A multi-stock model for coastal salmon fisheries in the Baltic Sea

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Progress towards stock-specific assessment and management is desirable in Baltic Sea salmon (Salmo salar) fisheries to limit exploitation of weak wild stocks while allowing more efficient use of recovered wild and reared stocks. We developed a spatially- and temporally-structured Bayesian model for mature Baltic salmon migrating from their feeding grounds in the Baltic Sea to natal rivers along the Swedish coast that incorporates genetic information to identify stocks present in coastal trap net catches. The resulting estimates of stock composition in space and time can be used to specify management measures that are targeted at specific stocks to a greater degree than has previously been possible.