Decision Analysis of a Large-Scale Fishing Experiment Designed to Test for a Genetic Effect of Size-Selective Fishing on British Columbia Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 1305-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murdoch K. McAllister ◽  
Randall M. Peterman
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Genetic Effect ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Wide Range

Past work suggested that size-selective harvesting of large fish combined with heritability of body size has caused the large (up to 34%) decrease in mean adult weight of British Columbia pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) since 1950. In a companion paper (Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sei. 49: 1294–1304) we evaluated the statistical performance of a large-scale fishing experiment that could enable managers to test this hypothesis and at the same time increase catch biomass if that hypothesis were correct. In this paper we evaluate the economic performance of the proposed experiment using Monte Carlo simulation and decision analysis under a wide range of conditions that encompasses existing biological uncertainties. We accounted for uncertainties through prior probabilities placed on two key biological hypotheses. We computed the expected economic value of catch biomass for the experimental and current nonexperimental (status quo) management strategies using a 20-yr time horizon and a 10-yr experiment with four spatial replicates. Under a variety of discount rates, the expected economic value of experimentation exceeded that of status quo management in most of the conditions examined, in some cases by as much as 60%.

Statistical Evaluation of a Large-Scale Fishing Experiment Designed to Test for a Genetic Effect of Size-Selective Fishing on British Columbia Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 1294-1304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murdoch K. McAllister ◽  
Randall M. Peterman ◽  
Darren M. Gillis
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Genetic Effect ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Block Designs ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha

Since 1950, stocks of British Columbia pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) have shown up to a 34% decrease in mean adult body weight, causing significant reduction in economic value of commercial harvests. Previous research suggests that this trend is due to size-selective harvesting of large fish, but changes in oceanographic conditions are a plausible alternative. Corrective action by management agencies requires that the true causal mechanism be identified. We therefore examined several possible designs for a large-scale fishing experiment devised to test the size-selective fishing hypothesis. These designs would generate accurate and precise field estimates of the heritability (h2) of growth rate, which is important because it, in combination with the selection differential (D) caused by fishing, determines how rapidly body size changes. Monte Carlo simulations showed that block designs with three to six spatial replicates and relatively short durations generated high statistical power. For example, for h2 = 0.22, D = 0.25 kg, and four spatial replicates, an 8-yr experiment resulted in power = 0.87, which gave a SE < 0.10 for h2 = 0.22. We conclude that some experimental designs have good potential to test the possible effects of size-selective fishing on mean adult size of British Columbia pink salmon.

Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infestations and the productivity of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, Canada

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Krkošek ◽  
Ray Hilborn
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Sea Lice ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Lepeophtheirus Salmonis ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Lice Infestations

The spread of salmon lice ( Lepeophtheirus salmonis ) from salmon farms may threaten some wild salmon populations. Infestations of wild juvenile pink salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ) have been associated with high mortality and population decline. Using stock–recruit data for pink salmon from the central coast of British Columbia, we analyzed how fishing mortality and spatial covariation combine with louse infestation to affect pink salmon population dynamics. The results indicate substantial coherence in survival at nested spatial scales — large-scale regional covariation and smaller scale covariation within management areas. Populations exposed to salmon farms (those from the Broughton Archipelago) show a sharp decline in productivity during sea lice infestations relative to pre-infestation years. Unexposed populations (comprising four management areas) did not experience a change in productivity during infestation years and had similar productivity to exposed populations before infestations. Our results suggest that sea lice infestations may result in declines of pink salmon populations and that management and policy of salmon farms should consider protecting wild juvenile salmon from exposure to sea lice.

Supplementary Checks on the Scales of Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and Chum Salmon (O. keta)

1965 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1477-1489 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. T. Bilton ◽  
W. E. Ricker
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Chum Salmon ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Commercial Fisheries ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Second Year Of Life ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Similar Incidence

Among 159 central British Columbia pink salmon that had been marked by removal of two fins as fry and had been recovered in commercial fisheries after one winter in the sea, the scales of about one-third showed a supplementary or "false" check near the centre of the scale, in addition to the single clear-cut annulus. This evidence from fish of known age confirms the prevailing opinion that such extra checks do not represent annuli, hence that the fish bearing them are in their second year of life rather than their third. Unmarked pink salmon from the same area, and some from southern British Columbia, had a generally similar incidence of supplementary checks. In both marked and unmarked fish the supplementary checks varied in distinctness from faint to quite clear. In a sample of scales of 14 double-fin marked chum salmon which were known to be in their 4th year, all fish had the expected 3 annuli, and 12 fish had a supplementary check inside the first annulus.

Orientation of Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) During Early Marine Migration from Bella Coola River System

1967 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 2321-2338 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Healey
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
River System ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Salmon Fry ◽  
Marine Migration ◽  
Bella Coola

During May and June 1966, the migration of pink salmon fry from the Bella Coola River was studied in Burke Channel, British Columbia. The movement of pink fry down Burke Channel was saltatory. Short periods of active migration were interspersed with longer periods when the fry did not migrate and accumulated in bays. Fry were sampled from these accumulations and their ability to orient using celestial cues was examined. During the early morning, fry tended to prefer directions at right angles to their direction of migration, but at other times of the day preferred the direction of migration. The preference for the direction of migration was strongest at midday. Fry were better oriented on clear days than on cloudy days. These data indicate that fry may use celestial cues to find directions during their oceanic migrations.

Daily Patterns of Feeding Behavior, Daily Rations, and Diets of Juvenile Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in Two Marine Bays of British Columbia

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Guy J. Godin
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Littoral Zone ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Salmon Fry ◽  
Harpacticoid Copepods ◽  
Additional Support

Stomach analyses showed that pink salmon fry fed mainly during daylight hours in the littoral zone of Departure Bay and Hammond Bay, British Columbia, in May. Although the diurnal feeding patterns of the fish differed slightly between the two bays, maximum mean prey biomass in the fishes' stomachs occurred near or at dusk in both bays. Daily rations consumed by Departure Bay and Hammond Bay fish were estimated to be 13.1 and 6.6% of their dry body weight, respectively. The fry consumed similar prey items in both bays, but in differing proportions. Harpacticoid copepods, copepod nauplii, and barnacle larvae comprised numerically 93.1 and 86.2% of the diets of Departure Bay and Hammond Bay fish, respectively. About 38% of the diet of Departure Bay fish and 51% of the diet of Hammond Bay fish comprised epibenthic prey, mainly harpacticoid copepods. The data provide additional support for the importance of the detritus-microbe-consumer type food chain supporting the production of pink salmon during their early period of marine residency.Key words: pink salmon, feeding behavior, daily rhythm, diet, ration, British Columbia

The metacercaria of Galactosomum phalacrocoracis (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) from pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, from British Columbia waters

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 2235-2238 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Pearson ◽  
L. Margolis ◽  
N. P. Boyce
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha

The metacercaria of Galactosomum phalacrocoracis (Trematoda: Heterophyidae), collected from Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum) from coastal waters of British Columbia, is described.

Evaluation of the Transplant of Pacific Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) from British Columbia to Newfoundland

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 2343-2356 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Lear
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Homing Behavior ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Surface Temperatures

Five transplants of eyed eggs of Pacific pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) were made between streams in southern British Columbia and North Harbour River, Newfoundland. Quantities transplanted were 0.25 million in 1959, 2.5 million in 1962, 3.4 million in 1964, 3.3 million in 1965, and 5.9 million in 1966. Adult returns from these transplants were 1, 49, 638, 8500, and 2426 during 1961, 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1968, respectively. Since 1969, returns have been the progeny of naturally spawning fish and have steadily declined in numbers. The reasons for failure of the transplant are not certain, but possibilities include the following: predation on the fry by brook trout and possibly eels in North Harbour Pond and estuary; unfavorable surface temperatures in the river during the fry run; predation by herring on fry in St. Mary’s Bay; year-class failure of the even-year stocks that were introduced; unsuitability of the donor stocks with respect to migration patterns and homing behavior; inadequate numbers of eggs were transplanted to produce populations required to maintain runs in anything below optimum environmental conditions.

Differences in breeding Lake Superior pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum)) associated with variation in thyroid hyperplasia

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 2688-2694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas B. Noltie
Keyword(s):  
Lake Superior ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Lesion Size ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Post Spawning ◽  
Delayed Maturation ◽  
Thyroid Hyperplasia ◽  
Lesion Severity

Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum)) from eastern Lake Superior exhibit various degrees of thyroid hyperplasia. A link between goitrogenesis and growth is suggested by the increased prevalence of large lesions among large fish of both sexes. Despite males being larger than females, however, lesion prevalence did not differ between the sexes. More large lesions occurred among late migrants, especially males, indicating a seasonal increase in hyperplasticity. Delayed stream entry occurred in overtly lesioned fish of both sexes, evidence of a possible inhibition of maturation. Males and females differed in condition (weight-at-length) with lesion severity. Females with overt lesions showed reduced secondary sexual character development, more so than males. The pre- and post-spawning testis characteristics of males generally did not differ with lesion size, although the testes of spawned-out males with large lesions did have higher water contents. In females, the reduced water content of eggs in severely lesioned individuals was evidence of delayed maturation. Enlarged livers occurred in badly lesioned females, but not in males. In neither sex did severely lesioned fish exhibit shorter breeding life-spans. In overview, this study demonstrates that a wide range of effects is associated with differences in the severity of thyroid hyperplasia exhibited by Lake Superior pink salmon, these also being mediated by apparent differences in physiology between the sexes.

Transplantation of Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) into Masset inlet, British Columbia, in the Barren Years

1938 ◽  
Vol 4a (2) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Pritchard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Free Swimming ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
River Fishery

In 1931, 1933, 1935, odd-numbered years, when no natural runs of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) occur in the Masset area, British Columbia, transfers of eggs were made from the Tlell river on the east coast of Graham island to McClinton creek, a tributary of Masset inlet. The following free-swimming fry were released: from the 1931 experiment—753,646 normal and 124,002 "marked" by the removal of the adipose and left ventral fins, and from that of 1935—397,657 normal and 108,200 "marked" by the removal of the adipose and right ventral fins. From the former, 40 "marked" adults were recovered in the Fraser river fishery in 1933, and from the latter four "marked" adults at McClinton creek in 1937. In the 1933 experiment 540,294 eyed eggs were planted but these were destroyed by freshets the following winter. Possible reasons for the failure of these experiments and the absolute blank in the "off" years are suggested.

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