Scale Characteristics of Sockeye Salmon Originating from Small Nursery Areas of the Skeena River System

The objective of this study has been to assemble the data available concerning the scale characteristics of sockeye salmon spawning in a series of isolated locations within the Skeena River system (1945-1966), with a view to their possible use in describing growth patterns which may be characteristic of individual stocks, useful for the identification of individual stocks as they pass through the commercial fishery. Certain counts and measurements from the scales have been arranged in a manner which may prove useful to studies of these populations. Some possible relationships between Scale characters and types of freshwater environment are discussed.