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Abstract
Pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha fry from Auke Creek, Alaska, were marked with coded wire tags (CWTs) and, in some cases, thermally induced otolith marks, to investigate the effects of the CWT process on survival and straying. Pink salmon from Gastineau Hatchery that had been thermally marked provided a point of comparison. Marked fish were also used to estimate the natal composition of fish in nearby streams and at Auke Creek and Gastineau Hatchery. The survival of fish with both CWTs and thermal marks was significantly lower than that of fish with thermal marks alone but not significantly different from that of fish with CWTs alone. No effect of CWTs on straying was detected. The estimated straying rates were 4.4% and 6.7% for early-run and late-run Auke Creek fish, respectively, and 6.9% for Gastineau Hatchery fish. The observed straying and run composition estimates indicated a large-scale interchange of adult pink salmon among local streams, which may promote rapid colonization and recovery of reduced populations.