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Crowsnest River Drainage Sport Fish Population Assessment, 2010

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Crowsnest River Drainage Sport Fish Population Assessment, 2010 Crowsnest River Drainage Sport Fish Population Assessment, 2010 The Alberta Conservation Association is a Delegated Administrative Organization under Alberta’s Wildlife Act. 25% Post Consumer Fibre When separated, both the binding and paper in this document are recyclable Crowsnest River Drainage Sport Fish Population Assessment, 2010 Jason Blackburn Alberta Conservation Association #1609, 3 Avenue South Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1J 0L1 Report Editors PETER AKU GLENDA SAMUELSON Alberta Conservation Association R.R. #2 #101, 9 Chippewa Rd Craven SK S0G 0W0 Sherwood Park AB T8A 6J7 Conservation Report Series Type Technical ISBN printed: 978-0-7785-9390-4 ISBN online: 978-0-7785-9391-1 Publication No.: T/243 Disclaimer: This document is an independent report prepared by the Alberta Conservation Association. The authors are solely responsible for the interpretations of data and statements made within this report. Reproduction and Availability: This report and its contents may be reproduced in whole, or in part, provided that this title page is included with such reproduction and/or appropriate acknowledgements are provided to the authors and sponsors of this project. Suggested Citation: Blackburn, J. 2011. Crowsnest River drainage sport fish population assessment, 2010. Technical Report, T-2011-001, produced by the Alberta Conservation Association, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. 27 pp + App. Cover photo credit: David Fairless Digital copies of conservation reports can be obtained from: Alberta Conservation Association #101, 9 Chippewa Rd Sherwood Park AB T8A 6J7 Toll Free: 1-877-969-9091 Tel: (780) 410-1998 Fax: (780) 464-0990 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ab-conservation.com i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Crowsnest River is one of the most popular trout fisheries in Alberta. However, increased angling pressure, habitat degradation from recreational and industrial activities, and the invasion of less popular introduced species threaten the fishery. This study monitors populations of rainbow trout and native mountain whitefish, the two primary species in the sport fishery, using electrofishing and mark-recapture techniques. Of 3,979 salmonid fish captured in the Crowsnest River, 65% were rainbow trout and 30% were mountain whitefish. The proportion of the mountain whitefish catch that was legal-harvest-sized, quality-sized, and above the slot size was 44%, 25% and 6%, respectively; greater than the proportion of the rainbow trout catch in these size categories at 11%, 7%, and 2%, respectively. The total tributary catch was 1,085 fish, and was dominated by Westslope cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and their hybrids (Oncorhynchus species) at 84% combined, and respectively at 42%, 27%, and 14% of the catch. Estimated abundance of rainbow trout in the main-stem of the Crowsnest River was 80,131 fish of which 8,501 were legal-harvest-sized, 5,290 were quality-sized, and 1,445 were above the slot size. Estimated mountain whitefish abundance was 16,517 fish, with 7,340 legal-harvest-sized, 3,816 quality-sized, and 1,743 above the slot size. While the total estimated main-stem abundance was nearly five times greater for rainbow trout, the proportion of legal-harvest-sized fish, quality-sized fish, and fish above the slot size was greater for mountain whitefish. Total estimated tributary populations of Oncorhynchus trout species was 60,637 individuals, of which 34% resided in Blairmore Creek. Both the highest main-stem fish densities and the highest incidence of hooking damage occured between the Highway 507 and the East Hillcrest bridge crossings. Incidence of hooking damage for all rainbow trout, those of legal-harvest-size, quality-size, and above the slot size averaged 3%, 16%, 9%, and 9%, respectively; whereas mountain whitefish hooking damage averaged 3%, 3%, 3%, and 4%, respectively. Invasive brook trout and brown trout were most abundant in the upper reaches of the main-stem river, upstream of the town of Frank, and in the tributaries of Drum Creek, ii Gold Creek, and Allison Creek. Bull trout were captured only in the main-stem river, downstream of Lundbreck Falls. Westslope cutthroat trout populations were most intact in the tributaries of Island, Giardi, Star, upper Blairmore, upper Gold and upper Rock Creeks. Upstream of Lundbreck Falls, rainbow trout and mountain whitefish were the dominant species, whereas downstream of Lundbreck Falls sucker species were dominant. Small sized fish were most strongly represented in the main-stem population of rainbow trout, whereas the mountain whitefish population structure showed no trend in capture frequency by size, with a relatively homogenous representation of fish across the full range of sizes. Key words: Crowsnest River, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, cutthroat trout, abundance. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for this study was provided by Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) and Devon Canada Corporation. Many thanks to the ACA fisheries crew: Brad Hurkett, Andrew Clough and Clint Goodman. Thanks to additional ACA staff who helped in data collection including Peter Aku, Trevor Council, Mike Jokinen, Tyler Johns, Jason Letham, Marcel Macullo, Mike Marquardson, Matthew Szumilak and Mike Uchikura. Many thanks to Kevin Fitzsimmons for generating abundance distribution figures, Mike Rodtka and Paul Hvenegaard for project feedback, and Mandy Couve for report review. This project would not have been possible without the guidance of Trevor Council. Thanks to our government partners at Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, including Matthew Coombs for assistance with field sampling and Daryl Wig for consultation about the study area and provision of additional field equipment. I extend my thanks to Bryan Sundberg (Alberta Parks, Tourism and Recreation) for accommodations at Beauvais Lake. Special thanks to the Oldman Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada (TUC) for granting access to TUC property, and to the sampling volunteers, Geordie Paton and Kevin Watson. iv v TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................ ix 1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 2.0 STUDY AREA ................................................................................................................. 2 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS ................................................................................... 4 3.1 Sampling intensity ..................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Sample reach length and site placement ................................................................ 5 3.3 Data collection ............................................................................................................ 6 3.4 Population density and abundance ........................................................................ 7 3.5 Capture probability ( q) .............................................................................................. 8 3.6 Density and abundance calculations ...................................................................... 8 3.7 Abundance distribution ............................................................................................ 9 4.0 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Fish capture summary .............................................................................................. 9 4.2 Population abundance and density ...................................................................... 10 4.3 Trends in main-stem river species distributions ................................................. 13 4.4 Distribution of main-stem river fish abundance ................................................. 15 4.5 Tributary species distribution ................................................................................ 17 4.6 Population structure and size distribution .......................................................... 19 4.7 Incidence of main-stem river hooking damage ................................................... 23 4.8 Summary ................................................................................................................... 24 5.0 LITERATURE CITED .................................................................................................. 25 6.0 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 28 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Crowsnest River drainage study area and sampling locations in 2010. ......... 3 Figure 2. Trends in main-stem species distributions from lower reaches at the mouth of Todd Creek to upper reaches at the outlet of Crowsnest Lake, based on tote-barge
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