Total return to USA rivers was 1,313; this is the sum of documented returns to traps and returns estimated on selected Maine rivers. Adult salmon returns to USA rivers with traps or weirs totaled 1,255 fish in 2005, 20% less than observed in 2004. Seventy-one adult (90% CI = 44 - 110)fish were estimated to return to the rivers with Endangered populations, the 4th highest for the 1991-2005 time-series. Most returns occurred in Maine, with the Penobscot River accounting for 75% of the total return. Overall, 24% of the adult returns to the USA were 1SW salmon and 76% were MSW salmon. Most (78%) returns were of hatchery smolt origin and the balance (22%) originated from either natural reproduction or hatchery fry. A total of 13,811,600 juvenile salmon (fry, parr, and smolts) and 3,657 adults were stocked, with 648,258 carrying a variety of marks and/or tags (e.g., PIT tags, visual implant elastomer tags, fin clips etc.). Eggs for USA hatchery programs were taken from 411 sea-run females, 2,580 captive/domestic females, and 102 female kelts. The number of females (3,093) contributing was less than in 2004 (3,618); and total egg take (17,811,000) was less than that of 2004 (20,486,000). Production of farmed salmon in Maine was 5,263 metric tonnes in 2005.

Technical Report

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)