls SHA to meet the broodstock goals. We also have DIPAC as a backup for up to 30 million eggs if we need them. Currently we have 20 million eggs and 25,000 fish behind the barrier net. Once we get most of what we need for broodstock I hope to open Takatz Bay for common property. I expect it will be Sunday before I could make such a call.
Deep Inlet Early Stock (Hidden Falls) Better than 2014
Contrary to the Hidden Falls stock at Hidden Falls, at Deep Inlet it is performing quite well. In fact better than in 2014. The run probably has another week to go but right now the return is 520,000 or roughly 2.5% marine survival and will likely end up at 3%. In rounded numbers, 23 million Hidden Falls stock fry released at Deep Inlet in 2011 resulted in 600,000 adults in 2015, while at Hidden Falls/Takatz 76 million fry released in 2011 resulted in perhaps 250,000 (a rough guess) adults. Three times the release but less than half the return. Same stock, same eggtake site (Hidden Falls), same incubation, but different result.
We are lucky to have this comparison as it strongly suggests the problem is post release of the fry. I believe it is predation by humpback whales, Pollock and other predators. I am working on a plan for addressing the disaster at Hidden Falls which will be delivered to the NSRAA board of directors this fall.
Let’s hope the fall run at Deep Inlet performs as well as the summer run.
Hidden Falls Update July 10
No new broodstock estimate today as the weather prevented survey so far today. Will update as soon as I have new numbers.
Hidden Falls Update – July 9
It seems certain Hidden Falls will not open for chum salmon again in 2015. Right now we are attempting to estimate numbers of chum in the area for broodstock. Two fish spotter pilots estimate there are 100,000 fish from Turbot to Cosmos and offshore. At least one fisherman believes the number is closer to 50,000. ADF&G has also looked at just Kasnyku Bay and estimated 50,000. I was on the water in Kasnyku on July 7 and estimated 20,000 chum.
Some good news is that the male ratio was 58% at Pt Gardiner, over 60% at Deep Inlet for the Hidden Falls stock, 58% male at Amalga, and finally 54% in the Augusta sample. So there should be a lot more fish on the way. I’ll be getting more pilot reports soon and will update tomorrow July 10.
Hidden Falls a Huge Disappointment – Will Close to Fishing
Hidden Falls chum salmon performance is far below the forecast and the fishery will need to be closed in order to ensure broodstock numbers. The broodstock goal is 180,000 fish for the Hidden Falls/Takatz programs (101 million eggs), Deep Inlet (24 million eggs), and Southeast Cove (55 million eggs). NSRAA secured the permit for up to 30 million eggs from DIPAC, and DIPAC has generously agreed to take up to the limit this year. So far about 35,000 chum have been harvested at Hidden Falls; the male ratio from Sunday June 28 was 68%. We could risk another opening given the sex ratio but this return might be the smallest return since the 1980s.
This is the second consecutive year that Hidden Falls has performed poorly while Deep Inlet using the same Hidden Falls stock is performing well. This lends further credence to the theory that Hidden Falls has greater predation than what exists at Deep Inlet. Humpback whales are certainly part of the predator complex but Pollock might be contributing to the high mortality as well.
The jury is still out on whether the 4.0 gram program will get the fry past the whales and Pollock. We have our first four year olds from the 4.0 program at Takatz and Kasnyku this year. Results will not be known until after the eggtakes at Hidden Falls in mid August. If we find the 4.0 program doesn’t produce results we will be in crisis mode. Alternatives such as new release sites and/or a new broodstock development site will need to be considered and analysed.
Southeast Cove will have the first 3 year olds returning in 2015. These adults were raised to 4.0 grams as fry so we are putting a lot of stock in the outcome this summer and next. Department of Commerce owns the Gunnuk Creek portion of the return, while adults with our (NSRAA) mark sold for cost recovery (Trident) will flow to NSRAA coffers.
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