No such thing as overescapement. Maybe too many fish spawning for optimal use of the redd sites, and harvestable margins under utilized - from our perspective. Too much rotting fish can be deleterious to lake oxygen for the fry overwinter also, I understand, reducing the 4 year return, but that only affects fishemen and the economy, not the species over-all.
It really amazes me that those fish escaped extinction all those millenia before commercial fishemen came along to save the various species.
"We can't just let nature run wild!"....Wally Hickel.
Which, anymore, is largely true in many cases. Maybe not so much with Alaska's salmon.
Years ago the escapement goal for Kenai reds was, IIRC- 250K. Then there was an "overscapement". When a bumper run came back 4 years later F&G upped it to 500K. Repeat. I think it is now 750K. Maybe a million? I'd have to check- but I only need my 35.
Several "overescapements" of over 1M since hasn't hurt species any... my numbers may be off, but you get the idea?
What amuses me is that the Kenai is touted and used as a "world class river".
The one season I worked as a deck hand in BB, the escapement goal there was 10 million.....for the Illimna Lake system, alone....wound up above 11 IIRC.
Red fish in the river is good. Copper and heavy metal sediments not so much.
