Fecundity of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chum salmon (O. keta) in the northeast Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Significant regional and annual variability in fecundity of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chum salmon (O. keta) in British Columbia was detected during this investigation. A Kodiak Island (Alaska) coho salmon stock was more fecund than southern stocks in British Columbia and Washington. Fecundity ranged from 2450 to 2850 eggs per female at 53.6 cm postorbital–hypural length for Vancouver Island stocks to over 4400 eggs per female for a Kodiak Island stock at the same length. Chum stocks on Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands generally had fecundities less than 3200 eggs per female at 58.8 cm postorbital–hypural length, whereas chum of equal lengths in mainland British Columbia stocks ranged from 3200 to 3450 eggs per female. Older chum and coho were usually more fecund than younger ones, but this difference could be accounted for by differences in mean length-at-age, fecundity being related to body size.