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The correlation between temperature and salinity and the catch of coho salmon (Onchorhyncus kisutch) in the Kains Island fishing area

University of British Columbia

The relative abundance of coho salmon (Oncorhmchus kisutch) in the Kains island troll fishing area was computed, for the years 1943 to 1951 inclusive, on the basis of the average catch per boat per day each year. The resulting figures varied from a minimum of 75, pounds per boat per day in 1946 to a maximum of 231 pounds per boat per day in 1951. These yield per unit effort figures were then statistically compared with the average surface salinity, or average surface temperature, for various periods in the life history of the coho taken by the fishery in these years. It was found that a very high correlation (r = 0.85, p = 0.01 - 0.001) existed between the average "summer" salinity (June to September inclusive) and the poundage yield per unit effort during that same year. It is suggested that this correlation is explainable in terms of varying growth rates in different years, and by variations in the numbers of fish taken in these years, both of these factors being governed by the availability of food, as evidenced by surface salinity.

Text

2012-02-27

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/40967

Zoology

University of British Columbia

Graduate