Influence of marine environment on age and size at maturity, growth, and abundance of chum salmon, Ohcorhynchus keta (Walbaum), from Olsen Creek, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Graduation date: 1980Effects of the marine environment on age and size at maturity, early marine growth, and abundance of chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, were studied at Olsen Creek during 1959-77. Chum salmon returned to Olsen Creek as predominately 3-, 4-, and 5-year fish; however, age composition varied from year to year. The mean age composition for the brood years 1956-72 for males was 15%, 66%, and 19% for 3-, 4-, and 5-year fish, respectively. Mean age composition for females of the same broods showed slightly higher percentages of older fish: 9%, 67%, and 23% for 3-, 4-, and 5-year fish, respectively. Some 6-year chum salmon returned to Olsen Creek between 1968 and 1975; but, only in 1973 did the number of 6-year fish (3%) represent more than 1% of the returns. Population sizes tended to be larger during these years, and mean age increased as the number of fish in a brood increased. Intraseasonally, age of new chum salmon spawners at Olsen Creek decreased as the season progressed. Mean size of older spawners was greater than the mean size of younger spawners; but, the ranges in size of the three age groups overlap each other so size is not a good criterion for estimating age of chum salmon. Measurement of circuli and distances on adult scales were used to estimate growth of chum salmon during their first two years of marine life. Both number of circuli and distances on scales of juvenile chum salmon after their first summer in Prince William Sound were shown to be related to length of the fish. Growth during the first season at sea was not related to age at maturity; however, amount of growth acquired during the second marine season was negatively related to age at maturity. Growth during the first summer at sea was related to sea surface temperatures and marine weather parameters in Prince William Sound and in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Location of chum salmon from Olsen Creek during their second year at sea is unknown. Fluctuations in size (length) at maturity were more similar between fish from different broods returning during the same year than they were for fish that matured at different ages from the same broods. Length at maturity was related to marine weather factors during their last summer at sea in the northern Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound. Length at maturity was also related to mean summer sea surface temperature in Prince William Sound during the year of return. Total survival of each brood was estimated from the ratio of number of progeny (returns) to number of parents (spawners). No direct relationships were found between survival and growth during the first or second season in the sea, sea surface temperatures, or upwelling indices along the coast. However, a highly significant relationship was found between the survival of progeny and mean length of the parents