Introduction

This project addresses subsistence fisheries-monitoring issues for Copper River sockeye Oncorhynchus nerka and Chinook O. tshawytscha salmon, as outlined under Stock Status and Trends by the Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council in the Fall of 2002 (OSM 2002). It addresses the need for annual collection and reporting of salmon stock assessment for stocks that support important federal subsistence fisheries. The main goal of this project is to index the abundance of salmon in the lower Copper River, and to provide fishery managers with timelier inseason information than is currently available from the Miles Lake sonar site. The lower river index is not intended to replace or duplicate the existing Miles Lake sonar site. Instead, its purpose is to provide a more timely index of salmon abundance that fishery managers can use in conjunction with the more precise but delayed information from Miles Lake to better manage the commecial fishery and ensure that an adequate number of fish make it upriver for subsistence harvest and spawning requirements.

The three-year pilot study (2001 - 2003) also compared the relative strengths and weaknesses of acoustics and drift gillnetting to identify which technique would be the better choice for continued use on the lower Copper River. The authors concluded to discontinue drift gillnetting and use acoustics to index salmon abundance at Flag Point Channel. This conclusion was largely based on the substantially higher sampling power of acoustics and its ability to differentiate up- and downstream migration.

This project builds on the results and experience gained in the three-year pilot study. Project objectives were to:

1. Generate a daily inseason index of early salmon abundance in the lower Copper River to provide ADF&G managers with more timely escapement information than is available from the Miles Lake sonar site; and

2. Estimate the travel time of salmon from the commerical fishing area (Copper River District) to both the test fishery at Flag Point Channel and the Miles Lake sonar site.

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Respect for the Tribe's people, land, air and water through assessment, research, monitoring, and management

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