FISHERIES UPDATE FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 12-18, 2022. Report #8

The purpose of the weekly fisheries update is to provide the reader with an overall summary of the status of subsistence related fisheries throughout the state of Alaska. The target audience is the Federal Subsistence Board and its Staff Committee. The report was compiled with the assistance of the Federal in-season managers and OSM staff that provided weekly updated information by the close of business on Friday of the reporting week. My goal is to have the report sent by the close of business the following Monday. Web links have been included to provide additional information. You may obtain additional information on a fishery of particular interest by contacting the in-season manager, provided contacts, follow the provided web links, or contact me.

07/18/2022

Last edited 07/19/2022

Contact Information

George Pappas

(907) 317-2165

george_pappas@fws.gov

SOUTHEAST ALASKA

Sitka and Hoonah Area – Forest Service, Tongass National Forest

Jake Musslewhite, 907-789-6256 jacob.g.musslewhite@usda.gov

July 18, 2022

Redoubt Lake – The Redoubt Lake weir was installed on June 15, and is operated by the USFS. Sockeye returns to Redoubt have been strong this year, with 31,837 Sockeye counted through the weir as of July 17. The escapement goal of 7,000 – 25,000 fish has already been exceeded, and harvest limits have been liberalized to a household possession limit of 25 fish and an annual limit of 100 fish. Commercial purse seine openings have also been held targeting Redoubt Lake Sockeye.

Falls Lake – The Falls Lake weir project was operated for the 21^st consecutive year in 2021. The project monitors escapement and terminal harvest of Sockeye Salmon returning to Falls Lake each year. In 2021, an estimated 1,189 Sockeye escaped to the lake, while 315 were harvested in terminal subsistence and sport fisheries (Figure 1). The escapement and harvest were lower than in recent years. However, spawn-recruit analyses indicate that maximum recruitment of Falls Lake Sockeye Salmon occurs at lower escapements – around 2,000 fish. So, the low escapements seen in 2020 and 2021 may still provide for an adequate number of returning adults in several years.

The Falls Lake project was not funded for operation in 2022.

Figure 11. Escapement estimate and on-site harvest estimate for Falls Lake Sockeye Salmon, 2001-2021.

Figure 1. Escapement estimate and onsite harvest estimate for Falls Lake Sockeye Salmon, 2001-2021.

View full Fisheries Updates No 8 July 12-18, 2022 (1.38 MB)