Revisions to the official DFO commercial Pacific Salmon catch estimates for 1996-2004

Summary

• Commercial salmon catch estimates, for the entire Pacific Region from 1996 to 2004, have been revised, using all available data sources.
• Revised estimates have been endorsed as “Final” by area authorities.
• Revised estimates are compared with sale slip-based estimates maintained by the Regional Data Unit (RDU).
• Differences between revised and RDU estimates are usually small to moderate, but revised estimates generally exceed RDU estimates, and differences tend to increase with time.
• Revised estimates are more accurate than those of the RDU. The precision of both the revised estimates and those of the RDU is generally unknown, but the precision of the revised estimates is expected to be as high or higher in most cases.
• We recommend that the revised estimates be adopted as the official estimates for the Pacific Region, replacing those currently held by the RDU.

— Excerpt from the report