In-Season Salmon Abundance and Health Indicator Program


Year 2011
Proponent Northern Shuswap Tribal Council
Project type Fisheries
FSWP funding source Living Rivers
Grant amount $38,600
Total project value $93,000
ID number FSWP11-LR36-F

Location: Cariboo-Chilcotin, Fraser River near Churn Creek

Project Summary

SUMMARY

This is a NSTC Fisheries Department project to measure the in-season abundance and health of migrating adult salmon to the mid/upper Fraser River and is a viable component of an overall Fraser Salmon Management Framework, vital for the guidance of upper Fraser River fisheries management, including NStQ fisheries as well as other Nations fisheries and the engagement of the NStQ in Fisheries Management.

DESCRIPTION
The NSTC Fisheries Department proposes the continuation of a live capture; tagging and sampling platform in the Middle/Upper Fraser River for salmon.  This project consists of the collaboration of several groups and provides information to even more. It will promote collaboration with the NSTC catch monitoring program as well as collecting the data required to provide for a reliable estimate of abundance of chinook, sockeye and coho returns to the Upper Fraser River.

During the past 3 seasons the NSTC has utilized a fishwheel as a sampling platform.  In 2011, the NSTC has been requested to investigate an alternative method of collection of the data.  While the sampling platform will be changed, we see this project continuing as a blueprint for in-season stock assessment in-river; which can also be foreseen to inform Pacific Fisheries Reform Initiatives such as PICFI. This revised project will continue to provide a means to collaborate/unite other ongoing efforts to understand salmon run dynamics on the Fraser River. Collaboration also potentially exists with additional fisheries activities such as spawning area enumerations (boat, foot or enumeration fence) which will provide the means for tag recapture, as well as Food, Social and Ceremonial fisheries upstream of the project location.

The goals are to build on the experience gained and data collected in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and continue to improve the involvement of the Northern Shuswap in the management of fisheries that occur in the traditional territories as well as those fisheries that affect the traditional fisheries of the Northern Shuswap.

OBJECTIVES

  • Further develop and utilize real-time in-river, in-season estimates of the abundance as well as monitor the health of sockeye, chinook and coho runs as they migrate to their natal streams.
  • Improve information sharing amongst various parties and agencies that are considered project collaborators.
  • Continue to gather data and provide a quality comparison of the fish runs/ timing differences for the past four seasons.
  • Utilize the catch data as a tool for in-season management and further develop the chinook and coho study component and baseline data for future study and management of these resources.

METHODS
The project will be actively sampling for chinook, sockeye and coho to help provide an in-river /in season estimate on stock composition and abundance as they migrate through the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw Territories from approximately July 20 to September 20, 2010, run size dependant.  The initial period will include estimation of abundance or calculation of migration of the Early Stuart Sockeye as they pass the NStQ territories, which are intercepted but not retained by traditional dipnet fishers targeting chinook.

Fish sampling is proposed to be carried out using set-nets deployed initially for sockeye harvesting in the Fraser River. The set-nets will be positioned between the opposing currents in a back eddy, tied to the shore and anchored at the offshore end.  3 sampling sites will be identified and systematically fished on a regular basis near or at the past fishwheel location.  The set-netting will be standardized to minimize variations in sampling effort and simplify data interpretation and catch-per-unit effort calculations. It is proposed that a fishing start time of approximately 07:00hrs with “hot-picking” the nets at 2 hour intervals to avoid net saturation.  The nets will be removed from the water after 6 hours of soak time. The standard unit of effort will be 1 set-net fishing for 6 hours between 07:00 - 13:00.

A set schedule to collect the following sample data: DNA via adipose fin clip, scale samples - two per fish to limit sampling time and reduce stress on the fish, T-Bar tag number from tagging efforts, salmon condition (scale loss percentage and scarring), fork length and sex. Along with this information water temperature and flow data will be collected as well.   

Data collected will be entered into the database on a daily basis and CPUE analysis will then take place. Comparisons of traditional catch data will be made to the project catch data to determine additional information, such as changes in abundance from fish migrating up the Chilcotin River and those destined for the Upper Fraser (including the Quesnel), timing through the migration as well as diel timing.
The analysis of the DNA samples collected in 2008,  2009 and 2010 will be compared to 2011 and a link to the daily catch information to compile a background for specific runs and there timing to help develop a management protocol for the continuations of these stocks within the NSTC framework.

BENEFITS
As salmon stocks have diminished over the years our reliance on the lower river to do all the enumeration leaves middle and upper Fraser salmon management plans with “stale” information on the runs. A lot can happen to a salmon between Mission and the natal streams. Having this NSTC project in place allows for more upto date information to be available. By incorporating the information gathered from this project into real time monitoring the NSTC has a better grasp on what is happening and how better to manage the resource for its sustainability. Providing information is one of the most compelling reasons for the continuation of this project, it provides opportunity to address Wild Salmon Policy objectives as well as PICFI and others. The more information available, the better the chances are of making clear concise decisions on the management and protection of the salmon stocks that the NStQ rely on.