Unseasonable Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

Observation: We fish under the ice with nets for Lushfish, Sheefish, and Whitefish in the Andreafsky River right in front of St. Mary's. I was checking my net on Sunday morning and I pulled in some white fish,Sheefish and Lush fish, as well as this Chum salmon. This is the first time I recall ever catching a salmon this early. The run of fall chum is from August to September and the latest catch is under the ice in December. We usually see our first salmon in the summer a week or two weeks after the ice goes out at the end of late May or beginning June. From the look of it, it look like it's from last year’s Fall chum run. It was an average sized (about 4 1/2 pound)male. It had missing skin and sores which is also unusual. These last three years, during our summer Chum subsistence season, we usually get one or two that have sores like this or white spots in the meat. It felt a little bit soft when I picked it up and it did not look good and I gave this one to my dog. I would like to figure out why they are showing up so late, and I would like to know what is making them sick. Charles Prince

LEO Comment: The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fish Pathology Lab has been notified.

Reference:

*Alaska Department of Fish and Game, published a booklet titled, Common Diseases of Wild and Cultured Fish in Alaska that serve as a brief illustrated guide that lists many of the common parasitic, Infectious, and nonifectious diseases of wild and cultured fish encountered in Alaska. (Fish Pathology Laboratory Section