Hugh Smith Lake Sockeye Salmon Stock Assessment, 2021
Author: Teresa M. Fish
Publisher:
Published: 2022
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn 2021, long-term population studies designed to evaluate adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) abundance and juvenile production at Hugh Smith Lake continued. The smolt weir count of 9,000 sockeye salmon smolt was the lowest count on record. An estimated 75.7% of smolt were freshwater age-1, and 24.3% were freshwater age-2. Escapement was counted through a weir, a mark–recapture study was conducted to confirm the weir count, and biological data were collected to estimate the age, length, and sex composition of adult sockeye salmon returning to Hugh Smith Lake. The 2021 weir count of 3,235 adult sockeye salmon was below the optimal escapement goal range of 8,000–18,000 and was the 7th lowest escapement in the 1980–2021 data series. Age-1.3 fish were the most abundant age class, representing an estimated 73.8% of the total spawning population. Counts of live sockeye salmon in Buschmann Creek (not including mouth estimates) only exceeded 300 fish during 3 of 12 surveys from 20 August to 31 October (including a peak count 510 live fish on 14 September). Counts of live sockeye salmon in Cobb Creek peaked at only 40 fish on 13 September; most other counts were of 10 or less fish. Reported subsistence harvest was 111 fish, which accounted for an estimated 3.3% of the terminal run. The estimated minimum harvest rate in the District 101–108 commercial net fisheries was 79.3% in 2021.