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Summary
Pages 1-14

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From page 1...
... Modern technology and economies, which make it possible to deplete salmon populations easily, have strained that relationship. Recent declines in the abundance of salmon in the AYK region have created hardships for the people and communities that depend heavily on this resource.
From page 2...
... The reasons for the drop in salmon returns are not well understood, which makes it difficult for fishery managers and scientists to identify appropriate management actions, although they likely involve aspects of the life cycles of the fish and their environments in freshwater and in saltwater as well as human impacts. The AYK Sustainable Salmon Initiative (SSI)
From page 3...
... It will outline essential components of a successful, long-term science plan, identify re search themes that the science plan should be based on, and iden tify critical research questions within the research themes. The committee will later review the research and restoration plan drafted by the Scientific and Technical Committee of the AYK SSI.
From page 4...
... LIFE HISTORIES OF SALMON SPECIES IN THE REGION The life histories of the five species of Pacific salmon -- Chinook, coho, chum, pink, and sockeye -- found in the AYK region share several general characteristics. All species are anadromous: spawning occurs in freshwater, juveniles then migrate to the marine environment where they obtain 90-99% of their total growth, and mature adults return to freshwater to spawn.
From page 5...
... Data are inadequate to infer migration patterns between juvenile and immature life history stages of AYK salmon. The extent of their offshore movements in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean in late fall and winter is not known.
From page 6...
... studies of the resilience of the AYK salmon structure in the face of millennia of environmental change and human exploitation. The existence of numerous research programs in the North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean will enhance the ability to develop AYK salmon research programs through coordination.
From page 7...
... The committee judges that, aside from a few actions that could only help with no risk of doing harm or a few actions that should be undertaken on an experimental basis, it is premature to develop a detailed restoration plan until better research results are available. ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF AN AYK SSI SCIENCE PLAN · A mission and/or vision statement: the mission is an intellectual statement that defines AYK SSI's role, and the vision statement comes from informed imagination.
From page 8...
... To adequately address questions about predation mortality of AYK salmon, better information is needed on the distribution, life history, ecology, and population dynamics of the major predators of salmon and their trophic community structure in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Essential components of a successful research program include both field research and computer modeling.
From page 9...
... · For the major breeding populations, can we measure the relative abundance and vital rates of the population to predict future population trends? Little is known about the baseline measures of population viability even in the salmon that have been distinguished as separate breeding populations.
From page 10...
... This can be achieved by identifying and encouraging indigenous and collaborative research projects that weave traditional science and traditional knowledge with Western science. Included in this would be consolidating salmon research into a library, including geographical information system data.
From page 11...
... The committee judges that insufficient information is currently available to initiate a large-scale restoration program, although some small-scale local programs appear to be worth investigating. This judgment does not extend to the potential benefits of management actions to reduce fishing mortality or competition with hatchery fish at sea if such actions are supported by available information.
From page 12...
... · It would be of great value to be able to partition factors that affect AYK salmon runs into those that operate mainly in freshwater and the adjacent landscapes, and those that operate mainly in the marine environment. If such partitioning of factors can be achieved, it should be possible to learn whether the most important factors are marine or freshwater; or whether at certain times they are marine, and at other times freshwater; or whether both marine and freshwater factors are important most of the time.
From page 13...
... Such analyses should include North Pacific and Bering Sea hatcheries that seem likely to shed light on issues within the region. Implementation The implementation of this research program should use monitoring, process studies, retrospective analyses, and theoretical studies.
From page 14...
... Examples of such programs include the North Pacific Research Board, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Gulf Environmental Monitoring Program, the Alaska Ocean Observing System, Ecosystem Fisheries Oceanography Coordinated Investigations, the Bering Sea Ecosystem Study, the BeringAleutian Salmon International Survey, the Norton Sound Sustainable Salmon Initiative, the United States/Canada Yukon River Joint Technical Committee Program, the World Wildlife Fund/National Science Foundation Program, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Arctic Program. In addition, the committee recommends monitoring programs as being likely to provide useful information and having the potential to provide long-term data sets.


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