Nass Update #1 for 2009

Here is the Nass Update #1 for 2009 provided courtesy of Nisga'a Fisheries.


2009 NASS STOCK ASSESSMENT UPDATE

ATTACHED IS A STOCK ASSESSMENT SUMMARY UPDATE FOR THE NASS RIVER (PDF FORMAT) FROM THE NISGA'A FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT OF NISGA'A LISIMS GOVERNMENT. SAYT-K'IL'IM-GOOT.

ALL DATA PRESENTED IN THIS UPDATE ARE PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITH FURTHER ASSESSMENT INFORMATION THAT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND SHOULD BE INTERPRETED CAUTIOUSLY FOR IN-SEASON ASSESSMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

ESCAPEMENT UPDATES AND FISHERY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM NISGA'A FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT ARE AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING LINK:

FTP://ftp.lgl.com/NASS_STOCK_ASSESSMENT_UPDATES

(NOTE: IT IS RECOMMENDED TO REFRESH LINK (F5) EACH TIME & COPY FILES TO YOUR MACHINE BEFORE OPENING)

NASS FISHWHEEL OPERATIONAL NOTES:

FISHWHEEL ASSESSMENT DATA UP TO TUESDAY 7 JULY 2009.

GITWINKSIHLKW (GW) FISHWHEELS (TEST FISHERY - 16TH YEAR): FISHWHEELS 1 AND 2 WERE STARTED ON 1 JUNE FOR TAGGING AND HISTORICAL CATCH INDEX ASSESSMENTS FOR SALMON AND STEELHEAD. THE FISHWHEELS WERE SHUTDOWN DURING THE HIGH WATER PERIOD (2-15 JUNE). FISHWHEELS 1 AND 2 ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING WELL AT ABOVE AVERAGE WATER LEVELS (3.4 M) FOR DATE. AVERAGE WATER LEVEL FROM 1992 TO 2008 IS 3.0 M FOR CURRENT DATE. ALL FISH THAT WERE CAUGHT IN THE GITWINKSIHLKW FISHWHEELS HAVE BEEN RELEASED.

GREASE HARBOUR (GH) FISHWHEELS (~17 KM UPSTREAM OF TEST FISHERY): UP TO FOUR FISHWHEELS WILL OPERATE AT GREASE HARBOUR IN 2009 FOR IN-SEASON MARK RECAPTURE TAG RECOVERIES AND SOME SELECTIVE HARVESTING OF SOCKEYE, CHINOOK AND COHO BASED ON NISGA’A ENTITLEMENT LEVELS AND TARGETS AS DIRECTED BY NISGA’A LISIMS GOVERNMENT. THE GH FISHWHEEL STARTUP DATES WERE: 17 JUNE (FW6), 23 JUNE (FW3), 25 JUNE (FW5) AND 7 JULY (FW4). ALL FOUR FISHWHEELS ARE CURRENTLY OPERATIONAL.

NASS SOCKEYE SALMON:

THE NASS SOCKEYE RUN SIZE ESTIMATE TO GITWINKSIHLKW TO 7 JULY (101,646) IS CURRENTLY TRACKING ABOVE AVERAGE (93,000) BASED ON A MEAN RUN SIZE TO GITWINKSIHLKW OF 278,000 FROM 1994 TO 2008.

THE RUN SIZE ESTIMATE IS A COMBINATION OF MARK-RECAPTURE AND HISTORICAL CATCH INDICES METHODS. NOTE THAT MARK RECAPTURE ESTIMATES WILL CHANGE OVER A 5 DAY PERIOD DUE TO MARK RATES STABILIZING AT GREASE HARBOUR AS FISH TAGGED AT GITWINKSIHLKW PASS THE UPSTREAM GREASE HARBOUR FISHWHEEL SITES OVER A 5 DAY PERIOD. AFTER THE MARK RATE STABILIZES, THE DAILY ESTIMATE IS BETTER AT PREDICTING ACTUAL CATCH EFFICIENCIES AT THE GW FISHWHEELS THAN THE HISTORICAL INDICES. AS SUCH WE WILL USE HISTORICAL CATCH EFFICIENCIES DURING THE 5 D FLUCTUATING PERIOD WHILE MARK RECAPTURE ESTIMATES ARE STABILIZING FOR LESS FLUCTUATING ESTIMATES THAT ARE REPORTED. CURRENTLY, MARK RECAPTURE ESTIMATES ARE FINAL TO 2 JULY AND LATER DATES WILL FLUCTUATE AS ADDITIONAL CATCH AND TAG RECOVERY DATA BECOME AVAILABLE FROM THE GH FISHWHEELS. A SPREADSHEET OF THE CALCULATIONS AND RANGE OF ESTIMATES IS PROVIDED IN THE ATTACHMENT.

THE RECOMMENDED RUN SIZE TARGET FOR ADULT NASS SOCKEYE TO GITWINKSIHLKW IS 275,000 DEPENDING ON HARVESTS PROJECTED ABOVE GITWINKSIHLKW. ALTHOUGH THE NET ESCAPEMENT GOAL (200,000) FOR NASS SOCKEYE HAS BEEN ACHIEVED AT LOWER IN-SEASON AGGREGATE RUN SIZE TARGETS (225,000 – 250,000) IN SEVEN OF THE PAST NINE YEARS SINCE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NISGA’A TREATY, THE MEZIADIN GOAL (160,000) HAS ONLY BEEN ACHIEVED IN TWO YEARS OF THE PAST NINE YEARS. THEREFORE, NISGA’A FISHERIES HAVE RECOMMENDED TO DFO THAT THE RUN SIZE TARGET BE INCREASED TO 275,000 TO HAVE A GREATER CERTAINTY OF REACHING THE MEZIADIN RIVER ESCAPEMENT WHICH HAS REPRESENTED 51% TO 85% (AVG. IS 68%) OF THE TOTAL NASS SOCKEYE AGGREGATE POPULATION SINCE 1994.

NISGA'A FISHERIES IS ESTIMATING THAT APPROXIMATELY 32% (93-08 MEDIAN) OF THE SOCKEYE RUN HAS PASSED GITWINKSIHLKW TO 7 JULY. USING FINAL MARK-RECAPTURE ESTIMATES TO 2 JULY, PRELIMINARY FORECAST METHODS ARE CURRENTLY PREDICTING A REASONABLE PROBABILITY OF REACHING THE RUN SIZE TARGET TO GW (275,000) WITH ESTIMATES RANGING FROM 331,000 (MEAN RUN TIMING METHOD - RANGE 281,000-381,000) TO 340,000 (IN-SEASON TO FINAL METHOD). HOWEVER, THE FORECAST ESTIMATES HAVE NOT STABILIZED AND CONTINUE TO DROP WITH FEWER SOCKEYE PASSING GW FISHWHEELS THAN IN LATE JUNE.

THE NET ESCAPEMENT ESTIMATE FOR NASS SOCKEYE TO DATE IS 93,160. THE NET ESCAPEMENT TARGET IS ~200,000 (160,000 TO MEZIADIN RIVER AND ~40,000 TO NON-MEZIADIN SYSTEMS).

MEZIADIN FISHWAY OPENED ON 1 JULY FOR ESCAPEMENT COUNTS TO RIVER. TOTAL COUNTS OF SOCKEYE AT MEZIADIN TO 7 JULY ARE: 2,245 ADULTS (23 TAGS) AND 1 JACK. THE 2009 CUMULATIVE ADULT COUNT TO DATE IS ABOVE AVERAGE (800) BASED ON MEAN COUNTS AT THE MEZIADIN FISHWAY FROM 1994 TO 2008. THE AVERAGE COUNT OF ADULT SOCKEYE FROM 1994 TO 2008 IS 169,000. NISGA'A FISHERIES IS ESTIMATING THAT <1% OF THE MEZIADIN SOCKEYE RUN HAS REACHED THE FISHWAY TO DATE BASED ON MEAN COUNTS FROM 1990 TO 2008.

NISGA'A FISHERIES IS USING A PRELIMINARY TOTAL RETURN TO CANADA (TRTC) ESTIMATE FOR NASS SOCKEYE OF BETWEEN 511,000 (PRE-SEASON) AND 535,000 (IN-SEASON) FOR TRACKING THE CURRENT NISGA'A ENTITLEMENT OF NASS SOCKEYE THAT IS RANGING BETWEEN 86,000 AND 92,000. THE 2009 TRTC RETURN IS EXPECTED TO BE BELOW AVERAGE (636,000) BASED ON TRTC RETURNS FROM 1994 TO 2008.

NISGA'A FOOD FISH (FSC) HARVESTING IS OPEN FOR ALL SALMON SPECIES AND IS ANTICIPATED TO REACH BETWEEN 25,000 AND 30,000 FOR NASS SOCKEYE IN 2009. GIVEN THAT THE TOTAL FSC AMOUNT IS PROJECTED TO NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL NISGA'A ENTITLEMENT ESTIMATE FOR 2009, THE REMAINING ENTITLEMENT (~56,000 TO 62,000 SOCKEYE) ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE FISHERIES. THEREFORE, THE DIRECTOR OF NISGA'A FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE HAS OPENED THE NISGA'A INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNAL-SALE FISHERIES FOR HARVESTING NASS SOCKEYE AS ANNOUNCED BY THE NISGA’A FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT.

THE TOTAL NISGA'A HARVEST ESTIMATE OF NASS SOCKEYE TO DATE IS 17,156. THE TOTAL INCLUDES FSC CATCH (5,933) TO WEEK ENDING 4 JULY AND SALE FISHERY CATCH ESTIMATES TO DATE (9,717 FROM INDIVIDUAL SALES AND 1,506 FROM COMMUNAL SALES FROM GH FISHWHEELS). THE NEXT NISGA'A CATCH ESTIMATE FOR WEEK ENDING 11 JULY WILL BE UPDATED ON WEDNESDAY, 15 JULY.

FOUR 12-HR NISGA'A MARINE INDIVIDUAL SALE FISHERIES HAVE OCCURRED TO DATE: 25 JUNE (33 BOATS), 26 JUNE (33 BOATS), 2 JULY (30 BOATS), AND 3 JULY (30 BOATS) IN AREA 3-12. TOTAL HARVESTS IN THE NISGA'A MARINE SALE FISHERIES TO DATE ARE: 9,717 SOCKEYE; 731 PINK; AND 188 CHINOOK. THE NEXT OPENINGS OF THE MARINE SALE FISHERY HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR 9 JULY (THURS) AND 10 JULY (FRI) IN AREA 3-12.

THE FIRST NISGA’A IN-RIVER INDIVIDUAL SALE FISHERY OPENING (10 HR) FOR 2009 OCCURRED ON 8 JULY (WED). AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE NEXT IN-RIVER OPENING WILL OCCUR ON FRIDAY (10 JULY) AT 2 PM.

AREA 3 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES CONDUCTED IN 2009 TO DATE HAVE BEEN 6 GILLNET [16 JUNE (146 BOATS), 23 JUNE (224 BOATS), 29 JUNE (253 BOATS), 30 JUNE (253), 6 JULY (264 BOATS) AND 7 JULY (229 BOATS). TOTAL COMMERCIAL HARVEST ESTIMATES IN AREA 3 TO 8 JULY ARE: 52,981 SOCKEYE; 11,339 PINK; 23,472 CHUM AND 847 CHINOOK (SOURCE OF DATA IS FROM DFO PRINCE RUPERT FISHERIES MANAGEMENT).

ALASKA GILLNET FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 (TREE POINT) AND 106 (SUMNER AND UPPER CLARENCE) BEGAN ON 21 JUNE AND 15 JUNE, RESPECTIVELY. ALASKAN SEINE FISHERIES OPENING DATES WERE: DISTRICTS 101 (LOWER CLARENCE/REVILLA; OPENED ON 5 JULY), 102 (MIDDLE CLARENCE; OPENED ON 21 JUNE), 103 (CORDOVA; NOT OPENED YET) AND 104 (NOYES/DALL; OPENED ON 5 JULY).

TOTAL IN-SEASON HARVEST ESTIMATES OF SOCKEYE IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN THE ABOVE DISTRICTS IS 80,944 BASED ON DATA TO WEEK ENDING 27 (4 JULY) ON THE ADFG WEBSITE. AN ATTACHMENT IS PROVIDED SHOWING THE BREAKOUT OF CATCH BY THE RESPECTIVE DISTRICT AREAS. THE REPORTED CATCHES ARE ABOVE AVERAGE (72,000) FOR THE PERIODS SHOWN. THE AVERAGE TOTAL CATCH OF SOCKEYE IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN FISHERIES IS 663,000 SOCKEYE FROM 2000 TO 2008. OF THE TOTAL ALASKAN CATCH OF SOCKEYE, NISGA'A FISHERIES IS ESTIMATING APPROXIMATELY 30,000 ARE NASS SOCKEYE BASED ON AVERAGE STOCK % DATA (1982-07) AND IS ABOVE AVERAGE (18,000) TO DATE. AVERAGE TOTAL CATCH OF NASS SOCKEYE IS 177,000 FROM 1999 TO 2007.

NASS CHINOOK SALMON:

THE NASS CHINOOK RUN SIZE ESTIMATE TO GITWINKSIHLKW (21,048) IS TRACKING ABOVE AVERAGE (17,500) TO 7 JULY BASED ON A MEAN RUN SIZE TO GITWINKSIHLKW OF 23,000 FROM 1994 TO 2008. THE RUN SIZE TARGET FOR NASS CHINOOK TO GITWINKSIHLKW IS 17,000 DEPENDING ON HARVESTS PROJECTED ABOVE GITWINKSIHLKW AND HAS BEEN REACHED BASED ON IN-SEASON DATA. THE IN-SEASON TRACKING OF THE NASS CHINOOK RUN TO GITWINKSIHLKW IS PREDICTING BETWEEN 26,000 [IN-SEASON TO FINAL METHOD] AND 29,000 [MEAN RUN TIMING METHOD] AS THE FINAL IN-SEASON RUN SIZE TOTAL TO GITWINKSIHLKW. NISGA'A FISHERIES IS ESTIMATING THAT 84% (93-07 MEDIAN) OF THE RUN HAS PASSED GITWINKSIHLKW TO DATE.

THE NET ESCAPEMENT ESTIMATE FOR NASS CHINOOK IS 19,202. THE NET ESCAPEMENT TARGET FOR NASS CHINOOK ABOVE GREASE HARBOUR IS ~15,000 AND HAS BEEN REACHED BASED ON IN-SEASON DATA.

TOTAL COUNTS OF CHINOOK AT MEZIADIN FISHWAY TO 7 JULY ARE: 6 ADULTS (0 TAGS) AND 1 JACK. THE 2009 CUMULATIVE ADULT COUNT TO DATE IS ABOVE AVERAGE (1) BASED ON MEAN COUNTS AT THE MEZIADIN FISHWAY FROM 1994 TO 2008. THE AVERAGE COUNT OF ADULT CHINOOK AT MEZIADIN FISHWAY FROM 1994 TO 2008 IS 480. THE FISHWHEEL MEAN-RUN TIMING FORECAST IS PREDICTING 640 CHINOOK (RANGE: 450-830) TO REACH THE FISHWAY BASED ON CURRENT ESCAPEMENT PASSED GW AND ESTIMATED MEAN STOCK COMPOSITION (2.6%; 1994 TO 2008). NISGA'A FISHERIES IS ESTIMATING THAT <1% OF THE MEZIADIN CHINOOK RUN HAS PASSED THE FISHWAY TO DATE BASED ON MEAN COUNTS FROM 1990 TO 2008. MARK-RECAPTURE DATA FOR FINAL ESCAPEMENT ESTIMATES WILL BE BASED PRIMARILY ON MEZIADIN AND KWINAGEESE WEIR COUNTS AND TAG RECOVERY INFORMATION. KWINAGEESE WEIR OPERATIONS ARE PROJECTED TO BEGIN IN MID-JULY.

THE KINCOLITH VIDEO-COUNTING FENCE IS PROJECTED TO BEGIN OPERATIONS NEXT WEEK WHEN WATER LEVELS DROP FOR COLLECTING ESCAPEMENT DATA FOR THE KINCOLITH RIVER AND PROVIDING AN INDEX OF ESCAPEMENT OF SALMON TO COASTAL STREAMS IN AREA 3. NISGA'A FISHERIES IS ESTIMATING THAT ~18% (~200) OF THE KINCOLITH CHINOOK RUN MAY HAVE PASSED TO DATE AS ESCAPEMENT. THIS ESTIMATE IS BASED ON THE RECONSTRUCTED MEAN RUN TIMING TO 8 JULY FROM PAST OPERATIONS (2001, 2002, 2005-2008). A MARK-RECAPTURE STUDY IS CURRENTLY BEING CONDUCTED ON KINCOLITH CHINOOK TO ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF CHINOOK THAT HAVE PASSED TO THE SPAWNING AREAS PRIOR TO THE WEIR BEGINNING OPERATION.

NISGA'A FISHERIES IS USING A PRELIMINARY TRTC ESTIMATE FOR NASS CHINOOK OF BETWEEN 34,000 (IN-SEASON) AND 48,000 (PRE-SEASON) FOR TRACKING THE NISGA'A ENTITLEMENT OF NASS CHINOOK. THE 2009 TRTC ESTIMATES ARE FORECASTING FOR AN AVERAGE (36,000) TO ABOVE AVERAGE RETURN BASED ON TRTC RETURNS FROM 1994 TO 2008. UNCERTAINTY OF MARINE COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL CATCHES OF NASS CHINOOK MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE IN-SEASON TRTC ESTIMATES FOR NASS CHINOOK. HOWEVER, BASED ON THE CURRENT TRTC ESTIMATES FOR 2009, THE NISGA'A ENTITLEMENT OF NASS CHINOOK IS BETWEEN ~11,000 AND ~14,000 (INCLUDING UNDERAGES (~3,900) DUE TO PAST YEAR’S MANAGEMENT UNCERTAINTY ALLOWANCES).

THE NISGA'A HARVEST ESTIMATE OF NASS CHINOOK TO DATE IS 3,070. THE TOTAL INCLUDES FSC CATCH (1,915) TO WEEK ENDING 4 JULY AND SALE FISHERY CATCH ESTIMATES TO DATE (188 FROM INDIVIDUAL SALES AND 967 FROM COMMUNAL SALES FROM GH FISHWHEELS).

AREA 3 COMMERCIAL GILLNET HARVEST OF CHINOOK TO DATE IS 847 (314 RELEASED). NO ESTIMATES OF THE NASS COMPONENT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO NISGA’A FISHERIES.

TOTAL IN-SEASON HARVEST ESTIMATE OF CHINOOK IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS 2,323 BASED ON DATA TO WEEK ENDING 27 (4 JULY) ON THE ADFG WEBSITE. REPORTED CATCHES ARE ABOUT AVERAGE (2,200) TO DATE. THE AVERAGE TOTAL CATCH OF CHINOOK IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS ~13,000 CHINOOK FROM 2000 TO 2008. NO ESTIMATES OF THE NASS COMPONENT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO NISGA’A FISHERIES.

NASS COHO SALMON:

TWO NASS COHO WERE CAUGHT AT THE GREASE HARBOUR FISHWHEELS ON 7 JULY. THE CURRENT CATCH IS ABOVE AVERAGE (0) BASED ON TOTAL FISHWHEELS CATCHES FROM 2000 TO 2008. THE RUN SIZE ESTIMATE OF NASS COHO TO GITWINKSIHLKW TO 7 JULY IS <100 WITH <1% (93-08 MEDIAN) OF THE RUN ESTIMATE TO HAVE PASSED GITWINKSIHLKW TO DATE. THE RUN SIZE TARGET FOR NASS COHO TO GITWINKSIHLKW IS ~50,000 DEPENDING ON HARVESTS PROJECTED ABOVE GITWINKSIHLKW AND DURING TYPICAL GITWINKSIHLKW FISHWHEEL OPERATION (JUNE TO EARLY-MID SEPTEMBER) AS COHO CONTINUE TO PASS THE TEST FISHERY SITE AFTER FISHWHEELS END OPERATION.

THE RUN SIZE ESTIMATE FOR NASS COHO WILL BE A COMBINATION OF MARK-RECAPTURE AND HISTORICAL CATCH INDICES METHODS. THE MARK RECAPTURE ESTIMATES WILL FLUCTUATE OVER A 7 DAY PERIOD DUE TO MARK RATES STABILIZING AT GREASE HARBOUR AS COHO TAGGED AT GITWINKSIHLKW PASS THE UPSTREAM GREASE HARBOUR FISHWHEEL SITES OVER ~7 DAY PERIODS.

THE NET ESCAPEMENT ESTIMATE FOR NASS COHO IS <100. THE NET ESCAPEMENT TARGET FOR NASS COHO ABOVE GREASE HARBOUR IS ~41,000 DURING TYPICAL OPERATIONS OF THE GITWINKSIHLKW FISHWHEELS FROM JUNE TO FIRST OR SECOND WEEK OF SEPTEMBER.

TOTAL COUNTS OF COHO AT MEZIADIN FISHWAY TO 8 JULY ARE: 0 ADULTS (0 TAGS) AND 0 JACKS. THE 2009 CUMULATIVE ADULT COUNT TO DATE IS THE SAME AS THE AVERAGE (0) BASED ON MEAN COUNTS AT THE MEZIADIN FISHWAY FROM 1994 TO 2008. THE AVERAGE COUNT OF ADULT COHO AT MEZIADIN FISHWAY FROM 1994 TO 2008 IS 3700. COHO BEGIN PASSING THE FISHWAY IN LATE AUGUST.

NISGA'A FISHERIES IS CURRENTLY USING A PRELIMINARY TRTC ESTIMATE FOR NASS COHO OF 119,000 (PRE-SEASON) FOR TRACKING THE NISGA'A ENTITLEMENT OF NASS COHO THAT IS ~16,000 (INCLUDING UNDERAGES (~6,000) DUE TO PAST YEAR’S MANAGEMENT UNCERTAINTY ALLOWANCES). THE 2009 TRTC ESTIMATE IS PROJECTING FOR A BELOW AVERAGE (162,000) RETURN BASED ON TRTC RETURNS FROM 1994 TO 2008. UNCERTAINTY OF MARINE COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL CATCHES, AND LOWER/COASTAL NASS COHO ESCAPEMENT MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE IN-SEASON TRTC ESTIMATES FOR NASS COHO. HOWEVER, FORECAST METHODS CONTINUE TO BE DEVELOPED TO ASSIST IN REACHING ESCAPEMENT AND ENTITLEMENT TARGETS.

THE NISGA'A HARVEST ESTIMATE OF NASS COHO TO DATE IS 26. THE TOTAL INCLUDES FSC CATCH (26) TO WEEK ENDING 4 JULY. NO SALE FISHERY CATCH HAS OCCURRED TO DATE.

AREA 3 COMMERCIAL GILLNET HARVEST OF COHO TO DATE IS 0 (1981 RELEASED). NO ESTIMATES OF THE NASS COMPONENT ARE AVAILABLE TO NISGA’A FISHERIES.

TOTAL IN-SEASON HARVEST ESTIMATE OF COHO IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS 19,750 BASED ON DATA TO WEEK ENDING 27 (4 JULY) ON THE ADFG WEBSITE. REPORTED CATCHES ARE JUST BELOW AVERAGE (21,000) TO DATE. THE AVERAGE TOTAL CATCH OF COHO IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS ~367,000 COHO FROM 2000 TO 2008. NO ESTIMATES OF THE NASS COMPONENT ARE AVAILABLE TO NISGA’A FISHERIES.

NASS PINK SALMON:

THE FISHWHEEL CATCH OF PINK SALMON (9) TO 7 JULY IS BELOW THE MEAN CATCH (100) FOR ODD-YEAR RETURNS FROM 2000 TO 2008.

NISGA'A FISHERIES IS CURRENTLY USING THE PRE-SEASON TRTC ESTIMATE FOR NASS PINKS OF 1,053,000 FOR TRACKING THE NISGA'A ENTITLEMENT (129,000) OF NASS AREA PINKS. THE 2009 TRTC ESTIMATE IS PROJECTING TO BE JUST BELOW AVERAGE (1,150,000) BASED ON TRTC RETURNS OF ODD YEAR PINKS FROM 1995 TO 2007.

NOTE THAT PRE-SEASON AND IN-SEASON FORECASTING OF NASS AREA PINKS ARE POORLY DEVELOPED FOR AREA 3 CURRENTLY. NISGA’A FISHERIES IS DEVELOPING IN-SEASON METHODS WITH DFO FOR BETTER PREDICTING THE MAGNITUDE OF RETURNS IN THE FUTURE BASED ON FISHWHEEL MEAN CATCHES, KINCOLITH WEIR COUNTS AND ANY STREAM SURVEY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE COLLECTED (PRIMARILY FROM AUGUST DATA) TO AID IN MANAGING NASS AREA PINKS AND TRACKING THE NISGA’A ENTITLEMENT.

THE NISGA'A HARVEST ESTIMATE OF NASS PINKS TO DATE IS 734. THE TOTAL INCLUDES FSC CATCH (3) TO WEEK ENDING 4 JULY AND SALE FISHERY CATCH ESTIMATES TO DATE (731 FROM INDIVIDUAL SALES FISHERIES).

AREA 3 COMMERCIAL GILLNET HARVEST OF PINK TO DATE IS 11,339 (146 RELEASED).

TOTAL IN-SEASON HARVEST ESTIMATE OF PINK IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS 66,639 BASED ON DATA TO WEEK ENDING 27 (4 JULY) ON THE ADFG WEBSITE. REPORTED CATCHES ARE BELOW AVERAGE (188,000) FOR PERIOD. THE AVERAGE TOTAL CATCH OF PINK IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS ~28,000,000 PINK FROM 2000 TO 2008. NO ESTIMATES OF THE NASS COMPONENT ARE AVAILABLE TO NISGA’A FISHERIES.

NASS CHUM SALMON:

THE FISHWHEEL CATCH OF CHUM (1) TO 7 JULY IS AT THE MEAN CATCH (1) LEVEL BASED ON TOTAL FISHWHEEL CATCHES FROM 2000 TO 2008.

NISGA'A FISHERIES IS CURRENTLY USING THE PRE-SEASON TRTC ESTIMATE FOR NASS CHUM OF 56,000 FOR TRACKING THE NISGA'A ENTITLEMENT (4,480) OF NASS CHUM. THE 2009 TRTC ESTIMATE IS PROJECTING A BELOW AVERAGE (93,000) RETURN BASED ON TRTC RETURNS FROM 1994 TO 2008. IN ADDITION, FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS THE RETURNS OF NASS AREA CHUM HAVE BEEN BELOW THE MINIMUM ESCAPEMENT GOAL AND CONCERN FOR STOCK STATUS HAS BEEN RAISED BY NISGA’A FISHERIES TO DFO. THE OVERALL STOCK STATUS OF NASS AREA CHUM SINCE 2000 HAS PREVENTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO UTILIZE NISGA’A ENTITLEMENT UNDERAGES (~28,000) THAT OCCURRED IN THE EARLY YEARS OF IMPLEMENTING THE NISGA’A TREATY. WHEN RETURNS HAVE BEEN ABOVE THE ESCAPEMENT GOAL, THE MAJORITY OF THE NISGA’A ENTITLEMENT OF NASS AREA CHUM HAVE BEEN FOREGONE SINCE 2002 IN AN ATTEMPT TO REBUILD STOCKS.

NOTE THAT PRE-SEASON AND IN-SEASON FORECASTING OF NASS AREA CHUMS ARE POORLY DEVELOPED FOR AREA 3. NO RELIABLE METHODS ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO ESTIMATE ESCAPEMENT DURING THE SEASON, TRACK THE STATUS OF THE RUN OR THE NISGA’A ENTITLEMENT.

THE NISGA'A HARVEST ESTIMATE OF NASS CHUM TO DATE IS 29. THE TOTAL INCLUDES FSC CATCH (29) TO WEEK ENDING 4 JULY. NO NISGA’A SALE FISHERIES FOR NASS CHUM ARE BEING PERMITTED IN 2009 TO ALLOW STOCK REBUILDING IN AREA 3.

AREA 3 COMMERCIAL GILLNET HARVEST OF CHUM TO DATE IS 23,472 (3674 RELEASED). NO ESTIMATES OF THE NASS COMPONENT ARE AVAILABLE TO NISGA’A FISHERIES.

TOTAL IN-SEASON HARVEST ESTIMATE OF CHUM IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS 289,787 BASED ON DATA TO WEEK ENDING 27 (4 JULY) ON THE ADFG WEBSITE. REPORTED CATCHES ARE WELL ABOVE AVERAGE (114,000) TO PERIOD REPORTED. THE AVERAGE TOTAL CATCH OF CHUM IN SOUTHEAST ALASKAN GILLNET AND SEINE FISHERIES IN DISTRICTS 101 TO 104 IS ~1,540,000 CHUM FROM 2000 TO 2008. NO ESTIMATES OF THE NASS COMPONENT ARE AVAILABLE TO NISGA’A FISHERIES.

NASS SUMMER-RUN STEELHEAD:

IN-SEASON RUN SIZE ESTIMATES OR OTHER INFORMATION (OTHER THAN CATCH DATA PRIOR TO 1 JULY) PRESENTED FOR NASS STEELHEAD ARE ONLY FOR SUMMER RUNS (I.E., DO NOT INCLUDE ANY ESTIMATES FOR WINTER OR SPRING RUN STEELHEAD) AND ONLY COVER RETURN INFORMATION FROM JUNE TO SEPTEMBER WHEN THE FISHWHEELS TYPICALLY OPERATE.

THE FISHWHEEL CATCH OF NASS STEELHEAD (11) TO 7 JULY IS ABOVE AVERAGE (6) BASED ON FISHWHEEL OPERATIONS FROM 2000 TO 2008. IT IS TOO EARLY TO ESTIMATE THE NASS SUMMER-RUN STEELHEAD RUN SIZE ESTIMATE TO GITWINKSIHLKW AS SUMMER-RUNS TYPICALLY DO NOT BEGIN PASSING GITWINKSIHLKW UNTIL MID-JULY. DURING TYPICAL GITWINKSIHLKW FISHWHEEL OPERATION (JULY TO EARLY TO MID SEPTEMBER), THE PRELIMINARY RUN SIZE TARGET FOR NASS SUMMER-RUN STEELHEAD TO GITWINKSIHLKW IS ~4,200 DEPENDING ON ANY LOSSES PROJECTED ABOVE GITWINKSIHLKW.

THE RUN SIZE ESTIMATES WILL BE A COMBINATION OF MARK-RECAPTURE AND HISTORICAL CATCH INDICES METHODS AT GW FISHWHEELS. MARK RATES DERIVED FROM THE COHO ASSESSMENT PROGRAM ARE USED TO GENERATE SUMMER-RUN STEELHEAD ABUNDANCE ESTIMATES THAT ASSUMES SIMILAR CATCHABILITY BETWEEN COHO AND STEELHEAD AT THE GW FISHWHEELS BASED ON SIMILAR RUN TIMING PATTERNS. MARK-RATE SAMPLE SIZES ARE MUCH LARGER AND MORE RELIABLE FOR COHO THAN USING STEELHEAD MARK RATE DATA. STEELHEAD RUN SIZE ESTIMATES WILL CHANGE OVER A 7 DAY PERIOD DUE TO COHO MARK RATES STABILIZING AT GREASE HARBOUR AS TAGGED FISH AT GITWINKSIHLKW PASS THE UPSTREAM GREASE HARBOUR FISHWHEEL SITES OVER A 7 DAY PERIOD.

THE NET RUN SIZE ESTIMATE ABOVE GREASE HARBOUR FOR NASS SUMMER-RUN STEELHEAD IS NEGLIGIBLE TO DATE. THE NET RUN SIZE TARGET FOR NASS SUMMER-RUN STEELHEAD ABOVE GREASE HARBOUR IS ~4,000 DURING TYPICAL OPERATIONS OF THE GITWINKSIHLKW FISHWHEELS FROM JULY TO FIRST OR SECOND WEEK OF SEPTEMBER.

TOTAL COUNTS OF STEELHEAD AT MEZIADIN FISHWAY TO DATE ARE: 0 ADULTS (0 ADIPOSE MARKS). THE 2009 CUMULATIVE ADULT COUNT (0) TO DATE IS THE SAME AS THE AVERAGE (0) BASED ON MEAN COUNTS AT THE MEZIADIN FISHWAY FROM 1994 TO 2008. THE AVERAGE COUNT OF STEELHEAD DURING OPERATION OF MEZIADIN FISHWAY (JULY TO MID-OCTOBER) FROM 1994 TO 2008 IS 30. STEELHEAD BEGIN PASSING THE FISHWAY IN LATE AUGUST.

THE NISGA'A HARVEST ESTIMATE OF NASS STEELHEAD TO WEEK ENDING 4 JULY IS 45. THE AVERAGE HARVEST OF NASS SUMMER-RUN STEELHEAD IN NISGA'A FISHERIES IS ~400 FROM 1994 TO 2008.

THE NEXT NASS STOCK ASSESSMENT UPDATE IS PLANNED FOR: THURSDAY 16 JULY.
ESCAPEMENT UPDATES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE ABOVE WEBSITE LINK, MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY.