Technical Data Review 1988—2002
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Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program Technical Data Review 1 9 8 8 — 2 0 0 2 J u l y 2 0 0 5 Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program Technical Data Review 1 9 8 8 — 2 0 0 2 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program technical data review 1988-2002. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-9738639-1-9 1. Salmon fisheries--British Columbia--Nechako River. 2. Chinook salmon--Conservation--British Columbia--Nechako River. 3. Chinook salmon--Ecology--British Columbia--Nechako River. 4. Fish habitat improvement--British Columbia--Nechako River. 5. Nechako River (B.C.)--Power utilization--Environmental aspects. I. Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program SH224.B7N43 2005 333.95’65616’09711 C2005-904597-3 PREFACE HE TECHNICAL COMMIttEE OF THE NECHAKO FISHERIES CONSERVATION PROGRAM (NFCP) HAS PREPARED THIS REPORT TO DOCUMENT AND TSUMMARIZE THE WORK WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN SINCE OUR INCEptION IN 1987. While the work of the committee is available to the public in a series of individual published reports, this review has been prepared to synthesize all of these materials into one document which provides the program rationale, its history, direction and the key findings. The NFCP was created by a 1987 legal agreement between the Canadian Federal Government (Department of Fisheries and Oceans), the British Columbian Provincial Government (Ministry of Environment and Parks), and Alcan Inc. to ensure the conservation of the Nechako River salmon. The NFCP Technical Committee is comprised of individuals representing these three agencies and one independent member who chairs the Committee. The 1987 agreement provided a mandate for the NFCP to ensure the conservation of Nechako salmon during the planned Kemano Completion Project (KCP) which would have further reduced flows in the Nechako River. In 1995 the KCP was cancelled by the province and in 1997, legal arrangements between the province and Alcan resulted in the generation of a number of independent working groups within the watershed community. One such group, the Nechako Environmental Enhancement Fund (NEEF) was created in 1998 to evaluate options for the enhancement of the Nechako watershed. In 2001 NEEF members presented their final report and recommendations for the watershed. At the same time, concern regarding fish species other than salmon in the Nechako was garnering much attention from other stakeholder groups in the watershed. Concurrent with these activities, the NFCP Technical Committee continued to focus on its mandate for conserving Nechako salmon, however our efforts were informed by these other activities by virtue of the participation of NFCP Technical Committee members and their agencies in these other working groups. This report reflects the efforts of a large number of individuals who have worked on the Technical Committee since 1988. It summarizes the body of work that the NFCP has completed in the context of conserving and protecting the chinook and migratory sockeye of the Nechako River. The information which provides the basis for this review includes twelve years of data representing almost three life cycles of chinook. It incorporates the results of more than 150 reports which are referenced throughout, cited in the appendices and available on the NFCP website (http://www.nfcp.org). We have presented our work to address the clearly defined objectives of the NFCP, emphasizing our evaluation of the status of Nechako River salmon for the period of 1988 – 2000. The committee recognizes that new concerns in the watershed and the evolving social context may require re-evaluation of the NFCP mandate. We have identified the need for a discussion of both recommendations for future work and the changing role of the NFCP. The Technical Committee looks forward to addressing these issues now that this report has been completed. Sincerely Dr Ellen Petticrew NFCP Independent Member June 30, 2005 Contents Preamble / iii Table of Contents / v List of Figures / xi List of Tables / xv List of Appendices / xviii Section 1 – Introduction 1 1.1 Background ...........................................................................................................................4 1.2 The 1987 Settlement Agreement ............................................................................................. 6 1.2.1 Conservation Goal .......................................................................................................................................7 1.3 The Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program .......................................................................8 1.3.1 Goals and Objectives ....................................................................................................................................8 1.3.2 Primary Activities ......................................................................................................................................10 1.3.3 Project Overview ........................................................................................................................................10 1.3.4 Technical Data Review ..............................................................................................................................11 Section 2 – Kenny Dam Release Facility Approval Process 13 2.1 Kenney Dam: Review Process, 1988 to 1993 ........................................................................ 15 2.1.1 Kenney Dam: Unfinished Business ..........................................................................................................16 2.1.1.1 Operating Issues ............................................................................................................................................16 2.1.1.2 Plans for the Cheslatta Fan Channel ...........................................................................................................16 2.2 Decisions of the Nechako Environmental Enhancement Fund (NEEF) Management Committee ..................................................................................................... 17 2.3 Kenney Dam: Future Considerations .................................................................................... 17 Section 3 – Conserving Sockeye Salmon 19 3.1 Summer Temperature Management Program ..................................................................... 21 3.1.1 Operating Criteria .....................................................................................................................................21 3.1.2 Monitoring ...................................................................................................................................................22 3.1.3 Releasing Water ..........................................................................................................................................22 3.2 Reviewing the STMP ............................................................................................................. 24 3.2.1 Annual Release Regulation .......................................................................................................................24 3.2.2 Summer Water Temperatures ...................................................................................................................24 3.2.2.1 Effect of Meteorological Conditions on Reaching the STMP Objective ................................................26 3.2.3 Summary .....................................................................................................................................................27 Table of Contents v Section 4 – Conserving Chinook Salmon 29 4.1 Monitoring Stock Performance ........................................................................................... 32 4.2 Gathering Information and Implementing Remedial Measures .........................................32 4.3 Applied Research ................................................................................................................33 Section 5 – Chinook: Primary Monitoring 35 5.1 Estimating Chinook Spawner Numbers ................................................................................36 5.1.1 Estimating Escapements: Methodologies ............................................................................................... 38 5.1.1.1 “Area-under-the-curve” ................................................................................................................................41 5.1.1.1.1 Residence Time of Female Chinook ...........................................................................................45 5.1.1.2 Mark-Recapture .............................................................................................................................................46 5.1.2 Results and Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 48 5.1.2.1 Sources of Bias and Imprecision ..................................................................................................................48 5.1.2.2 Timing and Spatial Distribution of Spawners: Nechako River ...............................................................48 5.1.2.3 Residence Times: Nechako River ...............................................................................................................53 5.1.2.3.1 Analysis and Results of Residence Times for Nechako River Chinook .....................................55 5.1.2.3.2 Summary of Residence