Harvest and Harvest Rates of Chum Salmon Stocks in Fisheries of the Western Alaska Salmon Stock Identification Program (WASSIP), 2007–2009

Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Special Publication No. 12-25, Anchorage

Uncertainty about the magnitude, frequency, location, and timing of stock-specific sockeye and chum salmon harvest in Western Alaska fisheries was the impetus for the Western Alaska Salmon Stock Identification Program (WASSIP). The program was designed to use genetic data in mixed stock analysis of fisheries samples to more clearly describe harvest patterns of chum and sockeye salmon stocks in Western Alaska fisheries. A total of 71,656 samples were successfully analyzed from 194 temporal/fishery strata distributed from Chignik Area to Kotzebue Area. Stock composition estimates for temporal strata across fisheries were extended to estimates of stock-specific harvest numbers and harvest rates. This report reviews the history of WASSIP, summarizes the Memorandum of Understanding as the guiding document for the program, and reviews participation and contributions of the Advisory Panel and Technical Committee to the project. Brief descriptions of WASSIP chum salmon fisheries are provided and previous chum salmon tagging and stock identification studies are reviewed. We describe the methodology used to estimate stock-specific harvests and harvest rates for chum salmon, report these estimates, and provide guidance on interpretation of results. These results provide the most comprehensive examination of stock-specific harvest and harvest rates across Western Alaska chum salmon fisheries ever attempted.