Photo: NOAA/FIS

NOAA: Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Completes Science Report

UNITED STATES
Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

Task Force charged with creating a coordinated research strategy for salmon in Alaska.

NOAA Fisheries, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, together with the Governor of Alaska are sharing the final report of the Congressionally mandated Alaska Salmon Research Task Force. It identifies potential impacts to salmon productivity, gaps in understanding of the Pacific salmon life cycle and recommended research priorities to support sustainable salmon management in Alaska.

Under the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act, NOAA Fisheries, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, in collaboration with the State of Alaska, was required to convene a task force to review existing Pacific salmon research in Alaska, identify applied research needed to better understand the increased variability and declining salmon returns in some regions of Alaska, and to support sustainable salmon runs in Alaska. NOAA Fisheries and the Governor of Alaska were also required to each appoint a representative to serve on the task force.

The Task Force was made up of a diverse group of Alaska salmon knowledge holders, including members from federal, state, tribal, university, industry, and non-governmental organizations. This report was written by the Task Force and its Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Working Group and reflects their views, opinions, and recommendations.

“The 19-member task force and its 44-member Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Working Group did an impressive job compiling and integrating diverse information and data from scientists and Indigenous and Local Knowledge holders to inform development of this important science plan,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator, NOAA Fisheries. “Thanks to their work, we have a meaningful strategy to better understand mechanisms driving Alaska salmon production to provide a path for mitigating negative impacts due to climate change and other factors.”

“Pacific salmon are essential to the cultural and socio-economic well being of Alaska, supporting commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries and rural communities across the state,” said Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner, Doug Vincent-Lang. “I would like to commend the Task Force for identifying priority research to support sustainable salmon runs in Alaska.”

Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Report Highlights

Salmon life begins and ends in the gravel. Throughout their life, salmon depend on freshwater, nearshore estuarine, and marine habitats to grow and thrive. Given this, the Task Force recommended a coordinated, gravel-to-gravel approach to research. This involves the close coordination of efforts and information sharing of Tribes, state and federal agencies, and institutions. It recognizes the importance of Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge along with western science in maintaining resilient habitats and communities within Alaska.

The Task Force identified seven potential impacts to Alaska salmon productivity including: 

• Climate warming and extreme events
• Salmon health and condition
• Marine food limitations
• Marine harvest and bycatch
• Predators
• Freshwater habitat changes 
• Freshwater harvest  

Under each of these potential impacts the Task Force recommended applied research to learn more. For instance, under climate and extreme events, they recommended research to understand and quantify the effects of natural environmental variability and warming climate on Alaska salmon distribution and abundance. Under marine harvest, they recommended research to better understand the frequency of occurrence and mortality rate of direct and discards attributed to unobserved fishing mortality (e.g., IUU, unreported catch, incidental catch/mixed stocks). Once this information is known, it should be used to determine the impact to the populations.

The Task Force also recommended applied strategies to address priority research needs including: 

• Improve understanding of the social impacts of declining salmon returns to food security, nutrition and physical/mental health, social cohesiveness, culture and language/knowledge transfers, and traditional ways of life 
• Improve stock identification methods 
• Better characterize of ocean distribution and marine migration routes 
• Expand ocean ecosystem surveys 
• Identify strategies to minimize human impacts on freshwater and coastal habitats 
• Make use of new technologies 
• More effective monitoring of salmon indicator (key) stocks to determine factors affecting their marine and freshwater survival as an early warning for Chinook and chum populations 
• Improve stock assessments for in-season management 
• Life-cycle modeling and management strategy evaluations for climate resilience
• Better data management and sharing 

Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Working Group Recommendations

The most pronounced declines of chum salmon and Chinook salmon in Alaska have occurred in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim region.As required under the Act, a working group was formed to address specific concerns and issues in this region.  

The working group included 42 volunteer members representing a wide variety of knowledge holders, from salmon harvesters and processors to agency and academic scientists. The goal was to identify and prioritize research needs for understanding the causes of recent declines in the region's chum salmon and Chinook salmon populations.

Priority research identified included the need to better understand:

• Impacts of marine harvest on the region’s salmon 
• Changes in the quantity and quality of marine food for the region’s salmon

Other research included:

• Changing freshwater conditions (beyond effects on spawner health)
• Historical freshwater harvest
• Identifying and understanding changes in marine and freshwater predators

“Across Alaska there is a great deal of variability in salmon runs, particularly in recent years. However, the Task Force recognizes that declines in Chinook and chum salmon returns in western Alaska are having a profound effect on the culture and food security in that region,” said Ed Farley, fishery biologist, NOAA Fisheries and Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Chair.  “The time for action is now.  We hope that the recommendations we have provided through this collaboration will lead to needed measures to ensure the long term viability of Alaska salmon populations.”

Supporting Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Recommendations

NOAA Fisheries will support the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force research recommendations through continued collaboration with the State of Alaska (including universities), Tribal, federal, NGO, and international partners.

Some specific activities include:

• Ongoing Pacific salmon research activities to understand how climate-driven changes in the marine environment impact salmon condition and survival (e.g., International Year of the Salmon, Auke Bay Laboratory and Little Port Walter research).
• Conduct our annual northern Bering Sea Ecosystem Surface Trawl survey in partnership with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (focus on Yukon River and Norton Sound salmon) 
• Support the Southeast Coastal Monitoring Survey in the inside waters of southeast Alaska in partnership with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
• Participate in the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission
• Assist in incorporating salmon research objectives within the Basin-scale Events to Coastal Impacts science plan, a UN Decade project within PICES.
• Work with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Salmon Ocean Ecology Program to assist in their efforts to begin early marine ecology research in the western Gulf of Alaska and southeastern Bering Sea

Source: NOAA Fisheries

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