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Location: Greater Vancouver, Pemberton Project Summary
SUMMARY The Lil’wat Nation is proposing to undertake a structured assessment of juvenile salmon presence on the upper Lillooet River system. This continued juvenile salmon presence study will confirm presence in the upper Lillooet River and tributaries and is the appropriate step in identifying a spawning population. This is important information for managing the any salmon fishery in the terminal area. DESCRIPTION The Lil’wat Nation’s Five Year Strategic Plan, states that the Lil’wat Nation’s goal is to apply Nt’akmen (to use every opportunity to promote Lil’wat values and principles) to new challenges and opportunities to maximize the benefit for all the community. The Lil’wat Nation strategic plan states that, as individuals, we will contribute to the plan of maximizing control of Lil’wat Nation traditional territory, strive for excellence in education to increase the academic standing of all Lil’wat Nation graduates and implement and explore new educational options for students in grades 10 to 12. In keeping with Nt’akmen, the Lil’wat Nation has been undertaking an extensive salmon stock assessment on the Birkenhead River and other upper Lillooet River tributaries for many years. The majority of the work is accomplished between the months of April through to January. Back in September 2009 DFO and the Lil’wat Nation expended time and efforts to identify spawning Chinook or their redds in the upper Lillooet River, Ryan River and the Green River and to observe the presence of salmon in the Upper Lillooet River system. Indeed juvenile salmon were found in the tributaries of the Upper Lillooet River system. The Lil’wat Nation is proposing to undertake a subsequent to the 2010 2011 structured assessment of juvenile salmon presence and distribution in all three systems including the 8 small tributaries or creeks in the upper Lillooet River system. This information is important to the Lil’wat Nation in several ways. The continuance of a juvenile presence program will confirm juvenile Chinook presence and provide information on distribution. Along with habitat information collected during the minnow trapping, this program will allow us to develop an adult Chinook enumeration program that will eventually lead to a characterization of the spawning population(s) in the study area. This information will be valuable in our assessment of the Chinook terminal area fishery. OBJECTIVES
METHODS Minnow trapping will be completed with a crew of two fisheries technicians. The crew will distribute 50 to 100 baited minnow traps each day. Each distribution of traps will cover approximately 500 m of the study areas depending on the availability of suitable trap sites. Generally, traps set the previous day will be retrieved in the morning and re-set each afternoon in the next segment of the study area. This will allow for a soak time of approximately 20 hours for each set. The catch will be identified to species, measured to fork-length and enumerated. An upper or lower caudal fin clip will be taken from Chinook captures for DNA analysis. (DFO has offered to provide the required equipment for DNA sampling and will provide the DNA analysis.) The clip will also provide a ‘mark’ to allow for identification of recaptured Chinook to avoid re-sampling. Habitat within each trapping area will be described as the traps are set and retrieved. This will include gradient, wetted width, substrate type and habitat unit types. The juvenile presence and habitat information will be recorded in a database format as well as on maps through the Mount Currie Band’s Geographical Information System. BENEFITS Stock assessment if an important component to fisheries management which is the keystone to long-term sustainability to Fraser Basin salmonids and all salmonid populations. The Upper Lillooet River watershed is a large and important watershed with little known about the fishery resource other than presence and a relatively long term assessment of spawner abundance in Sampson Creek. Annual juvenile presence survey along with adult salmon assessment will assist in the greater understanding of the production of fish in this watershed.
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