1. 2015 Southeast Alaska Salmon Escapements
Photo by Steve Heinl

2. Sockeye Salmon Stock Goal Type1 Estimated Escapement or Index
Goal Range
Comment
Enumeration Method
Hugh Smith Lake
OEG
21,300
8,000–18,000
Above Goal
Weir Count
McDonald Lake
SEG
70,200
55,000–120,000
Expanded Foot Survey
Stikine—mainstem
39,000
20,000–40,000
Run Reconstruction
Stikine—Tahltan
BEG
33,200
18,000–30,000
Speel Lake
4,888
4,000–13,000
Taku—in-river
129,500
71,000–80,000
Mark-recapture
Redoubt Lake
14,000
7,000–25,000
Chilkoot Lake
71,100
38,000–86,000
Chilkat Lake
135,100
70,000–150,000
Weir/Sonar Count
Situk River
95,100
30,000–70,000
Lost River
302
1,000
Below Goal
Peak Boat Survey
Klukshu River
11,615
7,500–15,000
East Alsek-Doame River
15,000
13,000–26,000
Peak Aerial Survey
1 Goal types include optimal (OEG), sustainable (SEG), and biological (BEG) escapement goals.
For the first time ever, we met every formal escapement goal for pink, chum, sockeye and coho south of Yakutat.

3. Southern Southeast Subregion
366 index streams
Sumner Strait

4. Southern Southeast Subregion
Harvest 12.5 million was similar to 2011.
Only about a third of last 10 odd-years.
Escapement index of 4.3 million within goal range of 3-6 million.
Sumner Strait

5. Northern Southeast Inside Subregion
NSE Inside
Northern Southeast Inside Subregion
307 index streams
Sumner Strait

6. Northern Southeast Inside Subregion
NSE Inside
Northern Southeast Inside Subregion
Harvest of 16.1 million ranked 11th out of 56 years since 1960.
Higher than all harvests prior to 1990.
Most recent odd years were the largest and 4th largest since statehood.
Escapement index of 5.3 million was in the upper portion of the million goal range.
Sumner Strait

7. Northern Southeast Outside Subregion
NSE Outside
Northern Southeast Outside Subregion
41 index streams

8. Northern Southeast Outside Subregion
NSE Outside
Northern Southeast Outside Subregion

9. 2015 GRAY – 29 stock groups met management targets RED – 4 stock group
did not meet management targets
BLACK –
13 stock groups
exceeded management targets
We’ve divided the escapement goals into smaller management targets for districts and for 46 pink salmon stock groups in the region.
Each stock group is a collection of streams that share similar migration routes and run timing, and are assumed to share similar productivity and exploitation rates
Stock groups are useful for assessing the distribution of the spawning escapement across the region.

10. Southern Southeast Summer Chum Salmon
LB SEG=62,000
Based on peak surveys to 15 index streams.
SSE-15 streams, LB SEG 62,000
Fish Creek Hyder had best return since 2006; total escapement estimate = 28,600
Marx Creek peak count of 1759 also best since 2006.

11. Northern Southeast Inside Summer Chum Salmon
LB SEG = 119,000
Based on peak surveys to 63 index streams.

12. Northern Southeast Outside Summer Chum Salmon
LB SEG = 25,000
Based on peak surveys to 9 index streams.

13. Fall Chum Salmon Cholmondeley Sound Port Camden Security Bay
Excursion River
We also have developed SEGs for 5 fall chum stocks. Fall chum runs were mixed, but escapement goals were met in all five 5 stocks.
Little directed harvest in 2015 for these stocks.

14. Chilkat River Fall Chum Salmon
75-250
Harvest of 37,000 fall chum salmon in Lynn Canal among the lowest since statehood.

15. Ketchikan Survey Index
Coho Salmon
System
Hugh Smith Lake
Taku River
Auke Creek
Montana Creek
Peterson Creek
Ketchikan Survey Index
Sitka Survey Index
Goal Range
500–1,600
50,000‒
90,000
200–500
400–1,200
100–250
4,250–8,500
400–800
Goal Type1
BEG
SEG
2015
956
60,178
577
1,204
202
10,032
2,244
1. Goal types include optimal (OEG), sustainable (SEG), and biological (BEG) escapement goals.
System
Ford Arm Lake
Berners River
Chilkat River
Tawah Creek
Situk River
Tsiu/Tsivat rivers
Goal Range
1,300–2,900
4,000–9,200
30,000–70,000
1,400‒4,200
3,300–9,800
10,000–29,000
Goal Type1
BEG
SEG
2015
3,271
9,940
47,342
9,092
7,062
19,500
1. Goal types include optimal (OEG), sustainable (SEG), and biological (BEG) escapement goals.