Estimation of McLees Lake Sockeye Salmon Escapement and Subsistence Salmon Harvest Update for Unalaska, 2022–2023

This project will use interdisciplinary methods to provide reliable harvest estimates, estimate escapement, improve the existing subsistence permit system, and test a cost-effective alternative to weir operation by monitoring salmon escapement using a drone. This will be accomplished through household harvest surveys and key respondent interviews for the 2022 harvest year, drone aerial survey counts to index escapement of sockeye salmon in McLees Lake in 2022 and 2023, a mark-recpature study, and development of a time series of paired weir-based total escapement estimates and drone-based index counts to evaluate the efficacy of drone use.

Generating accurate sockeye salmon escapement estimates and providing reliable salmon harvest data will enable fishery managers to contribute to better long-term management of the McLees Lake salmon stock to ensure that sockeye salmon in this system continue to be sustainably harvested and that reasonable opportunities for subsistence exist.