Peggy Merritt, President-Elect
The Chapter's 1996 Annual Meeting will be at the Princess Tours Hotel in Fairbanks. Registration begins Monday November 18, and the formal meeting is from Tuesday November 19 through Thursday November 21. Sessions are being planned along the meeting theme, Inter-relating Biology, Socioeconomics, and Politics to Manage Alaska's Fisheries. Besides the formal sessions, there will be opportunities for workgroups to meet in rooms adjoining the conference area. Workgroups will be more loosely structured than the formal sessions to allow interactive exchange of ideas and handson demonstrations. Please contact me (address in Chapter Officers box) if you are interested in organizing a workgroup or working luncheon, or if you would like to suggest a session topic (one or two more could fit in) or help with local arrangements.
The Princess Tours Hotel is offering AFS accommodations at the rate of $69 per night for single or double occupancy. Call (800)4260500 for reservations and be sure to say you are with the American Fisheries Society.
Following is the agenda for the Annual Meeting developed so far, including session topics and chairs, proposed papers, workgroups, and workgroup hosts. You can contact session chairs and workgroup hosts directly if you would like to submit a paper or poster, or feel welcome to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Keynote Speaker Charles Coutant, PresidentElect National AFS and Senior Research Ecologist at the Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Watershed Management Relating to Fisheries Jackie LaPerriere, Chair; 4746043; ACFWRU, P.O. Box 757020, University of Alaska-Fairbanks 997757020. Proposed Papers: Dolly Varden response to a leadzinc mine, P. WeberScannell; Watershed management relating to fisheries in the Delta Clearwater River, F. Parker; Seasonal distribution of habitats used by juvenile steelhead in Southeast Alaska: management implications, B. Wright.
Optimization Methods for Multiple Objectives Milo Adkison, Chair; 7863576; NBS, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage 99503.
Freshwater Fisheries MultiAgency Issues and Solutions John Burr, Chair; 4597220; ADF&G Sport Fish Division, 1300 College Rd., Fairbanks 99701. Proposed Papers: An overview of the cooperative Dall River research project, D. James and J. Burr.
International North Pacific Fisheries Bryan Hebden, President International North Pacific Chapter AFS, Chair.
The Yukon River CoChairs to be announced.
Sciences Related to Alaska Fisheries Research Chair to be announced.
Fishery Values Chair to be announced.
Contributed Papers Judy Gordon, Chair; 4560511; USFWS, 101 12th Ave, Box 17, Fairbanks 99701.
Poster Session David Wiswar, Chair; 4560453; USFWS, 101 12th Ave, Box 17, Fairbanks, 99701.
Workgroup: Sheefish Research and Management Tevis Underwood, Host; 4560512; USFWS, 101 12th Ave, Box 17, Fairbanks 99701.
Workgroup: AgeStructured Assessment Models Fritz Funk, Host; 4656113; ADF&G, CFMD, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau 998025526.
Mike Millard and Jill Follett, CoChairs
In cooperation with ADF&G Sport Fish Division, the Continuing Education Committee sponsored a workshop on MarkRecapture Experiments to Estimate Fish Abundance, February 79 in Anchorage. The workshop was presented by Dave Bernard, Pat Hansen, and Mike Wallendorf, with assistance from ADF&G biometricians Steve Fleischmann and Jim Hasbrouck. The course provided an excellent overview on applying markrecapture analysis for both closed and open populations, and offered a method for systematically testing analysis assumptions. The workshop incorporated lecture sessions and handson computer sessions where the audience could work through examples with markrecapture data supplied by the instructors. These latter sessions were particularly helpful in helping the audience understand the complexities of applying theoretical ideas to actual field data. Twentyeight people registered for the course, representing ADF&G, USFWS, Department of Defense, BLM, and NBS. The workshop was also attended by several students from the University of AlaskaFairbanks, in connection with the Quantitative Fisheries course offered by Dr. Jim Reynolds. To see this level of participation from our student colleagues was very gratifying.
Brenda Wright
The Chapter will sponsor a technical writing workshop taught by Dr. Jud Monroe next fall October 711 in Fairbanks. The workshop will focus on project reports and technical papers, emphasizing writing for a scientific and management audience. Rather than teach a single writing style, the workshop will help writers develop skills and techniques for writing a variety of scientific and management reports.
Jud Monroe has been a technical writer for over 20 years and has taught writing workshops throughout the United States, with clients including numerous state and federal agencies. The workshop will cover writing techniques for writing and polishing a draft into a document that readers will want to read and can understand. The workshop will cover organizing, formatting, data presentation, sentence building, editing, and peer reviewing. This is a hands-on workship. Bring data from the latest field season and get started on a report or paper in class.
Attendance is limited to 2530 people, so early registration is encouraged. The cost of the workshop will be $250 for AFS members and $275 for nonmembers. Please remit payment to Alaska Chapter AFS, c/o Brenda Wright at address in Chapter Officers box. You may register or obtain further information by calling Brenda at 5868811 ext. 244.
The Montana Chapter of AFS recently held a fund-raising raffle for the Jeffrey Booth Memorial Fund. Their contribution of $600 was supported by raffling a sturgeon fishing trip in Hells Canyon. Over 60 individuals contributed. The Alaska Chapter is grateful to the Montana Chapter for this effort in memory of one of our colleagues. Chapter members and others may send contributions directly to Kathy Gensel at National Bank of Alaska, P.O. Box 509, Soldotna 99669.
Alan Johnson
The Alaska Chapter now has 430 members, including 321 active, 53 life, 9 retired, and 49 student members. An additional 11 AFS members residing outside Alaska (eight states) pay Chapter dues and receive the newsletter. Thirty institutions, offices, and fisheries newsletters receive complimentary copies of the newsletter. The 61 members that had paid only through 1994 were dropped from the rolls and will be contacted by the Membership Chair. Of the current members, 181 have not paid their 1996 National dues, and 292 have not paid Chapter dues (as of January).
The mailing label shows your current status. The fourdigit number at the right of the top line tells if you're paid up. The first two digits are National dues; the second two are Chapter dues. The year is the year "paid through" updated from National data in January. Contact Alan Johnson if the data are incorrect.
Kate Wedemeyer
The GeoSphere Project is installing an exhibit called the Earth Situation Room in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. They are seeking high quality action and close-up video footage of animals, birds, fish, habitats, and related materials to include in the Global Visual Library. Full photographer credit will be given. Monetary donations are also accepted. If you care to donate a video (masters if possible), please respond to the GeoSphere Project, 146 Entrada Drive, Santa Monica, CA 90405; (310)459-4352, fax 459-8299, geosphere@earthlink.net.
Dana Schmidt, President
The North Pacific Division In a recent meeting, your Chapter's Executive Committee (known as EXCOM for those of you who always wondered what these letters stood for), decided to send a Chapter officer to the upcoming April meeting of the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy Conference in Victoria, B.C. This event is sponsored in part by our Chapter but more importantly, is cohosted by the AFS North Pacific International Chapter. We would like to encourage all Chapter members to participate in this conference. We believe the objectives are important, if in the future, science is to be used to establish sustainable fisheries in the North Pacific. As current President, I will cohost a session at the conference, and PresidentElect Peggy Merritt will represent the Alaska Chapter and help out by leading a workgroup session attempting to provide future direction. We also believe the participation of Chapter officers in this conference should facilitate communication with the North Pacific International Chapter and lead to future cooperative efforts.
The EXCOM considers attendance by Chapter officers at the Sustainable Fisheries Conference to be more valuable for the Chapter than the midsummer Western Division meeting. This has raised the issue as to relevance of the Western Division meetings to Alaska Chapter members. Poor participation in the Western Division technical sessions is probably caused by the midfield-season timing of the meeting, as well as frequently having most of the technical sessions related to nonAlaska problems (such as endangered species in the southwest and livestock grazing impacts on fish habitat). The Western Division has over twice the members of any other Division and a very diverse geography and fisheries resources, yet other Divisions have equal voting power in the National AFS EXCOM. Alaska Chapter members have often been involved in Western Division activities as officers, with Carl Burger as the current Past President. However, these officers frequently find themselves among few Alaskan colleagues attending these meetings.
If Alaska Chapter members are not benefiting from Western Division meetings, what can be done to change the structure of the Western Division to increase its relevance to our members? One solution is to move the meeting time to a more favorable period. At the last Division meeting in Park City, Utah, this solution was nearly unanimously rejected because a midsummer meeting was preferred by other chapters. Although other chapters would probably support a onetime-only change in date to allow Alaska to host the Division meeting, the incentive to do this is lacking because of minimal Alaskan participation at previous midsummer Division meetings.
To address this problems, your EXCOM has discussed forming a new "North Pacific Division." The Western Division of AFS has over 4,000 members, nearly half of the total AFS membership. The North Pacific International Chapter and the Alaska Chapter, in combination, have over 1,000 members. The Alaska Chapter is underrepresented at the Parent Society, considering the diversity of fisheries problems and inherent values of fisheries resources. The EXCOM questions this lack of representation as a member of the Western Division.
At the upcoming meeting in Victoria, the EXCOM members attending would like to enter discussions with current Western Division officers and the North Pacific International Chapter officers about any interest in forming a new Division. Before that can proceed, however, we need feedback from our members as to what you think of the idea. Please call or send me an email, fax, or letter shortly after you read this, or offer us any other ideas as to how to make the current Society's divisional structure more relevant to Alaska Chapter members. We need your input on this issue, and I look forward to your correspondence.
Dana Schmidt
AFSCUS Listserver The AFSCUS (AFS Computer User Section) has developed a listserver to provide fisheries information postings to AFS members. A listserver is an electronic mailing list to which anyone with an email address can subscribe. Subscribers can send messages to all other subscribers through the listserver and receive any messages posted by a moderator or other subscribers. To subscribe to the AFSCUS listserver, just send a message with "subscribe afsl your@emailaddress" in the message body to majordomo@wyoming.com. An AFSCUS home page is also being developed and can be accessed at http://www.uwyo.edu/A&s/Nasc/Wyolab/afscus/cusmain.htm. This has many cross references to fisheries-related email and World Wide Web resources. Virtually all Internet fisheries information that I ever use are indexed here.
Fish Stories The AFS home page has added a new feature with guest columnist Tim McKinley from Soldotna providing a series of public-oriented articles about Alaskan fisheries. We're grateful to Tim and the ADF&G Sport Fish Division for providing Tim's talents to broaden public interest in our home page.
Family Assistance A special Internet listserver has been established to assist AFS members who are considering bringing their families with them to the 1996 AFS Annual Meeting in Dearborn, Michigan. Members may use this listserver to learn about child care options, to contact other AFS families, and to discover family-oriented activities in Dearborn and southeast Michigan. To subscribe to this listserver, send a message with the format: TO: majordomo@msue.msu.edu; FROM: "your email address;" SUBJECT: [blank]; MESSAGE: subscribe afsfamily_mg. If you are not an Internet user, or if you want more information about opportunities for AFS families in Michigan, call Shari Dann 517-353-0675.
The AFS Student Subsection has released An AFS Guide to Fisheries Employment, a 113-page handbook detailing what employers are looking for in employees, types of fisheries jobs available, basic employee qualifications, and where to find more resources. The guide also includes information on professional development such as developing early curricula, finding a graduate program, and maintaining professionalism. It discusses finding jobs in government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private consulting firms, and academia. The handbook costs $10 (includes S&H) and can be ordered from Mike Cyterski, Student Subsection, AFS; 803 Claytor Square, Blacksburg, VA 24060; 540-961-3429; mikecy@vt.edu. Make checks payable to Student Subsection, AFS.
Please contact these committee chairs for further information or to volunteer your services. The Chapter needs all of you to participate!
Aquatic Education Pat Holmes, ADF&G, 211 Mission Rd., Kodiak 99615; 4861815; fax 4861628; patho%fishgame@state.ak.us.
Arctic Fish Symposium and Stocks at Risk Alex Wertheimer, NMFS Auke Bay Laboratory, 11305 Glacier Hwy, Juneau 99801; 7896040; fax 7896094; awertheimer@abl.afsc.noaa.gov.
Awards Susan McCarron, ADF&G Sport Fish Division, 333 Raspberry Rd., Anchorage 99518; 2672164; fax 2672424; susiem%fishgame@state.ak.us.
Continuing Education Mike Millard (Co-Chair), USFWS, 101 12th Ave, Box 17, Fairbanks 99701; 4560273; fax 4560454; millardmike@mail.fws.gov; Jill Follett (Co-Chair), ADF&G, 333 Raspberry Rd., Anchorage 995181959; 2672395; fax 3495532; jillf%fishgame@state.ak.us.
Cultural Diversity Judy Gordon, USFWS, 101 12th Ave, Box 17, Fairbanks 99701; 4560511; fax 4560454; 75402.1410@compuserve.com.
Environmental Concerns Rod Simmons (CoChair), USFWS, Box 17, 101 12th Ave, Fairbanks 99701; 4560218; fax 4560454; rod_simmons@mail.fws.gov; Bill Bechtol (CoChair), ADF&G, 3298 Douglas, Homer 99603; 2358191; fax 2352448; billb%fishgame@state.ak.us.
Fish Key Bill Wilson, 13611 Capstan Drive, Anchorage 99503; 5623339; lglppp@corcom.com.
Fisheries Action Network (FAN) Lisa Seeb, ADF&G, 333 Raspberry Rd., Anchorage 995181599; 2672249; fax 3449238; lseeb%fishgame@state.ak.us.
Habitat Restoration Symposium K Koski, NMFS, Auke Bay Laboratory, 11305 Glacier Hwy, Juneau 99801; 7896024; fax 7896094; kkoski@abl.afsc.noaa.gov.
International Relations Mark Stopha, P.O. Box 240020, ADF&GCFMD, Douglas 998240020; 4654220; fax 4654944; markes@fishgame.state.ak.us.
Newsletter Address Changes Alan Johnson, NMFS, Building 53, POB 15, U.S. Coast Guard Base, Kodiak 99619; 4875961; fax 4875960.
Newsletter Editor Mike Murphy, Auke Bay Laboratory, 11305 Glacier Highway, Juneau 998018626; 7896036; fax 7896094; mmurphy@abl.afsc.noaa.gov.
Wally Noerenberg Award Bill Arvey, Box 81195, Fairbanks 99708; 4796929; blarvey@alaska.net.
Bylaws and Resolutions Dennis Tol, BLM, 222 W 7th Ave #13, Anchorage 99513; 2713348; fax 2715479.
Past Presidents Charles Meachum, Alaska Chapter AFS, 533 Main Street, Juneau 99801.
Student Unit Melissa Tendick, P.O. Box 750945, Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks 99775; 4578168; fax 4746716; fsmmt@aurora.alaska.edu.
Membership Buck Bryant, 2770 Sherwood Ln, Suite 2A, Juneau 99801; 5868811x228; fax 5867848; /S=m.bryant/OU1=R10A@mhsfswa.attmail.com.
Program (Annual Meeting) Peggy Merritt, ADF&G Sport Fish Division, 1300 College Rd., Fairbanks 99701; 4597296; fax 4562259; pmerritt%fishgame@state.ak.us.
Electronic Communications Norma Sands, ADF&G-CFMD, Capital Office Park, 1255 W. 8th Street, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau 99802; 4654250; fax 2672442; normas%fishgame@state.ak.us.
The Student Unit is selling edited VHS video tapes of all oral presentations at the Chapter's Annual Meeting last November. Many thanks to Ray Hander who singlehandedly edited and titled all tapes. The following 11 tapes are available in the standard play (SP) format for $10.00 each and $100.00 for the 11-tape set (S&H included). The number in parentheses is length of talk in minutes and seconds. Asterisks indicate speakers. Use the enclosed order form to place your order.
Alaska's Fisheries: Prospering or Imperiled? The 22nd Annual Meeting of the Alaska Chapter, November 1317, 1995, Lake Lucille Inn, Wasilla.
Tape 1. Plenary Session. Kate Wedemeyer, Chair; Chapter President welcome and opening remarks (2.30); Carl Burger, Western Division Past President (6.49); Jack Wingate, AFS President, AFS Can Make a Difference (25.07); Carl Walters, Special Guest Lecturer, Lessons for stock assessment from the Canadian northern cod collapse (67.33); (total 102.14).
Tape 2. Plenary Session, continued. Special Report: Status of Pacific salmon and steelhead escapements in southeast Alaska, Alex Wertheimer and Tim Baker* (34.46). Session 1: Aquaculture Risks Associated with Adding Value to Fisheries, Gary Fandrei, Chair (3.11); Disease risks associated with enhancement projects, Jill Follet (22.00); Risks and benefits associated with stocking and fertilizing barriered lakes, Bruce Bachen* and Richard Crone (21.04); Packer's Lake: Effect of past and present enhancement activities on the lake environment, Jeff Hetrick* and Gary Fandrei (14.10); Experience of the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association in self marketing and value-added salmon products, Donald Amend (22.02); (total 118.40).
Tape 3. Session 2: Fish Habitat in Alaska--Prospering or Imperiled? Bill Hauser, Chair (5.29); Perspectives on current salmon habitat issues in the Columbia River Basin, Phil Mundy (24.31); Extent of logging activity in southcentral Alaska and potential impacts to anadromous fish habitat, Steve Albert (21.26); Logging practices: Impacts on freshwater salmonid habitats in southeastern Alaska, and marine interactions, Fred Everest (18.04); The future of fish habitat: Expected effects of mining practices in Alaska, Phil North (14.04); Expected effects of wetlands development in Alaska, Larry Reeder (15.09); (total 99.46).
Tape 4. Session 2 continued. Balancing economic development with aquatic habitat protection-a legislator's perspective, Sen. Drue Pearce (23.48); Reasonable development and aquatic habitat protection: a permitter's perspective, Janet Kowalski (19.00); Panel Discussion, Bill Hauser, moderator; What are we doing in Alaska that is different (better?) than was done in the lower 48? (32.16); (total 76.12).
Tape 5. Session 3: Special Panel on Jurisdictional Disputes Doug Eggers, Chair and Moderator; The past as prologue: Experience in the Columbia River, Phil Mundy (24.33); Perspective on implementation problems with federal delegation of management authority to the State of Alaska for EEZ fisheries, Phil Rigby (26.21); Development of an international fishery management regime for the central Bering Sea pollock fishery, Doug Eggers (24.57); Management of recreational halibut fisheries in Alaska: jurisdictional conflicts and issues, Doug VincentLang (16.24); (total 92.56).
Tape 6. Session 3 continued. Doug Eggers, Chair and Moderator; Legal uncertainties and management implications of federal fisheries management in Alaska waters, Tina Cunning and Joanne Grace (62.55). Session 4: Failures and Successes in the Management of Central and Western Alaska's Salmon Fisheries Linda Brannian, Chair (1.51); Fisheries partnerships on the Kuskokwim, Doug Molyneaux (19.43); The successes and failures of the Tuluksak and Kwethluk River weirs, Ken Harper (28.46); (total 114.12).
Tape 7. Session 4 continued. Genetic stock composition of chum salmon from the Yukon River District 5 subsistence fishery, Bill Spearman (22.58); Kodiak interception of upper Cook Inlet sockeye salmon and the use of Board of Fisheries workgroups to develop a management plan, Linda Brannian*, Ivan Vining, and Paul Ruesch (19.28); Why have we failed to achieve pink salmon escapement in northwestern Prince William Sound? Dan Sharp*, William Templin, and Hal Geiger (22.57); Aleutian salmon: The rest of the story, Pat Holmes (21.59); (total 87.58).
Tape 8. Session 5: The Management and Biology of Alaska's Fisheries of Our Marine Ecosystems Peggy Murphy, Chair; Assessing the ages of geoducks (Panope abrupta) in southeast Alaska using thin section of shell hinges, Peter Hagen* and Michael Jaenicke (19.02); The red sea urchin test fishery of southeast Alaska: a successful blend of agency and industry participation, Tim Minicucci*, Doug Woodby, and Robert Larson (14.27); A pilot study of the effects of sea otter predation on Dinginess crab: can these species coexist? Gretchen Bishop*, Thomas Shirley, James Taggart, Charles O'Clair, and James Bodkin (17.00); Alternative models of climatic effects on sockeye salmon production in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and the Fraser River, British Columbia, Milo Adkison*, Randall Peterman, Michael Lapointe, Darren Gillis, and Josh Korman (28.13); Patterns in the decline of shrimp in the Gulf of Alaska in the 1970s and 1980s, Jim Blackburn (27.14); (total 106.54).
Tape 9. Session 5 continued. Peggy Murphy, Chair; Lost pot ghost fishing in Chiniak Bay: An initial attempt at assessment, Ivan Vining, William Donaldson, and Bradley Stevens (read by Jim Blackburn) (8.31); Bycatch patterns in the Bering Sea: Templates for area closures, David Ackley (read by Peggy Murphy) (26.47); Alternative rebuilding strategies for the red king crag fishery in Bristol Bay, Jie Zheng*, Peggy Murphy, and Gordon Kruse (26.05); (total 62.09).
Tape 10. Session 6: Contributed Papers. Stephen Fried, Chair (0.42); The ADF&G sport fishing access program: What is it and what can it do? Howard Delo (14.08); Prospering fish populations: Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout at Lake Eva, southeast Alaska, Richard Yanusz* and Art Schmidt (19.23); Habitat encroachment and range expansion of an exotic species (Esox lucius) upon existing native salmonid populations in the Susitna River drainage, Dave Rutz (22.35); (total 57.21).
Tape 11. Session 6 continued. Stephen Fried, Chair; A new tool for reconstructing longterm records of salmon escapement, Bruce Finney*, Susan McNeil, and Dana Schmidt (20.53); The decline and recovery of Karluk Lake sockeye salmon: A case for nutrient depletion from fishing; Dana Schmidt*, Gary Kyle, Jim Edmundson, Stan Carlson, Bruce Finney, and Tom Kline (25.09); Spawning habitat and capacity for coho salmon in the Ayakulik River, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Raymond Hander (22.00); Separation of sockeye salmon fry based on otolith elemental composition, James Finn, Eric Knudsen*, Carl Burger, Leslie HollandBartels, and Kenneth Severin (16.18); Best Paper Awards (4.32); (total 89.49).
The Western Division Annual Meeting will be in Eugene, July 14-18, 1996. The theme is "Regional Status and Trends in Fish Biodiversity." Plenary session talks include Effects of climate and oceanic patterns on salmonids, Dan Bottom; Biological and socioeconomic effects of groundfish harvest, Al Tyler; and Statistics and precautionary biodiversity management, Ray Hilborn. A workshop on watershed restoration will be held July 18. Abstracts for posters and presentations are due May 1. If you have questions on the program, contact Bob Hughes (503-754-4516 or hughes@mail.cor.epa.gov).
The AFS Educational Section announces the Annual Skinner Memorial Awards Competition for 1996. Through this travel award, the AFS Education Section will provide qualified students the opportunity to attend the AFS Annual Meeting, August 25-29 in Dearborn, Michigan. By attending the Annual Meeting, a student will experience the depth and breadth of the fisheries profession, as well as have the opportunity to meet other students and professionals. The award covers up to $500 travel and related expenses--transportation, lodging, registration, and meals. Applications are due May 15, and awards will be announced by July 1. More information and the 4-page award application form can be obtained from Chapter Secretary Brenda Wright (address in Chapter Officers box).
Nominations are now open for the Alaska Chapter Wally Noerenberg Award for lifetime contributions to fishery excellence and for the Meritorious Service Award for both Chapter and National AFS. Deadlines are July 31 for the Chapter nominations and June 15 for National. A nomination form for the Chapter awards is included in this Oncorhynchus. Forms and directions for the National Meritorious Service Award can be obtained from Carolyn Griswold, NMFS Narragansett Laboratory, 28 Tarzwell Dr., Narragansett, RI 02882-1199.
John Thedinga, Chair
In March 1995, the EXCOM approved AFS 2000, a 5-year campaign to raise $1.25 million to fund the Publication Endowment Fund, electronic needs, and office space. Our AFS 2000 Campaign Committee officially kicked off the campaign 3 months later with a letter introducing the campaign to our members. Since then, the campaign has made terrific progress toward our goal. Here are a few campaign highlights:
The campaign reached $100,000 in pledges in its first 6 months (July to December, 1995).
Art Bulger, member of AFS Virginia Chapter, secured a $10,000 pledge from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.
AFS Mid-Atlantic Chapter member Kip Koehler pledged $5,000.
Sixty-two AFS members from across the country have joined the AFS Campaign Committee.
Fifteen subunits have pledged to AFS 2000.
The following Alaska Chapter members have made pledges to AFS 2000: Jim Blackborn, Jim Branson, Evelyn Brown, Carl Burger, Richard Carlson, Louis Carufel, Tamara Faris, Jay Ginter, Robert Gish, William Hauser, Christopher James, John Karinen, Gordon Kruse, Ted Merrell, Ralph Pirtle, Mel Seifert, James Reynolds, Bill Smoker, Janet Smoker, John Thedinga, and Albert Tyler.
To join our Chapter's team effort, please mail the enclosed pledge sheet to AFS 2000, 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110, Bethesda, MD 20814 or contact John Thedinga, our AFS 2000 Chapter Representative, at 789-6025 or jthedinga@abl.afsc.noaa.gov.
Been to a good meeting lately? If you've attended a meeting that you think would interest Chapter members, consider writing a review for Oncorhynchus. Possible meetings of interest might include regional or sectional meetings of AFS or annual meetings of other societies. Your comments would help Chapter members know what their colleagues are doing. Send your review to the newsletter editor to include in a future edition.
April 26-30, 1996 Towards Sustainable Fisheries: Balancing Conservation and Use of Salmon and Steelhead in the Pacific Northwest, Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, B.C.; Contact: Sustainable Fisheries Foundation, P.O. Box 206, Bothell, WA 98041-0206; 206-670-3584.
June 16-20, 1996 American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Milwaukee, WI; Contact: Center for Great Lakes Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 600 E. Green field Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53204; 414-382-1700.
June 26-29, 1996 How Do We Make Fish as Popular as Dinosaurs? AFS Public Outreach Symposium, Bozeman, MT. Contact: AFS Public Outreach Symposium, Conference Services, Strand Union Room 280F, Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, MT 59717-0402.
July 14-18, 1996 International Congress on the Biology of Fishes, San Francisco, CA; Contact: Alec Maule 509-538-2299, alec_maule@nbs.gov.
November 13-15, 1996 International Symposium on the Role of Forage Fishes in Marine Ecosystems, Anchorage, AK; Contact: Brenda Baxter, Alaska Sea Grant College Program, Univ. of Alaska, P.O. Box 755040, Fairbanks 99775-5040; 474-6701, fnbrm1@aurora.alaska.edu.
In the last Oncorhynchus, Kate Wedemeyer's letter solicited a response to "Where do we go from here?" regarding the Stocks-at-Risk Report. The concern is that the report showed we monitor only 10% of our fisheries streams, and usually only the commercially important ones. The Juneau Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest has recently started an improved monitoring program that will most certainly add to the overall database of stocks.
Our target systems contribute to both the commercial and sport fisheries for the Juneau vicinity. The #1 priority is the Mendenhall Lake/Mendenhall River. We began monitoring fisheries resources of this system in 1995 and plan to continue for 3 years. It's in the middle of the Mendenhall Valley, the area of Juneau's most rapid development, and we truly don't have a "before" picture to compare with impacts of urbanization. Believe it or not, a full assessment of these resources has never been done. This watershed sits in our own "back yard" and has yet to be fully understood. The ADF&G has done escapement surveys for Steep Creek (tributary to lake), and this is about the only information available.
I believe an important part of a fisheries resource puzzle, and maybe the most important one, is outmigration and smolt production. Escapement surveys give a smaller piece of the puzzle, and are not always possible. Efforts to assess escapements with weirs can end in "blow outs" in heavy rain. This is especially true for monitoring coho in fall when rainfall is greatest in Southeast. In our first season on the Mendenhall, we learned more about the resource than ever before. Besides obtaining smolt information, we identified the lake as important wintering habitat for Dolly Varden char and cutthroat trout.
So how did we do it? We are now fortunate to have the technology available that allows monitoring that is very cost-effective--something extremely important in this time of shrinking budgets--a tool that even makes it possible to monitor fluctuating, glacial rivers. We purchased a 5-ft diameter, rotary-screw trap to conduct the assessment. With this apparatus, two people can assemble, install, and maintain it throughout the outmigration period. Anyone who has ever operated fyke nets or weirs, will believe me when I say that these traps are the way to go! They are low maintenance and efficient. A trap of this size can be deployed virtually anywhere--off the road system, transported by boat, or lifted into a remote system by helicopter. We plan to use it on all the Forest watersheds of the Juneau road system, most of which have never been assessed as to their fisheries value.
To my knowledge, these traps were first used in Alaska for a NMFS Auke Bay Laboratory study of the Situk River near Yakutat. We simply followed their methodology and used their statistical analysis program designed specifically for this type of trap. We have been successful in obtaining information on species, outmigration timing and strength, smolt production, stomach analysis, and presence of disease. We also were able to contribute about 20 Visual Implant Tagged cutthroat trout to a ADF&G Sport Fish study.
We've been assisted with trap operation by USFWS personnel, and future project workloads will involve cooperation with ADF&G. It will take a statewide effort to build on this database, and the sooner we all get started and work together, the more valuable these data become.
Keith D. Carpenter
Alaska Chapter Letters Policy
Oncorhynchus welcomes brief letters on topics of interest to Chapter members, reserving the right to edit letters for length and clarity.
1995 Chapter Meeting Videotapes
Cost: $10.00 per tape or $100.00 for the 11-tape set (S&H included).
Tape: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 OR 11 tape set (circle your choice(s)).
Indicate total number of tapes and total cost: No.______________, $___________.
Check or money order only made payable to: AFS Student Unit (no purchase orders please).
Please send your order to: AFS Student Unit, 209 Irving 1 Building, P.O. Box 757020, Fairbanks 997757020.
You may also FAX your order to 907-4746716 Attention AFS Student Unit Video Project (ORDERS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED UNTIL PAYMENT IS RECEIVED).
SHIP MY ORDER TO:
NAME:_______________________________________________ ADDRESS:____________________________________________
CITY OR TOWN:_______________________________________ STATE:__________________________ZIP CODE:___________
** Orders received after 1 May 1996 will not be processed until September 1996.
Thank you for your support.