Results for Three Generations from Transfers of Pink Salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ) Spawn to the Qualicum River in 1963 and 1964

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Authors: Walker, C. E., Lister, D. B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1971
• Subjects: General Medicine; Oncorhynchus gorbuscha; Pink salmon
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f71-096; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f71-096

Transfers of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) eggs were made to the Qualicum River in two years, utilizing 5.79 million eggs from Cheakamus River stock in 1963 and 6.85 million eggs from Bear River stock in 1964. Adult returns to the Qualicum River were 100 spawners in 1965, 1967, and 1969; 11,940 in 1966; 3000 in 1968; and 300 in 1970. Differences between the odd- and even-year plants were noted in times of egg-take (equivalent to time of spawning of donor stock), incubation, and fry emigration, lengths of emigrating fry, possibility of losses through predation by herring on estuarine fry, and direction of orientation to the recipient (Qualicum River) stream. Pronounced differences between donor stock in rate of return are thought to be primarily related to differences in spawning times and stream temperature. The decrease in numbers of adults in the even-year generation may have been due to lower freshwater survival during incubation as a result of suspected superimposition of chum salmon on the earlier deposited pink salmon eggs; the loss was estimated to be in the order of 46%.