Department says Taku River salmon numbers are overestimated

JUNEAU — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says it has been overestimating how many chinook and sockeye salmon make it up the Taku River.

The Juneau Empire reported Sunday that department officials say the statistical bias is being corrected by new state-of-the-art studies. The department says it had been overestimating the salmon numbers by 30 to 40 percent. It says seal predation caused much of the problem.

The department says the discrepancy doesn’t mean either of the stocks are any worse off than they have been, but fishers are concerned the bias could impact ongoing negotiations with Canada over who has the right to harvest sockeye since both countries fish on the river.

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