Lower Cook Inlet Salmon Escapement Database, 1927–2018

• Main Authors: Edward Otis, Joseph Loboy
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity
• Subjects: Oncorhynchus nerka; Oncorhynchus keta; Oncorhynchus gorbuscha; Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; Oncorhynchus kisutch; Pacific; Sockeye; Keta; Weir; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5063/F14B2ZMJ

This database contains salmon escapement data collected primarily by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries (ADF&G-CF), in the Lower Cook Inlet (LCI) management area in southcentral Alaska. To facilitate informed inseason management of commercial fisheries targeting Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp., ADF&G-CF uses a variety of methods to monitor escapement on select index streams in LCI (e.g., aerial/ground survey, weir, remote video). Aerial and ground surveyors make periodic counts of sockeye O. nerka, chum O. keta, and pink O. gorbuscha salmon throughout the duration of their respective runs, whereas weir and remote video projects document daily fish passage. Fishery managers use these data daily to manipulate time and area fishery openings/closures to assure that the final escapement level for monitored stocks falls within their individual escapement goal ranges. At the end of the season, periodic aerial and ground survey counts are used to calculate a final escapement index for each stream based on the area-under-the-curve method (AUC; pink and chum salmon) or the peak survey count (sockeye salmon). This LCI salmon escapement database spans the period 1927–2018, which includes data collected by federal fisheries personnel prior to Alaska statehood (1959). The database is comprised of 6 related tables and 1 stand-alone table. Four of the related tables are lookup tables defining primary key fields that are linked to the main data tables. The 2 linked main data tables (1_Escapement Header and 2_Escapement Data) respectively contain relevant details for each survey/escapement monitoring project conducted (e.g., survey ID, date, survey type, survey conditions, etc.) and the fine scale results for each survey ID (e.g., live/dead count by species, stream, stream section, etc.). The escapement data table includes XY coordinates for counts (typically stratified by stream section) so the data can be viewed/analyzed spatially. Finally, because it may be difficult for users of this database to convert individual survey counts into final escapement indices, this database also includes a stand-alone table (3_Reported Escapement) that provides final escapements by stock, species, and year, as well as associated information such as the method used to derive the escapement. This dataset record includes the Microsoft Access database, in addition to plain text exports of each of the tables within that database.