This week, a quiz for Peninsula Clarion readers:
1. Snowy River is
(a) a tributary of the Kasilof River.
(b) a major river in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria.
(c) a tributary of Kenai Lake.
2. You likely heard Hillary Clinton say that you can put half of Trump supporters into what she called a “basket of deplorables,” and you may have heard Donald Trump Jr. reply, “Looks like we’re going to need a bigger basket, folks.” In what movie were the words “going to need a bigger …” popularized?
(a) “In the Heart of the Sea”
(b) “Jaws”
(c) “Captains Courageous”
3. Which of these statements is/are true:
(a) The five species of salmon commercially harvested in Alaska are anadromous.
(b) The five species of salmon commercially harvested in Alaska are semelparous.
(c) All Pacific salmon belong to the genus Oncorhynchus,
4. True or false: The three methods used to commercially target and harvest Alaska salmon are gillnetting, purse seining and trawling.
5. True or false: The Alaska salmon that have no distinct spots on either back or tail are the sockeye (red) salmon and the chum (dog) salmon.
6. What species of salmon has the highest number of calories and Omega-3s per 3.5-ounce serving?
(a) sockeye
(b) coho
(c) king
7. How many board members comprise the Alaska Board of Fisheries?
(a) 5
(b) 7
(c) 9
8. Which of the following is/are native to Kenai Peninsula waters?
(a) brook lamprey
(b) three-spined stickleback
(c) chupacabra
(d) cutthroat trout
(e) Dolly Varden
9. As of Jan. 1, 2017, a resident sport fishing license costs how much more than it did in 2016?
(a) $5
(b) $2
(c) $12.50
10. The least numerous of the five species of salmon harvested in Alaska is the
(a) chum salmon
(b) coho salmon
(c) king salmon
1. If you answered (c) you were close, but the correct answer is (b). Snow River empties into Kenai Lake just downstream from where the Seward Highway crosses it. Snowy River is in Australia, as well as being where “the Man” came from in the poem and movies titled “The Man from Snowy River.”
2. The movie was Steven Spielberg’s 1975 thriller, “Jaws.” Sheriff Martin Brody (Roy Schneider) was throwing chum off the stern of the “Orca” when the giant head of the monster shark erupted from the water behind him. Scared stiff, Brody turns to crusty captain Quint (Robert Shaw), and says, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” The scene ranks with the shower scene from “Pyscho” as being among the scariest movie moments of all time.
3. Anadromous species begin life in fresh water, migrate to saltwater to mature, and return to fresh water to spawn. Semelparous species reproduce only once before dying. All three statements are true.
4. False The three methods employed to commercially harvest salmon in Alaska are gillnetting, purse seining and trolling, not trawling. Salmon unintentionally caught by trawlers targeting pollock, cod and other species are considered bycatch.
5. True
6. The correct answer is (c) king. A 3.5-ounce serving of king salmon contains 231 calories and 1740 milligrams of Omega-3 fatty acids. By comparison, the same serving of sockeye contains only 156 calories and 860 mg of Omega-3s.
7. (b) The Alaska Board of Fisheries consists of seven members. Board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature.
8. (a) brook lamprey; (b) three-spined stickleback; (e) Dolly Varden
9. The answer is (a). Effective Jan. 1, 2017, a resident sport fishing license costs $29, an increase of $5 over the previous year. The last time this license fee increased was 20 years ago.
10. The answer is (b), king salmon. The pink is by far the most numerous.
Les Palmer can be reached at les.palmer@rocketmail.com.
