NPAFC Salmon Tagging, North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and Pacific Rim Countries, June 2003-July 2006; Helle, J.H.

This project addressed the 2003 priority of the North Pacific Research Board for research on factors
affecting salmon stock dynamics, mortality, and migration throughout their range and life cycle. From June 2003- July 2006,
595 electronic data storage tags (DSTs) and 862 disk tags were released during the Bering-Aleutian Salmon International Survey
program of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission. To date, 50 DSTs have been returned from this program, mostly from
chum (n=25) and sockeye (n=12) salmon. Almost all were from maturing fish released in summer and fall and came primarily from
Japan (21), Russia (13), and western Alaska (10). New types of data acquired include the first overwintering marine data from
Pacific salmon (two years of sea temperature and depth data from a Yukon River Chinook salmon) and the first salinity data from a
migrating Pacific salmon. Depth data confirm that Chinook and chum salmon have deeper vertical distributions (average daily maxima:
Chinook: 130 m; chum: 58 m) than those of sockeye (22 m), pink (37 m), and coho salmon (46 m). Temperature ranges varied widely among
water masses traversed by maturing salmon, while maximum daily depths remained fairly uniform. This indicates that salmon chose maximum
depths and not temperature ranges, and that usual depths of maturing salmon may remain relatively constant across water masses and ocean areas.
The results of this scientific data collection project are preliminary. 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.