Npafc: Time Series of North Pacific Wide Salmon and Steelhead Catch and Hatchery Release Data Now Online

A time series of Pacific salmon and steelhead catch and hatchery release data from North Pacific salmon-producing countries has been made available for download by the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) on its website (www.npafc.org).  Commercial catch and hatchery release statistics are available for Canada, Japan, Korea, Russia, and USA.  Sport and subsistence catch data are available for Canada, Russia and USA.  Depending on the reporting area, some catch statistics are available for the period starting in 1925 and some hatchery release statistics are available starting from 1952.  A metadata document describing data sources and data file organization is available for users on the website.  The data show that Pacific salmon abundance, as indexed by aggregate commercial catches, remains at near all-time high levels and is dominated by odd-year pink salmon.  The time series of catch and hatchery release statistics are a useful new tool for researchers interested in Pacific salmon and steelhead production under conditions of changing ocean climate and ecosystems.  The NPAFC is an international intergovernmental organization (members: Canada, Japan, Korea, Russia and USA) whose primary objective is to promote the conservation of anadromous stocks (Pacific salmon and steelhead trout) in the North Pacific Ocean.