Census of the number of downstream-running young (migrating from spawning rivers to fatten in the sea) is the first and one of the key stages of the annual monitoring of the state of Pacific salmon stocks. In spring and early summer, specialists of the Kamchatka branch of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation "All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography" (VNIRO) conduct juvenile census work on benchmark rivers of the eastern and western coasts of Kamchatka.
The main object of the census is the young pink salmon - the key object of the salmon fishery in the region. The forecast of the predicted catch of pink salmon is based on the dependence of the number of offspring on the number of parents. Therefore, the wide coverage of fry-counting works in various reproduction areas allows us to obtain high-quality data on the number of juveniles migrating to the sea and make the first rough estimates of the amount of return for the next year.
The first results of fry-counting works show a relatively low level of the number of downstream pink salmon, from the spawning of parents in 2024. In the Pymta (in the west) and Khaylyulya (in the east) rivers, the number of yearlings is approaching the average long-term (for odd years) values. In the other studied rivers, the number of downstream juveniles is lower than in previous years. The counting work will continue at least until the third ten days of June, and only the final values will be able to estimate the number of downstream pink salmon in 2025.
In addition to pink salmon, a count of downstream-migrating chum salmon is being carried out in the Kichiga and Khaylyulya rivers. The possibility of a one-time census of chum and pink salmon is due to the peculiarities of the biology of these species: both species leave spawning rivers as yearlings (in the first year of life), their migratory behavior is similar and the timing of migration coincides. Monitoring of the downstream migration of this species began relatively recently, and long-term time series have not yet been accumulated, but the basis for long-term observations has already been laid, which will improve the quality of fishery forecasts.
Sockeye salmon juveniles are counted in the Ozernaya River, in the basin of which the largest herd of this species in Asia reproduces. Sockeye salmon, unlike pink salmon and chum salmon, migrates to the sea mainly in the second and subsequent years of life. The migration of smolts (individuals ready to change their habitat) begins in early June. The beginning of the downstream migration of sockeye salmon juveniles was recorded on June 3, as of the current date, the number of downstream migrants continues to increase.
VNIRO Press Service

Камчатка скат

Камчатка скат

Камчатка скат

Камчатка скат

Камчатка скат
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