Historical analysis of sockeye salmon growth among populations affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill and large spawning escapements. Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration project 86048-BAA: Final report
Adult sockeye salmon scales, which provide an index of annual salmon growth in fresh and marine waters during 1965--1997, were measured to examine the effects on growth and adult returns of large spawning escapements influenced by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Scale growth in freshwater was significantly reduced by the large 1989 spawning escapements in the Kenai River system, Red Lake, and Akalura Lake, but not in Chignik Lake. These data suggest that sockeye growth in freshwater may be less stable following the large escapement. Furthermore, the observations of large escapement adversely affecting growth of adjacent brood years of salmon has important implications for stock-recruitment modeling. In Prince William Sound, Coghill Lake sockeye salmon that migrated through oil-contaminated waters did not exhibit noticeably reduced marine growth, but a model was developed that might explain low adult returns in recent years.
- Research Organization:
- Natural Resources Consultants, Seattle, WA (United States); Washington Univ., Fisheries Research Inst., Seattle, WA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 698650
- Report Number(s):
- PB-99-168841/XAB; TRN: 92701930
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Dec 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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