Data for R0303

We investigate the stock composition and seasonal distribution Asian and North American sockeye and chum salmon collected in the Bering
Sea during 2002-2004 using genetic markers.

For chum salmon, using allozymes and mtDNA, Japanese investigators identified that Asian and North American stocks were not randomly distributed.
Japanese stocks were distributed in the central Bering Sea, the distribution of Russian stocks was similar but also spread into the North Pacific Ocean,
and northwestern Alaska stocks including fall chum salmon from the Yukon River were distributed mainly in eastern North Pacific Ocean. Using supplemental
information, Japanese investigators hypothesize a complete migration model for their hatchery stocks, through the Sea of Okhotsk, seasonally through
the Bering Sea and northwestern Gulf of Alaska, back to Japan.

For sockeye salmon, using single nucleotide polymorphisms, US investigators identified a broader distribution of North American stocks than suggested
by historical tagging studies. Bristol Bay stocks were the most widely-distributed, accounting for more than half the mixtures in all areas except the
southwestern Bering Sea. Russian stocks were primarily detected in the western Bering Sea, and differences were detected in the distributions between
the eastern- and the western-Kamchatka Peninsula populations. Stocks from the Gulf of Alaska were also widely distributed throughout much of the Bering
Sea, although at low proportions relative to the Pacific Ocean-wide production estimates.

Data from this project provide the foundation for continuing studies by NPAFC scientists, Pacific Salmon Commission studies by NOAA and ADFG, and are being
used by ADFG to improve harvest management in Southeast Alaska, Cook Inlet, and Bristol Bay.
These datasets were archived as part of the North Pacific Research Board legacy project recovery effort undertaken by Axiom Data Science and NPRB in 2025. The goal of the recovery effort was to assess the NPRB-funded data projects from 2002 to 2014 and archive final data packages that were ready for publication to increase long-term accessibility and discoverability. Data packages were archived as is given limited funding and resources.