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Location: Fraser River Basin, Basin Wide Project Summary
SUMMARY This project builds on the experience gained through previous studies and the first year of the Count on Salmon program. As an integral part of the Count on Salmon program, the objectives for the proposed study complement those of the FSWP, PSC, and WSP implementation as well as FN objectives for a meaningful role in the management of Fraser salmon. The focus for 2010 will be to provide near-shore species composition estimates for the Mission hydro-acoustic sites using fishwheels, monitor sockeye migrations from marine test fisheries to spawning areas using radio-telemetry and conduct intensive monitoring of catch and sockeye passage through selected in-river fishing areas OVERVIEW The proposed study builds on the understanding and information obtained from recent efforts to sample Fraser salmon in the lower river using fishwheels and assess in-river survival using radio-telemetry (see below). Three components are proposed for the 2010: 1) use fishwheels deployed near Crescent Island to obtain daily estimates of the near-shore species composition (SC) for application to the near-shore Mission hydroacoustic counts and apply 50 radio-tags to the Early Stuart run-timing group; OBJECTIVES Objective #1 Provide in-season estimates of the near-shore species composition using fishwheels deployed at the Crescent Island site.
Two fishwheels will be deployed and operated along the south bank of the Fraser River at the Crescent Island site 9 km downstream from the Mission Railway Bridge. The deployment will be similar to the configuration used from 1 July through 20 Sep. 2009 including: the 2009 deflector logs and fishwheel attachment points, the floating shoreline abutment and fish weir, one 20 ft. diameter fishwheel, one 40 ft. diameter fishwheel and a 7.5 cm mesh lead net. The availability of all of these components substantially reduces the deployment and operation cost for 2010 compared to 2008 and 2009. The retained value of these components is approximately $150,000. The senior project biologist will oversee the deployment of the fishwheels and direct operations throughout the field season. A field crew comprised of one biologist and one Matsqui First Nation technician visit the fishwheels on a daily basis to process catches and maintain the equipment. Radio-transmitters will be applied to a sample of 50 Early Stuart sockeye captured at the Crescent Island fishwheels in early July and 500 sockeye captured using reef nets near Lummi (southern approach) and/or marine purse seine vessels in Area 13 (northern approach) between mid-July and late-August. The proposed tagging rates would be 15-20 Early Stuart sockeye/week for the first three weeks in July and 60-70 sockeye/week for each of the 7 weeks between mid-July and the end of August. The consistent number of tags released each week should ensure that sufficient numbers of tags pass Mission each week for the in-river survival rate assessments. The weekly survival rate estimates will be weighted using the Mission/Qualark abundance estimates to derive a weighted average of the survival rate for each run-timing group (as per previous studies). Sockeye tagging at the fishwheels will be similar to that conducted in 2009. Only healthy fish that are longer than 50 cm will be radio-tagged and physiological sampling will be limited to gill tissue obtained from no more than half of the fish. Fish capture, handling and tagging procedures on the marine purse seine vessels will be similar to those used in 2006, except that tagging operations will be streamline so as not to effect the normal operation of the test fishing vessel. Procedures for the Lummi reef net site will be similar to those for purse seine vessels. Tagging will be conducted by a single experienced fisheries biologist with the assistance of 1-2 members of the reef net or purse seine vessel crews. We estimate that 3 days should be sufficient to capture and tag 70 sockeye each week. The initial goal would be to tag 10-15 sockeye/set until the daily tagging goal of 20-25 fish has been achieved. It is anticipated that 2-3 of the daily sets may not provide any sockeye for tagging. These tagging rates will ensure that handling time is minimized and test fishery operations are not affected by the tagging process. In past marine tagging studies, we have been able to apply 15 radio-tags to adult sockeye within 20 minutes, which is less than the time between sets for the purse seine test fishery vessels. While every effort will be made to conduct tagging on existing purse seine test fishing vessels, given the events associated with the extremely low abundance of Fraser River sockeye in 2009, the Fraser River Panel may not allow any disruption to test fishery operations in order to preserve maximum in-season assessment capability. Should that occur, we have built in contingency funding for partnering with other studies or test fisheries (e.g. PSF seine vessel charters and US reef net operators at the Lummi site). The use of the Lummi site should help to minimize the expected marine tag loss for southern approach fish and tagging in Area 13 should be efficient and minimize losses due to marine fisheries for northern approach fish. It is expected that tagging operations will begin on the southern approach route because diversion rates (% migrating through the northern route) tend to be lower early in the run. Tagging operations will shift between the two approach routes such that the tagging is conducted where the sockeye are most abundant so the impact of marine predators are allow minimized. Data from 2002 showed that survival from marine release site to Mission was over 70% when tags were applied in areas where sockeye were abundant. Archival thermal loggers (iButton tags) will be attached to each radio tag. This would make it possible to reconstruct the complete thermal migration history for those fish where tags are recovered during spawning ground surveys. BENEFITS Reliable information on in-river survival, fishery impacts and salmon returns to the Fraser River is vital for effective fisheries management and the long-term conservation of Pacific salmon. The engagement of First Nation communities in these studies will build confidence and greater acceptance of the information used to manage their fisheries. The distribution of telemetry stations throughout the Fraser watershed provides the platform to conducted studies on other species (e.g. 92 Chinook were radio-tagged in 2009) and other fisheries (e.g. 2009 sport fisheries catch and release study). The establishment of an integrated monitoring program throughout the Fraser system will allow assessment of potential impacts of climate change on Canada’s most important salmon river and ecosystem. Engage First Nations, government agencies and community groups/NGOs The fishwheel and tagging components of this proposal have been prepared in collaboration with the Matsqui and Yale First Nations and will draw on individuals from these First Nations with experience with fish capture, tagging and bio-sampling techniques. We will continue to work with First Nations throughout the Fraser watershed for fish tracking and tag recovery data. Complement or implement local and / or regional plans (e.g., recovery plans, watershed plans) This project builds on the knowledge and experience gained through previous studies and the first year of the Count on Salmon program. As an integral part of the Count on Salmon program, the objectives for the proposed study complement those of the FSWP program, PSC, and WSP implementation as well as First Nations objectives for a meaningful role in the management of Fraser salmon stocks. Value-added aspects This project builds on previous efforts to increase the capacity for the Matsqui and Yale First Nations regarding stock assessment. Improvements to the Mission and Qualark escapement monitoring systems should help to strengthen the organizational and institutional relationships between DFO, PSC, First Nations and NGO’s. In-season escapement estimates from Qualark are an important check on the Mission estimates that should provide decision makers with the confidence to make appropriate management decisions regarding openings and closures for fisheries.
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