Increased CWT Application in Southern B.C. Coho Indicator Stocks

The 2005 PSC Report of the Expert Panel on the Future of the Coded Wire Tag Recovery Program for Pacific Salmon identified shortcomings of coho indicator stocks due to low tag recoveries. With the prolonged low marine survival rates of Southern B.C. (SBC) coho and subsequent reduction in fisheries, the coho stocks in SBC fail to obtain sufficient recoveries of coded-wire-tags (CWTs). In addition to the increased sampling already implemented as part of the CWT improvement program directed towards coho, increasing the number of CWT’s applied to coho will provide better information regarding marine survival, distribution and exploitation rates of SBC coho. This project proposes to increase CWT application at 4 hatchery stocks to provide this information to analysts and fishery managers.