JOINT NORTHERN BOUNDARY TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Joint Northern Boundary Technical Committee. U.S./Canada Northern Boundary Area 1996 Salmon Fisheries Management Report and 1997 Preliminary Expectations. TCNB (97)-1. January, 1997.

This report reviews:

1) catch, effort, and management actions in the 1996 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, toll, trap), year, week, and species (sockeye, pink, chum, coho, and chinook); 4) historical escapements; and 5) preliminary expectations and fishing plans for 1997.

In southern Southeast Alaska, the all-gear salmon harvest of 62.6 million was the largest since commercial fishing began in 1878. The harvest was comprised of 53.7 (85.8%) million pink, 5.6 (8.9%) million chum, 2.1 (3.4%) million sockeye, 1.2 (1.9%) million coho, and 24 (0.04%) thousand chinook salmon. Escapement indices for pink salmon were well distributed and, when summed across districts, was the second highest on record. Escapements of sockeye, chum, and coho salmon were generally strong throughout the region.

In Northern British Columbia, pink returns were larger than expected; 756;000 pink salmon were harvested in the Area 1 terminal net fishery, 1,232,215 pink salmon were harvested in Canadian Area 3 and 1,164,174 in the Area 4 fishery. Pink escapements were much higher than expected pre-season and targets were met or exceeded for most Skeena-Nass systems. Sockeye returns were well above average, 764,347 were harvested in Area 3 and 3,241,950 in Area 4. For the Nass escapement levels for sockeye were above, or near, targets. Skeena enhanced stocks were well above target levels while wild stocks were variable, at or below escapement targets. Escapements of summer chum salmon were below target, but improved over the brood year.

For the 1996 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 the district was to conduct the fishery in a manner to limit pre-Statistical Week 31 fishing time and sockeye harvest rates to levels similar to that which occurred during the 1990 to 1993 annex arrangement under the Pacific Salmon Treaty. The abundance of sockeye salmon was exceptionally high in these early weeks and 215,144 sockeye were harvested in four openings totaling 31 hours of fishing. The number of days fished in 1996 was equal to that fished during the 1990 to 1993 period, the number of hours and boats was down 20% and 32%, and the sockeye catch per boat-day was up 133%.

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 1996 harvest of sockeye salmon at Tree Point was 212,403 fish. This brings the 1985 to 1996 average to 168,356 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 1996 937,995 pinks were harvested in Management Units 3(1-4). The catch in the outer sub-areas of Area 5 were not monitored in 1996, in recent years, this catch has been very low. The current average annual pink harvest from 1985-1996 in the treaty area is 1,806,784.

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 732,000 fish with 290,000 taken in the A-B line strip.

Strong harvests are forecasted for Southeast Alaska pink salmon in 1997. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecasts a harvest of between 26 and 48 million pink salmon in all of Southeast Alaska in 1997. Separate forecasts for northern and southern Southeast are no longer made. Returns of coho, sockeye, and chum are projected to be strong, comparable to the levels observed in recent years.

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