Migratory behavior of maturing pink salmon in Gastineau Channel, southeast Alaska

Abstract

Migration and spawning stream selection of maturing pink salmon in the area of Gastineau Channel was studied with respect to: (1) homing of individuals tagged with coded-wire as emergent fry; (2) intermingling and subsequent spawning locus of adults tagged at stream mouths; (3) migratory pathways into Gastineau Channel of fish tagged at north and south entrances; and (4) effects of stress (capture, handling and tagging) on pre-spawning adults in their natal stream on subsequent homing or straying. (1) wire-tagged adults did not stray from two natal streams; (2) of 681 adults marked at stream mouths, 308 were recovered locally, demonstrating complex stock assemblages at some stream mouths and homogeneity at others; (3) of 949 adults tagged at entrances, 300 were recovered locally demonstrating intermingling of stocks at both entrances and differences in the proportions of each stock at each entrance; (4) stress induced straying (2%) from a natal to another stream one kilometer distant.