'It is critical that we take action now'

The congressionally mandated Alaska Salmon Research Task Force has released its final report.

NMFS announces salmon task force members

Here's the news release.

Tapeworms in wild Alaska salmon?

Check out this CNN report.

NMFS studies 'flow of revenues'

Here's a blurb on some interesting research going on at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle:

Examining the flow of revenues from North Pacific fisheries

The North Pacific fisheries generate close to $2 billion in first-wholesale revenue each year, yet there is no systematic accounting or analysis of the states or cities to where this money flows. In this project we are identifying the main fleets exploiting the North Pacific fisheries and summarizing the revenues earned by the location of residence and hailing port for fleet participants over several years. We hypothesize that the location of residence data for vessel owners is an indicator of where fishing profits are likely to be spent. The hailing port data may be representative of where the vessel obtains a significant portion of its supplies and, potentially, crew members. We are also attempting to identify spatial trends and structural breaks in the distribution of revenues in response to recent management actions. Finally, we hope to examine whether the revenue distribution has consolidated over time. We believe this information will be interesting to the public at large and fishery managers seeking more information on how fleet-level decisions map into the distribution of earnings to different cities and states.

— Ron Felthoven, Chris Anderson and Jenefer Meredith

Scientists to launch new ocean acidification study

The research in Prince William Sound will make use of wave gliders that look like surfboards.

Seeking answers for Chinook decline

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell's proposed fiscal year 2015 budget contains $10 million for ongoing research on Chinook salmon, returns of which have been low in recent years.

One research project involves a planned juvenile Chinook survey in the northern Bering Sea.

The Department of Fish and Game is looking to charter a trawl vessel for the survey, to be conducted next September. For more specifics, see page 5 of this invitation to bid.

Bycatch in pollock fishery 'seems unlikely' as cause of Chinook declines in AYK, research report says

An organization known as the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative recently issued a research action plan to address Western Alaska's weak Chinook returns.

The plan is cumbersome reading, but Deckboss spent some time with it and offers this very brief summary.

An "expert panel" co-chaired by Daniel Schindler, a University of Washington fisheries scientist, identifies seven hypotheses thought to be the most likely causes of low Chinook returns.

Out of these seven hypotheses, the expert panel gives six the highest priority for research funding.

The one not ranked highest priority is marine bycatch — the idea that mortality from non-salmon fisheries in the ocean has contributed to the decline of AYK Chinook stocks.

The action plan states:

Based on available data, the bycatch within the domestic walleye pollock fisheries seems unlikely to have been the primary cause for the recent dramatic declines of Chinook salmon in the AYK region, because estimates of bycatch from this source are not high relative to the estimated declines in the total returns to the drainages.

The other six hypotheses include: density-dependent effects and overcompensation; freshwater mortality; ocean mortality; anthropogenic changes to marine ecological processes; escapement quality; and pathogens.

Obviously some of these are a bit technical. But the action plan contains plenty of additional detail on each hypothesis.

Big money for the biggest of salmon

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell says his fiscal 2014 budget proposal will include $10 million to kick off a five-year, $30 million research initiative on Chinook salmon, returns of which have been poor in recent years. More details here.

Salmon survivors

What happens when a hundred-year flood seemingly wipes out the salmon population in an Alaska stream?

The salmon simply recolonize and recover to pre-flood levels within four years.

That's what British scientists found in a study of Wolf Point Creek in Glacier Bay. Read about it here.

More from the governor's press conference

Here are a few quotes from Friday's press conference with Gov. Sean Parnell and Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell.

They discussed the poor Chinook salmon runs in parts of Alaska this season, and what the administration plans to do in response.

Parnell remarks:

I've asked the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to assemble a team of Alaska's top fisheries scientists to develop and implement a comprehensive fisheries research plan.

Just in the last year, we have requested funding in millions of dollars for Chinook salmon research, but this is above and beyond those earlier requests.

The fisheries research plan, to be completed this fall, must first evaluate what we know about Chinook salmon stocks; second, increase our understanding of the reasons behind the recent declines; and third, I want them to make recommendations for improvement.

Campbell remarks:

Some of the rivers in Alaska are experiencing their worst Chinook salmon runs in many years. And we don't expect a sudden, dramatic rebound. We're experiencing a long-term trend of low abundance that's a real hardship for Alaskans who rely on and value Chinook salmon.

And although the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has one of the best salmon management programs in the world, we do have gaps in our knowledge about Chinook salmon, and the causes of this period of low abundance cannot be precisely defined at this time.

The research plan that our scientists are developing is designed to identify indicator stocks that will provide fisheries managers with a statewide index of Chinook salmon stocks that represent a wide range, from Southeast Alaska all the way to Arctic waters.

And the scientists will evaluate all the data that we have about those stocks, against the specific knowledge areas that we know to be important for understanding Chinook salmon abundance, run timing, productivity and health. And they'll identify areas where our knowledge is robust, and areas where there are gaps in our knowledge.

And once they have that assessment of those knowledge gaps, they'll be able to recommend to us research projects that will fill those knowledge gaps and answer these key questions that we have about what's going on with Chinook salmon.

And we're going to be cooperating with federal scientists as we develop this plan.

We've also reached out to hatchery scientists with the goal of determining how additional Chinook salmon enhancement might contribute to a broader plan to address abundance declines. In many areas of Alaska, Chinook salmon stocking and enhancement is an important component of sport and commercial fisheries. And we're interested in exploring how that might represent an additional tool for addressing the current production declines.

State to launch big Chinook study

The upshot of the governor's news conference today is that a panel of scientists will take a "comprehensive" look at Alaska Chinook salmon in an effort to learn why runs are low.

More details in a bit.

Hatching 'new tools' for media control in Cordova

Recently published research examining possible negative effects of hatchery salmon production on wild stocks generated quite a bit of publicity such as this.

Folks at Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp., Alaska's largest hatchery operator, apparently didn't appreciate all the media attention.

And something will be done about it, according to this summary of PWSAC's May 23 executive committee meeting.

Here's the relevant part:

Chairman's Report (George Covel)
• Google Alerts — PWSAC uses this as a monitoring tool. Recently, over 30 news media stories have been posted on the internet about research conducted regarding the interactions of hatchery and wild salmon. Several of these are publications from ADF&G staff. Covel reported that ADF&G will put into place new tools to prevent this from happening again in the future. It is important for Department to clear this up. PWSAC is monitoring this along with Tracy Foster, Foster Communication Strategies.

Deckboss can hardly wait to ask the Alaska Department of Fish and Game exactly what sort of "tools" we're talking about.

Could this help?

Down in Juneau, state legislators are thinking about creating a special endowment to fund Chinook research.

Supporters say runs of Chinook, or king, salmon have declined around Alaska, and something must be done to restore the iconic fish.

Especially concerned are Western Alaska legislators representing constituencies dismayed over depressed Chinook runs to the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and Norton Sound.

Sen. Donny Olson, D-Nome, is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 205, with Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, carrying companion legislation in House Bill 332.

The bills would create an endowment fund, which would be invested. A seven-member board comprised of Alaska's fish and game commissioner and six "public members" from around the state would use the profits to award Chinook research grants.

Assuming legislators support the idea, they'll have to decide how much money to put into the endowment. The bills don't call for a specific amount, although they do make a reference to $50 million.

Certainly, the money is available, as the state is flush with billions of dollars in surplus oil revenue.

But whether a research endowment really has statewide appeal is questionable, as the health of Chinook stocks is varied. Certainly, the Yukon and Kuskokwim runs have struggled, as have other runs such as Kodiak's Karluk River stock. Farther east, in Southeast Alaska, the situation looks better.

The Senate Resources Committee is scheduled to take up SB 205 at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Here is Olson's sponsor statement.

And here's a packet of letters in support of the endowment.

$1,500 reward

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is offering a $1,500 reward for the recovery of subsurface research equipment in Chatham Strait.

Here's the press release.