Life Histories and Distributions of Copper River Fishes (.pdf)

generally spawn in smaller coastal rivers or smaller tributaries to larger rivers. For the CopperRiver basin, Coho begin to arrive in early August and are present through September. These fishare to be found in Elisnore Creek, Eyak River, Alagnak Slough, Clear Creek, the Rove River,Little Tonsina River, Kulitina River, and the Gulkana River. Smaller tributaries in the upperCopper River basin and also on the Chitina River could potentially hold coho salmon. TheAlaska Department of Fish and Game has also planted coho in many lakes in the UpperCopper/Upper Susitna Management area. These lakes might include Paxson, Summit andCrosswind lakes, as well as several other smaller lakes in the region (AKDFG, 2002). Sincethese fish arrive later in the fall, it is unlikely that one would encounter them while on theCopper River in early to mid-summer.Pink SalmonThe pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum)), is the most abundant of theseven species of Pacific salmon, contributing about 40% by weight and 60% in numbers of allsalmon caught commercially in the North Pacific Ocean and adjacent waters (Neave et al. 1967).Although great in number, pink salmon are the smallest, averaging just over 2kg. Pink salmonhave the remarkable ability to spawn below the high water mark, with eggs washed byfreshwater only at low tide (Watson, 1999). In Prince William Sound, Noerenberg (1963)estimated that the proportion of pink salmon spawning in the intertidal zone over a ten yearperiod (1952-61), in even and odd-numbered years, averaged about 74% and 46%, respectively.The distinction between even and odd number years is important, since pink salmon have a rigidtwo-year life cycle. This can result in substantially different numbers of returning fish,depending on the year. Even though a large fraction of the returning salmon spawn in theintertidal zone, longer runs are common. Pinks arriving earlier generally spawn farther up in thesystem.After emerging from the gravel, fry migrate out to the ocean immediately (Fig. 8).Downstream migration times vary from region to region, but usually falls between February andAugust, with almost all movement occurring at night. In general, the reported peak periods forfry migration in British Colombia, southeastern Alaska and Hokkaido occur from mid-April tomid-May (Groot and Margolis, 1991). Schools of marine fry stay close to the shoreline in thefirst few weeks at sea. During this time, they are often opportunistic generalist feeders, but canPage 9 of 27