Chignik Weir Fish Passage

This is a livestream of the fish passage through the weir on the Chignik River in Alaska. The weir is constructed across the river and prevents the fish from moving upriver except at two gates. The weir is in place to monitor and sample the fish escapement, primarily sockeye, traveling to Black Lake and Chignik Lake. These gates have cameras that are continuously recording, but the number you see at the bottom of the screen is an extrapolated number achieved through multiplying the amount of fish counted in the first ten minutes of every hour by six. The count number on the livestream updates everytime new numbers are saved into an excel spreadsheet and the time the spreadsheet was updated is indicated on screen. Alaska Fish and Game Mission Statement The Department’s mission is to protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their use and development in the best interest of the economy and the well-being of the people of the state, consistent with the sustained yield principle. Core Services: Provide opportunities to utilize fish and wildlife resources. Ensure sustainability and harvestable surplus of fish and wildlife resources. Provide information on Alaska fish and wildlife resources to all customers. Involve the public in management of fish and wildlife resources. Protect the state's sovereignty to manage fish and wildlife resources. Protect important fish and wildlife habitat during permit and project review. Division Of Commercial Fisheries The Division’s mission is to manage subsistence, commercial, and personal use fisheries in the interest of the economy and general well-being of the citizens of the state, consistent with the sustained yield principle, and subject to allocations through public regulatory processes. Core Services: Ensure the conservation of natural stocks of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants based on scientifically sound assessments. The Importance of the Chignik Weir Data collected at the Chignik Weir directly informs the management of the commercial salmon fishery in the Chignik Management Area (CMA). The number of fish passing the weir during weir counts and data from age, sex, and length (ASL) sampling allows the Area Management Biologist to make decisions about when, where, and how long to open the commercial fishery, which provides fishing opportunity to the local Chignik fishing fleet. The data we collect is very important not only to the operation of Fish and Game, but to the stakeholders who make their living fishing in this area. The work at the Chignik weir is a great example of how scientific data is used in real time to inform decisions that impact a wide array of people.