Determination of Cultus Lake Sockeye run timing and survival for migrating smolts and adults


Year 2006
Proponent Kintama Research
Project type Fisheries
FSWP funding source Living Rivers
Grant amount $139,931
Total project value $3,267,935

Location: Fraser Valley, Chilliwack, BC

Project Summary

The Vancouver Aquarium will be tagging Cultus Lake sockeye smolts using POST (Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking) technology to address the twin issues of adult migration timing and early survival measurement. This project will measure Cultus Like out-migration survival and movements, return in-bound spawning migration, and upstream movements and survival in the Fraser River in an effort to identify where in the Fraser system high mortality is occurring. This project will directly benefit Cultus Lake sockeye, which are a major conservation concern in BC. The cause of the conservation crisis is not understood, but might be partly a result of poor in-river survival of the out-going smolts. By tagging out-migrating sockeye, the Vancouver Aquarium will be providing new and important information that may lead to a better understanding of the reduced sockeye abundance in Cultus Lake.