Salcha River Chinook Salmon Escapement – 2025-2027

Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (and chum O. Keta) salmon will be visually enumerated from an elevated counting tower as they pass over a continuous band of white fabric panels strung along the bottom of the Salcha River. Counting will commence at the beginning of the Chinook salmon run on 1 July and will continue until the end of the run, usually in early August. In addition to the tower counts, carcasses of spawned-out Chinook salmon will be collected to estimate age, sex, and length (ASL) composition of the escapement.

This project will provide inseason information regarding run strength that can be used to evaluate whether the moratorium on Yukon fisheries is affecting the numbers that escape to spawn. Additionally, a continuous series of escapement estimates are critical for evaluating the efficacy of management plans throughout the Yukon River drainage and for refining escapement goals, providing further data on Chinook salmon productivity associated with different levels of escapement and changing environmental conditions.