Evaluation of Growth and Survival on the Recruitment of Chinook Salmon in Two Southeast Alaska Rivers

Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha support many important fisheries throughout Alaska.  In Southeast Alaska, highly variable recruitment and declines in productivity and abundance have created  economic and cultural hardships for many communities.  As a result there is a need to better characterize productivity and abundance trends for Chinook Salmon stocks. This study will address those needs by evaluating the importance of freshwater and marine processes on female Chinook Salmon recruitment to spawning age in the Stikine and Chilkat rivers (Southeast Alaska) using long-term scale archive samples, adult abundance estimates, and smolt data sets.  These different data sets will allow for the assessment of growth and survival on recruitment within individual stocks by following cohorts from freshwater through marine residence until they return to their natal river as reproductively mature adults.  This evaluation will allow for the development of more accurate and reliable forecasts for Chinook Salmon stocks in the region, as well as assist in management decisions and setting escapement goals in these two Southeast Alaska rivers.