Arctic grayling in the Ugashik drainage

A reported decline in Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) caused the Alaskan State Board of Fisheries to close sport grayling fishing at the Ugashik Narrows, Alaska, in 1990. Sport fishing did not appear to have caused the reported decline; the decline occurred during a period with negligible harve...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Villegas, Selso Valenzuela, 1952-
Other Authors: Maughan, O. Eugene
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: The University of Arizona. 1993
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10150/291362
Description
Summary:A reported decline in Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) caused the Alaskan State Board of Fisheries to close sport grayling fishing at the Ugashik Narrows, Alaska, in 1990. Sport fishing did not appear to have caused the reported decline; the decline occurred during a period with negligible harvest (Meyer 1990). My objective was to evaluate whether the decline might be an artifact associated with fish movements. I determined locational fidelity between years and persistence of occupation of individual areas and grayling population structure over time. Changes in population structure are circumstantial evidence that movement is occurring. The following factors may effect population parameters: (1) the movement of grayling into and out of the Narrows and (2) periodic displacement of grayling from the Narrows during spawning and migration of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Therefore, a single sampling effort may seriously underestimate the population.