Deep Inlet re-opened this week and it has been quite a week with fall chum salmon harvest approaching 700k combined total between the gear groups. With several days left to go in the week and an ongoing Sitka Sound seine pink opening, this weeks chum harvest is approaching record territory and will definitely end up somewhere in the top 3 for all time weekly total. There continues to be a strong chum troll harvest in Sitka Sound this week and will once again top 100k for the third week in a row with total chum troll harvest is approaching 600k for the season. Seine chum harvest this week for Deep Inlet/Sitka Sound is already over 500k and more will be harvested today in Deep Inlet/Sitka Sound and tomorrow in the Sitka Sound seine pink opening. Overall, quite a week for the Deep Inlet project.
Samples from recent Deep Inlet chum harvest indicates we are likely near or at the peak of the return with a 52% male sex ratio. Age of returning is also beginning to shift with more age 3 chum salmon showing up in the catch. Most recent samples from Deep Inlet harvest indicate approximately 2%-5’s, 70%-4’s and 25% 3’s. Size has also dropped to approximately 6.3lbs average.
Current weather patterns of calm winds and sunny skies will likely minimize the movement of chum into Bear Cove for brood stock as well as into the Deep Inlet THA. We will attempt to maximize cost recovery effort next week at the head of Deep Inlet as well as the Eastern Channel/Silver Bay SHA. The Eastern Channel SHA reopens for cost recovery harvest on August 20th and the Deep Inlet THA will be closed Thursday and Friday next week to facilitate cost recovery efforts.
Chum returns to Crawfish Inlet continue with ongoing cost recovery in the inlet and today is the second seine pink salmon opening in West Crawfish. The first seine opening earlier this week in West Crawfish resulted in the harvest of 123k chum salmon.
Total return to date has now topped 5 million chum salmon.
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