Afognak Lake Sockeye Salmon Monitoring Project (2020–2022)

The Afognak River (Litnik) has historically supported one of the largest sockeye salmon subsistence fisheries for Kodiak Archipelago residents. In the 2000s, the number of sockeye salmon returning to Afognak River had diminished substantially resulting in closures to commercial, sport, and subsistence fishing in Afognak Bay. Local subsistence users, represented by the Kodiak-Aleutians Regional Advisory Council, Kodiak Fish and Game Advisory Committee, and Kodiak Tribal Council, stressed the importance of the Afognak River system to local subsistence users and contended that continued closures would make it more difficult for local residents to meet their sockeye salmon needs and shift fishing efforts to small nearby sockeye salmon runs. The Afognak Lake Sockeye Salmon Stock Monitoring Project enumerates adult sockeye salmon into Afognak Lake through a weir located on the Afognak River, describes run-timing, or proportional daily passage, of sockeye salmon through the weir, estimates the age and sex composition of adult sockeye salmon returns, and estimates the average length (mm) by age and sex of sockeye salmon passing through the weir. Data collected from this project provide salmon management biologists the ability to make in-season decisions to execute commercial and sport fisheries. In addition, the information that is gathered from these projects refines the escapement goals and improves preseason run forecasts to allow for maximum sustainable yield and prevent unnecessary restrictions of federal and state subsistence fisheries.