Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Issues Final Report

A final report detailing research needs for Alaska salmon recommends applied research on seven matters related to salmon productivity, from climate warming and extreme events to predators and freshwater habitat changes. and marine harvest.

The report was released July 12 by NOAA Fisheries.

Under climate and extreme events, for example, the task force recommended research to understand and quantify the effects of natural environmental variability and warming climate on Alaska salmon distribution and abundance.

Under marine harvest, it recommends research to better understand the frequency of occurrence and mortality rate of direct and discards attributed to unobserved fishing mortality, including illegal, unreported and unregulated harvest.

An Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim working group formed to focus on a dramatic decline of chum and Chinook salmon in that region of Alaska recommended research on the impacts of marine harvest of the region’s salmon and on changes in the quantity and quality of marine food available for those salmon, plus a study of changing freshwater conditions and identifying changes in marine and freshwater predators.

The chair of the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force, NOAA Fisheries biologist Ed Farley, said the task force recognizes that declines in Chinook and chum salmon returns in western Alaska are having a profound effect on the culture and food security in that region, and expressed hope that task force recommendations would lead to measures to ensure the long-term viability of Alaska salmon populations.

Linda Kozak, chair of the Alaska Bycatch Advisory Council, noted that that advisory council makes recommendations on priorities for research related to bycatch, and also acknowledged a lack of communication between organizations and government entities engaged in research on bycatch issues.

“There is a lot of research going on and no one-stop shop, but we are working to try to bring together all this research,” she said.

The intent meanwhile is for NOAA Fisheries to support the task force research recommendations through continued collaboration with the state of Alaska, tribal, federal non-government organizations and international partners.

The report identified better quantifying the impacts of marine harvest on Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim chum and Chinook salmon as the highest priority research. The second highest research priority identified was understanding the consequences of change in marine food limitation for AYK salmon growth and survival.

Third highest in priority search was understanding effects of a variety of stressors impacting the health and quality of migrating and spawning adult salmon and how these translate into population dynamics.