Alaska Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)

"A genetic analysis of samples from the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) bycatch of the 2012 Bering Sea-Aleutian Island (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) trawl fisheries for walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) was undertaken to determine the stock composition of the sample set. Samples were genotyped for 43 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) DNA markers and results were estimated using the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) SNP baseline. In 2012, genetic samples from the Bering Sea were collected using a systematic random sampling protocol where one out of every 10 Chinook salmon encountered was sampled. Based on the analysis of 1,111 Chinook salmon bycatch samples collected throughout the 2012 BSAI walleye pollock trawl fishery, Coastal Western Alaska stocks dominated the sample set (63%) with smaller contributions from North Alaska Peninsula (11%), British Columbia (10%), and West Coast U.S. (OR/CA/WA) (7%) stocks."

Technical Memorandum