Chilkoot River The fish species that are found in the Chilkoot River below the lake outlet are generally the sockeye salmon and Oncorhynchus nerka. In order to enumerate the salmon that pass down the river, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries established a weir on the river, in 1976, a few hundred yards downstream from the outlet of the river from the lake, to carry out visual count of “the total sockeye escapement (postseason).” A report for the period 1996-2003 gives the counts done at the weir and also quantity estimates of the sockeye fishes. Chilkoot Lake
Kokanee salmon of landlocked sockeye has occurred more than once with different kokanee populations, showing genetic differences between populations. Most evidence points to events that land-locked the lake-type sockeye (which spawns in streams and lakes, rather than tributaries like the sea-type sockeye, but is still anadromous and spends most of its adult life out at sea), which evolved into the non-anadromous form. Genetic evidence from kokanee in the Fraser River drainage and Columbia River drainage shows that ancestors of the kokanee came from the lake-type sockeye. The data also suggests that the kokanee may have evolved back into a lake-type anadromous form