Review of the Draft Research and Restoration Plan for Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (Western Alaska) Salmon (2006) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix A: Summary from First Report
Appendix A: Summary from First Report
Pages 40-53
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From page 40... ...
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.
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From page 41... ...
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)
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From page 42... ...
THE PRESENT STUDY To help the AYK SSI prepare the research and restoration plan, the STC of the AYK SSI requested the help of the National Research Council (NRC)
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From page 43... ...
In the AYK region, salmon eggs usually hatch in early to midwinter and the young salmon remain in the gravel until they emerge in spring. During this time, they live on the energy reserves in their yolk sac and they can be quite active, often burying more deeply into the gravel, presumably to avoid being disturbed by floods.
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From page 44... ...
In general, western Alaskan stocks migrate farther offshore in winter than stocks from more southerly regions of North America. Many or most AYK juvenile sockeye, chum, pink, and coho salmon move south through the Aleutian passes into the central and eastern North Pacific Ocean in late fall or winter.
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From page 45... ...
In contrast, in the Kuskokwim region, catches of Chinook, chum, and sockeye were simultaneously reduced in 1993, increased somewhat, and then reduced again in 1996. DEVELOPMENT AND ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH AND RESTORATION PLAN FOR THE AYK REGION The elements of a restoration and scientific research plan include a focus of the program, strategies to develop research themes, assemblage of prior research and restoration efforts, and integration of the study plan with existing, ongoing research programs.
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From page 46... ...
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.
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From page 47... ...
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.
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From page 48... ...
· Can we measure gear- or time-specific mortality on separate stocks within the mixed-stock ocean fisheries? · In the meetings and workshops with residents of the AYK region as part of this review, the continued harvest and use of salmon was stated as being of paramount importance for sustenance, livelihood, community sustainability, and cultural continuity.
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From page 49... ...
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.
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From page 50... ...
In addition, the AYK SSI appears to recognize the need to coordinate and partner with other research programs in the region and elsewhere. Given the large spatial extent of the region (and hence the research problem)
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From page 51... ...
In the AYK region, those activities are mainly fishing. In particular, better information is needed on the amount and consequences of recreational fishing and the amount and
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From page 52... ...
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.
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From page 53... ...
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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