Migration Timing and Harvest Rates of the Steelhead Trout Populations of the Skeena River System

Migration timing and harvest rates of steelhead trout were examined in relation to the harvest of sockeye salmon in the mixed-stock fishery of the Skeena River. Summer-run steelhead overlap in their migration timing with sockeye salmon to a significant degree (Sprout and Kadowaki 1987). An assessment of the migration timing of specific steelhead stocks was needed to estimate stock-specific harvest rates. A previous PSARC Working Paper (S92-6,8) estimated the habitat carrying capacity and productivity for the main summer-run steelhead populations of the Skeena River. Allowable harvest rates and numbers of spawners and recruits at Maximum Sustained Yield (MSY) were estimated for individual populations (Tautz et al. 1992). This study compares estimates of steelhead harvest with the rates associated with MSY for each stock. Steelhead harvest in Area 4 was considered in relation to other fisheries of Alaska and the Canadian approach waters.