JOINT NORTHERN BOUNDARY TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Joint Northern Boundary Technical Committee. U.S./Canada Northern Boundary Area 1995 Salmon Fisheries Management Report and 1996 Preliminary Expectations. TCNB (96)-1. January, 1996.

This report reviews: 1) catch, effort, and management actions in the 1995 Northern Boundary Area pink, chum, sockeye, coho, and chinook salmon fisheries of southern Southeast Alaska Districts 101 to 106 and northern British Columbia Areas 1, 3, 4, and 5; 2) management performance relative to Treaty requirements; 3) historical catches by area, gear (purse seine, gillnet, troll, trap), year, week, and species (sockeye, pink, chum, coho, and chinook); 4) historical escapements; and 5) preliminary expectations and fishing plans for 1996.

In southern Southeast Alaska, the all-gear salmon harvest was 48,400,000 which is 70% above the 1980 to 1994 average of 28,600,000. The harvest was comprised of 41,300,000 (85.4%) pink, 4,600,000 (9.5%) chum, 1,400,000 (2.8%) sockeye, 1,100,000 (2.2%) coho, and 32,000 (0.1%) chinook salmon. Pink salmon escapements were reasonably well distributed and near index goals in all southern Southeast Alaska districts. Escapement indices totaled 9,500,000 or 1,900,00 above the 7,600,000 mid-range escapement target and 500,000 over the 9,000,000 upper-range escapement target. Escapements of sockeye, chum and coho salmon were generally strong throughout the region.

In northern British Columbia, pink returns were much larger than expected; 2,965,544 pink salmon were harvested in Canadian Area 3 and 1,333,954 in the Area 4 fishery. Pink escapements to most areas were good. Sockeye returns were above average; 1,209,663 were harvested in Area 3 and 1,526,595 in Area 4. Escapement levels for sockeye were above target for the Nass and Skeena Rivers. Escapements of summer chum salmon were quite good in Area 3.

For the 1995 purse seine fishing season no formal agreement had been reached with Canada on the conduct of the District 104 fishery. However, the management plan for this fishery was to limit fishing time and sockeye harvest to levels similar to the 1990 to 1993 annex arrangement under the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Early in the season the abundance of both pink and sockeye salmon in the fishery was low. The total sockeye salmon harvest prior to Statistical Week 31 was 71,376 fish.

In the Alaska District 101-11 (Tree Point) gillnet fishery the Pacific Salmon Treaty calls for an average annual harvest, beginning in 1985, of 130,000 sockeye salmon. The 1995 harvest of sockeye salmon at Tree Point was 164,277 fish. This brings the 1985 to 1995 average to 164,352 sockeye.

Under the Pacific Salmon Treaty the outside portions of Canada's Statistical Areas 3 and 5 are to be managed such that an average annual pink harvest of 900,000 is achieved. In 1995, 2,493,982 pinks were harvested in Management Units 3(1-4). The catch in the outer sub-areas of Area 5 was not monitored in 1995; in recent years, this catch has been very low. The current average annual pink harvest from 1985-1995 in the Treaty area is 1,885,765.

As for Alaska's District 104 seine fishery, there were no specific annex arrangements under the Pacific Salmon Treaty governing the conduct of the Canadian Area 1 troll fishery for pink salmon. Preliminary saleslips indicate the Area 1 troll catch was 1,350,050 fish with 500,000 taken in the A-B line strip.

Excellent harvests are forecast for Southeast Alaska pink salmon in 1996. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecasts a harvest of between 44,000,000 and 77,000,000 pink salmon in all of Southeast Alaska in 1996. Separate forecasts for northern and southern Southeast Alaska are no longer made. Returns of coho, sockeye, and chum salmon are projected to be good, comparable to the levels observed in recent years.

In Canada, average to good sockeye fisheries are anticipated in Areas 3, 4, and 5 in 1996, while very low pink catches are predicted.