ATLANTIC SALMON IN THE NORTH PACIFIC

The first catches of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in British Colum bia (BC) waters occurred in 1987. The first reported escape of Atlanti c salmon (2000 individuals) occurred in 1988. From 1988 to 1995, 97 79 9 Atlantic salmon were reported escaped from net pens in BC but the tr ue number was higher as not all escapes are reported. Since 1987 a tot al of 9096 Atlantic salmon was caught in the coastal marine waters of BC, Washington and Alaska, and 188 were caught in fresh water. Most ca tches occurred in the Johnstone Strait area, where the abundance of sa lmon farms is highest. The most distant recovery occurred in 1994 when an Atlantic salmon was caught near the western end of the Alaska Peni nsula. There have been no reports of successful reproduction of Atlant ic salmon in the wild and no feral juveniles have been found. Atlantic salmon caught in the ocean in BC have substantial amounts of adipose tissue and they are heavier at length than fish caught in Alaska. The proportion of fish with prey items in their stomachs is generally low but higher in Alaska (13.1%) than in BC (5.8%). Most fish caught in fr esh water are either maturing or mature.