| Summary: | Chinook salmon (Oncorhychus tshawytscha) are an important cultural, commercial, and sport salmon species to the people of Alaska. Recent sharp declines in Chinook salmon returns to Alaska rivers have lead to disaster declarations by the State of Alaska and Federal Government for some communities. The question is: “where have all the salmon gone?” The study will examine the early marine ecology of Chinook salmon (a key life history period identified in the State of Alaska and Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative (AYKSSI), Chinook salmon research plans) along the eastern Bering Sea shelf. The first summer at sea is a critical period for juvenile Chinook salmon where survival is dependent on rapid growth in nearshore habitats and attaining sufficient size and energy reserves before winter. Our goal is to assess the effect of climate change and variability on growth, fitness, and survival of juvenile YK Chinook salmon during these critical periods. This proposal will extend the NPRB/BSIERP integrated ecosystem model to YK Chinook salmon. Inputs to the model and improved model parameterization come from the Bering Aleutian Salmon International Survey (BASIS) conducted during August – October (2002 – 2012). Size-selective mortality for YK Chinook salmon during the critical periods will be determined by comparing time series (1970 – 2012) of size distributions of juveniles from the model to those determined from adult scales (survivors). The mechanisms impacting early marine survival will be determined and tested in forecast models for YK Chinook salmon. Due to their size, the output files from this dataset are not included in this archive but are available from the metadata contact upon request.
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