WATER POLL. RESEARCH J. CANADA VOLUME 23, NO. 1, 1988

A REVIEW 01: I:ISH HABITAT ISSUES IN THI: FRASER RIVER SYSTEM

I.K. Birtwell, C.D. Levings, J.S. Macdonald and I.H. Rogers* West Vancouver Laboratory, Biological Sciences Branch, Department of Fisheries & Oceans, 4160 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, B.C. V7V IN6

"Physical and Chemical Sciences Branch

ABSTRACT

The 1,253 km-long Fraser River drains a 230,400 km2 area of British Columbia and has a mean annual discharge of 2,700 m3.s-l. The river currently supports the most valuable salmon runs in western Canada. However, the system has the capacity to produce approximately 70% of the sockeye and chinook, 50% of of the pink, 35% of the chum, and 10% of the coho salmon in British Columbia, if potentials were realized.

The majority of British Columbia's population lives within the watershed, and this has led to widespread changes in aquatic, and terrestrial, habitats. Physical impacts have occurred, for example, due to dyking intertidal areas, from water regulation and abstraction, land filling and dredging. Contaminants enter the river system from various sources, such as from industry (pulp mills) and urban developments (sewage), through the use of pesticides, from terrestrial activities (logging, silviculture, agriculture) and in "stormwater". Concerns associaied with these activities and the discharge of contaminants are documented in relation to their effects upon aquatic habitats and fishery resources.

THE FRASER RIVER SYSTEM

The Fraser River catchment area is the largest drainage basin in British Columbia, comprising an area of approximately 230,400 km2 (Fig. l), with an annual mean discharge of 2,700 m3-s-l. The mainstem river is 1,253 km long, rising in the Rocky Mountain trench on the eastern border of British Columbia and flowing through the southwest portion of the province. The Fraser River has over 300 significant tributaries. Major lakes such as Shuswap, Kamloops, Chilko, Quesnel, and others, are part of the drainage system. The watershed includes 9 of the 12 provincial biogeoclimatic zones described by Krajina (1973, in Farley 1979) namely coastal Douglas fir, coastal western hemlock, subalpine mountain hemlock, interior Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine - bunchgrass, Cariboo aspen - lodgepole pine, subalpine Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir, interior western hemlock, and subboreal spruce. Each of these zones is typified by the mean annual precipitation, ranging from 21-35 cmey-l (Ponderosa pine - bunchgrass) to 155-440 cmey-' (coastal western hemlock). The Fraser River system is, therefore probably the most diverse watershed in British Columbia in terms of biotic conditions.

Approximately 1.75 million people live in the Fraser River valley below Hope; the majority of the people in British Columbia currently live in the river basin. The Fraser River was the first waterway in the province to be used by Europeans for trade and commerce, beginning with its discovery as a route to the Pacific Ocean in 1808 by Simon Fraser. The river and its associated natt~ral resources was the basis of a way of life for the native Indians for centuries before that. Subsequent to the arrival of the "white man", the river valley was used for transport in the fur trade and for transport and mining during the railway expansion and gold rush periods. By the twentieth century settlement had increased. The largest city in the province, Vancouver, is located by the Fraser River estuary, with its associated industrial development. Transportation, forestry, agriculture, mining. and hydroelectric developments have all expanded significantly in the past 20 years in the Fraser River drainage basin. 2 BIRTWELL ET AL.

Fig. 1 Map of the Fraser River drainage basin.

FISHERIES RESOURCES

The Fraser River system supports the most valuable salmon runs of any river in western Canada. The commercial wholesale salmon catch was valued at $125 million in 1987 and other fisheries (sport, native) and related industries add to this figure. Present catches are lower than historical maxima, but estimates suggest that the Fraser River system has the capacity to produce 73% of sockeye, 67% of chinook, 50% of pink, 34% of chum, and 12% of coho in British Columbia (Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), unpublished data) if potentials were realized.

DFO information (e.g. Brown and Musgrave 1979; Brown et al. 1979a; Brown et al. 1979b; Manzon and Marshall 1980; Marshall et al. 1979; Marshall and Manzon 1980; Marshall and Britton 1980) details approximately 300 streams, rivers, and lakes where salmon have spawned, or currently do so. There are other watercourses that support salmon but they have not been FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 3 adequately surveyed. The watershed has been divided into 13 subbasins on geophysical criteria (Fraser River Board, 1956). On the assumption that subbasin attributes, for example temperature and rainfall, are reflected in fish ecology, salmonid use of the watershed was investigated (see below). Chinook and sockeye use streams in almost every subbasin, but pink, chum, and coho spawn and rear mainly in the lower drainage basins (Table 1). Coho use 67.7% of the streams, sockeye 45.9%, chinook 36.32, chum 28.82, and pink 26.61, based on historical maximum use as shown in the stream catalogues. In addition to anadromous salmonids there are 37 freshwater fish species recorded from the Fraser River (Scott and Crossman 1973) and numerous others from the estuary (Table 2).

TABLE 1 Number of streams, rivers, and lakes where spawning salmon have been recorded in subbasins.

------Subbas in Pink Chum Coho Chinook Sockeye

Stuart Upper Fraser Nechako West Road Quesnel Chilcotin North Thompson Thompson South Thompson Bridge Middle Fraser Lillooet Lower Fraser

TOTALS

Enhancement in t\e Fraser River system began with projects such as the Jones Creek spawning channels (near Hope) in the 1950's: a habitat compensation measure. Since then there has been an inexorable emphasis to enhance fish stocks through artificial techniques (e.g. hatcheries) or semi-natural techniques (e.g. transplanting, lake fertilization, spawning channels). Spawning channels have been particularly successful for sockeye, pink, and chum, all species whose juveniles have a relatively short residence in river and stream habitats. Despite the lack of empirical data on how enhanced coho and chinook use habitats, development of facilities for these species has recently proceeded rapidly.

In this paper we review our current knowledge and concerns over the effects of physical and chemical disruptions on fish habitat and fish production in the Fraser River basin. In order to understand the interactions between different types of possible impacts and various fish habitats, we also provide comments on the life history and ecology of five species of anadromous salmonids, with emphasis on rearing habitats. We give recanmendations on general directions for further research to assist in protecting Fraser River salmon from decreased habitat quality. We suggest that research work should focus on the juvenile stage of the salmon, i.e. fry and smolts, and their relative abundance in various tributaries and the mainstem river to give information on rearing and juvenile migratory habits rather than adult migration corridors and spawning grounds. This reflects the state of knowledge about the latter two habitats, about which at least we have basic knowledge, whereas the ecology of juveniles is poorly known. In addition, the effects of mortality or sublethal effects at the juvenile stages are more difficult to integrate with survival data, whereas adults and the number of eggs deposited can be assessed with present knowledge and techniques. Adult migratory routes and timing are also relatively well-described (Fraser et al. 1982). However the residency time of juveniles in the river from about 23 stocks of chinook, for example, must be known before exposure to contaminants can be quantified.

Fraser River salmon are in contact with the river and estuary during their juvenile rearing period and/or downstream migration, as well as during adult migrations. During estuarine and riverine life cycle phases they face multiple challenges, including predation and harvesting effects, water quantity and quality impacts, disease, and direct effects arising from modifications to the structure of the river's habitat. A very complex ecosystem supports the fish. The river has already been significantly perturbed by human activities but still appears to be capable of supporting substantial salmon populations, albeit at lower than historical levels. The research and management challenge is to ensure that these populations are maintained, and possibly enhanced; to guarantee their perpetuation.

TABLE 2. Species of fish captured in the lower Fraser River (downstream of Hope) and estuary. (from Gordon 6 Levings 1984; Northcote 1974; Birtwell et al. unpublished data). See footnote for key to distributions.

MIGRATORY Species Distribution

Common name Pacific lamprey Lampetra tridentata River lamprey Lampetra ayresi American shad Alosa sapidissima Eulachon Thaleichthys paci'ficus Longfin smelt Spirinchus thaleichthys Surf smelt Hypomesus pretiosus Coastal cutthroat trout Salmo clarki clarki Steelhead trout Salmo gairdneri Pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch Sockeye salmon Oncorhvnchos nerka Threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

SEMI-RESIDENT Species Distribution

Common name White sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus Green sturgeon Acipenser medirostris Mountain whitefish Prosopium williamsoni Dolly varden Salvelinus malma Starry flounder Platichthvs stellatus Staghorn sculpin Leptocottus armatus Pacific herring Clupea harengus pallasi

RESIDENT Species Distribution

Common name Western brook lamprey Lampetra richardsoni Pacific dogfish Squalus acanthias Bridgelip sucker Catostomus columbianus Largescale sucker Catostomus macrocheilus Northern mountain sucker Catostomus platyrhynchus Longnose sucker Catostomus catostomus Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis Lake trout Salvelinus namaycush Brook trout Salvelinns fontinalis Cape lin Mallotus villosus Carp Cyprinus carpio FRASER RIVER HARITAT ISSUES 5

Table 2. (cont'd)

RESIDENT Species Distribution

Plainfin midshipman Porichthys notatus Pacific tomcod Microgadus proximus Ray pipefish Shiner perch Pile perch Pacific snake prickleback Lumpenus sapitta Slender cockscomb Anoolarchus insienis High cockscomb Anoplarchus purpurescens Penpoint gunne 1 Apodichthys flavidus Crescent gunnel Pholis laeta Saddleback gunne 1 Pholis ornata Pacific sandlance Ammodytes hexapterus Arrow goby Clevelandia ios Kelp greenling Hexagrammos decagrammus Whitespotted greenling Hexagrammos steeleri Masked greenling Padded sculpin Smoothhead sculpin Rosylip sculpin Spinynose sculpin Silverspotted sculpin Sharpnose sculpin Mosshead sculpin Aleutian sculpin Cottus aleuticus Prickly sculpin Cottus asper Buffalo sculpin Enophrys bison Great sculpin Myoxocephalus polyacanthrocephalus Tidepool sculpin OI lj?ocot t us maculosus Saddleback sculpin Ol ipocot t~ls rimensis Tadpole sculpin Psychrolutes pnrndoxus Manacled sculpin Synch~rusgi 111 Sturgeon poacher Agonus ac i pensrri nus Tidepool snailfish Llparis florae Lobefin snail fish Polvpera Rreeni Pacific sanddab Citharlchthvs sordidus Speckled sanddab Citharichthvs st igmaeus Flathead sole Hippoglossoides elassodon Butter sole Isopsetta isolepis Rock sole Lepidopsetta bilineata C-0 sole Pleuronichthys coenosus English sole Parophrys vetulus Sand sole Psettichthys melanostictus Black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus Redside shiner Richardsonius balteatus Striped seaperch Embiotoca lateralis Northern squawfish Ptychlcheilus oregonesis Peamouth chub Mylocheilus caurinus Rrassy minnow Hybognathus hankinsoni Leopard dace Rhinichthys falcatus Longnose dace Rhinichthys cataractae Brown bullhead Ictalurus nebulosus Burbot Lota Iota Calico bass Pomoxis nigromaculaatus Mountain whitefish Prosopium williamsoni Brown catfish Ictalurus nebulosus a. Distribution 1. outer estuary 2. inner estuary 3. river We also describe some required research on the carrying capacity of the natural systems and on land and water use activities and their compatibility with the maintenance of good quality habitat. Enhancement biologists, habitat managers and management biologists all require basic data on these topics. Research, to date, has not considered the interactions between the major tributaries, the main stem river and the estuary. Similarly the environmental impact studies that have been completed - for example the Kemano completion work (DFO 1984, Russell et al. 1982) - examined the implication to fisheries of water withdrawal from the Nechako River, in isolation from the potential diversion of the McGregor River. Moreover, water withdrawal means higher concentrations of, for example, pulp mill bleachery wastes in the middle reaches of the mainstem Fraser from Prince George to Lytton. In addition, the reduced dilution of domestic waste in the lower river and estuary due to these proposed projects has not been considered in plans for management of municipal waste water. These are only a few of the major issues which have implications for the watershed. In most of the basins, particularly those of the Thompson River basin and in the tributaries below Hope, habitat problems are numerous and variable. In addition, cumulative effects may be more acute in the smaller rivers. The Nicola subbasin, for example, has problems relating to water withdrawal, domestic sewage, drainage from agricultural lands, highway construction, river channel modifications, and forest harvesting.

ESTIMATES OF SALMON USE OF FRASER RIVER HABITATS

Estimatt,~of the number of juvenile salmon using the Fraser River and its tributaries provide a very approximate guide as to how intensively various rt?aches are used 3s habitat. Some conflwnces - for example that of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers - are key locations because millions of fry and smolts enter the mainstem river there. Spawning habitats are also of obvious importance, and are identified in this report. Stocks are currently managed by escapements, that is, by the number of salmon that escape the fisheries and survive to pr<,ducc the next generat ion. Hahitat conditions in spawnina areas are crucial hrcnuse of their influence on fry and smolt, and hence adult, product ion.

Esc;~pement dacn from 1979 to 1983 were used to ccmpute fry and smolt numhcrs, drawing on tabulations from the stream catalogues, from updated infurm;~cion provided by DFO biologists (Robin Rarrison, pers. comm.) and from Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) and International Pacific Salmon Fisher ics Commission (IPSFC) Annual Reports. Historical escapement maxim.] were 3150 computed. Mean escapement data for 1979-1983 showed considerahlc declines from historical peak levels. Our est imaces are, therefore, conservative and do not reflect the maximum capability of the river to support juvenile salmon. Smolt and fry populations were estimated using the fecundities and survival rates from SEP "bio-engineering" standards (SEP, 1983). Numbers of coho and sockeye juveniles were based on survival to the smolt stage while chum and pink numbers were based on survival to the fry stage. Chinook juveniles from streams east of Prince George were assumed to be smolts (Tutty and Yole 1978) while juveniles from streams west and downstream of Prince George were assumed to be fry . Annual IPSFC reports gave the numbers of sockeye and pink fry which were released from spawning channels. From the SEP survival rates the number of sockeye smolts was then estimated for the four channels concerned. The SEP annual report for 1986 was also reviewed to determine how many juveniles had been released from their Fraser River enhancement Facilities. If any of the facilities had released larger numbers of juveniles than the calculated estimate from escapements to a particular river system, then the larger value was used. In cases where the proportion of an escapement used for brood stock for a facility was unknown, the computations utilized natural survival rates and the total escapement populations. Major tributaries and the mainstem of the Fraser River were then divided into reaches and the computed estimates of juveniles of each species of salmon were plotted. The raw data are available from the second author. The estimates were then sequentially added to provide a cumulative total along the river to show how many juveniles could be expected in each major reach.

CHINOOK

As noted above, chinook are the most widespread species in the system, FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 7

spawning in 98 streams in a1 1 subbasins. Upper Fraser River chinook stocks, east of Prince George, currently contribute about 1.1 x lo6 juveniles. At Prince George, fry enter from the Nechako River so that below this confluence approximately 3.4 x lo6 smolts and fry might be expected. Stocks migrating down the Chilcotin River represent the next major addition (about 5.5 x lo6 fry) to the mainstem. Above the confluence with the Thompson River the main stem currently supports about 12.7 x lo6 juvenile chinook. The Thompson River adds approximately 19.8 x lo6 fry, of which about half originate from the South Thompson River system, mainly from the Shuswap River. The last major contribution into the mainstem Fraser River occurs from the Harrison River, which supplies 14.2 x lo6 fry from the Lillooet subbasin. The majority of the juveniles are produced in the Harrison River itself.

Chinook juveniles are thought to show three life history types. The "ocean" type chinook migrate to the estuary or lower river soon after hatching. This life history type makes extended use of the Fraser River estuary. Fish of the "90-day" type migrate to the estuary as larger individuals: smolts or presmolts, but it is not known which Fraser River chinook stocks show this life history type. "Stream" type chinook, that is those that overwinter in streams and rivers before migrating to the sea, are probably most common in the upper Fraser River (Fraser et al. 1982) based on analyses of adult chinook scales from the McGregor River (Tutty and Yole 1978). However there are little published data on habitat use, especially overwintering ecology in the mainstem Fraser River, and this basic biological information is urgently required to understand how dependent chinook are on river and tributary habitats.

COHO

Coho spawn mainly in the Thompson River system and in tributaries of the ~raserRiver below Hope. Smolt production is currently low from the Thompson River system, with 132,000 smolts originating from the South Thompson River system and 76,000 from the North Thompson. The Lillooet subbasin rivers contribute approximately 231,000 smolts. Downstream tributaries, especially the Chilliwack-Vedder system, produce substantial numbers of coho salmon. The number of coho smolts using the Fraser River at New Westminster, at current escapement levels, is approximately 795,000.

Juvenile coho salmon spend at least 1 year in fresh water and often 2 years before migrating to sea from this system. Coho in the lower Fraser River tributaries (see Schubert 1982) appear to show population characteristics typical of coastal fish, such as, for example, the relatively well-studied stocks on Vancouver Island. There are no published data on the residency time or other basic ecological information for coho stocks above Hope, except for recent data on their ecology during winter in the Coldwater River, a tributary of the Nicola River (Swales et al. 1986).

CHUM

Except for very few streams, chum salmon do not spawn above Hope and the vast majority of fry are produced in the lower mainstem river and tributaries. The Harrison River is a major contributor, currently producing approximately 47.4 x lo6 fry. The Chilliwack-Vedder River system and tributaries contribute about 2 x lo6. The mainstem Fraser River produces about 8.1 x lo6 fry. In recent years, therefore, the lower Fraser River at New Westminster has supported about 57.5 x lo6 chum fry.

Chum migrate to sea within a few days of hatching, but they reside in the lower river for a few days or weeks (Levy and Northcote 1982). Because of variation in hatching time, chum fry can be found migrating through the lower Fraser River and estuary from February to July. Peak numbers are usually in April.

PINK (even year juvenile migration)

Servizi (1988) concluded that pink and sockeye salmon populations and survival rates have increased over the past 20 years. 8 BIRTWELL ET AL.

The furthest upriver pink spawning location has been the Quesnel River, producing 0.7 x lo6 fry. Bridge River, contributing approximately 6.1 x lo6 fry, is the next major pink spawning river downstream. About 10 km below this confluence, Seton Creek enters the mainstem Fraser, contributing 90.7 x lo6 fry. The lower Thompson, between the outlet of Kamloops Lake and the confluence with the Fraser, is also a major pink spawning area, producing about 85.9 x lo6 juveniles, so a total of 183.4 x lo6 fry migrate past Hope. The lower Fraser River and tributaries have very substantial pink spawning areas, so at New Westminster a total of about 274 x lo6 fry transit the mainstem river on even years.

Pink fry migrate to the sea very soon after emergence and are thought to move through the estuary quite rapidly. Peak abundance in the lower river is in April.

SOCKEYE

This species is the most ~ervasiveof the migratory salmonids in the Fraser River watershed, using 124 streams or lakes (Stockner and Shortreed 1983) and occurring in all of the subbasins except the West Road. Smolt production does not occur among all stocks simultaneously because of the cyclical nature of escapements to many of the major spawning areas. Therefore the concept of cumulative loading of the mainstem Fraser is not directly applicable for this species, but should be for tributaries and is for lakes where sockeye rear for a year prior to their migration to sea.

Sockeye use 39 streams in the Stuart subbasin and approximately 65 x lo6 smolts are produced in this system. Streams (e.g. Nadina, Stelako) entering the Nechako River contribute 12.1 x lo6. Three streams that flow into Quesnel Lake are major producers and the Quesnel River supports about 70 x lo6 sockeye smolts. The Chilcotin River, the next system to enter the mainstem Fraser, is used by 40 x lo6 smolts, mostly from Chilko Lake and the river. The largest contribution of juvenile sockeye in the Fraser River system is from the Adams River, which produces 65.1 x lo6 smolts from a cycle year escapement. The lower and middle Shuswap Rivers produce 12.3 x lo6 juveniles and the North Thompson approximately 0.7 x lo6. Overall the Thompson River has been recorded to transport about 104 x lo6 through the reach below Kamloops Lake. Below Hope, the Harrison River system, especially the reaches between the outlet of Harrison Lake and the mouth of the river, is an important producer, contributing approximately 20.9 x lo6 juveniles. About 37.8% (7.9 x lo6) of these smolts are from spawning areas above Harrison Lake, in the Lillooet River and tributaries. Substantial producers below the confluence of the Harrison and Fraser Rivers are the Chilliwack River system (1.0 x lo6 smolts) and the Pitt River with 2.0 x lo6 juveniles.

In summary, the total number of juvenile chum, pink, coho, chinook, and sockeye on recent odd years has been approximately 380 x lo6, as computed through our method and assessed independently by Healey (1980) and Northcote (1974). On even years, when major pink fry migrations occur, an additional 270 x lo6 use the system. Junctions of tributaries with the main stem (e.g. confluence of the Harrison and Thompson Rivers with the Fraser River) are locations where fry and smolt habitats must be of particular significance because of their intense use, compared to upstream and downstream reaches.

DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS ON THE FRASER RIVER AND ESTUARY, DOWNSTREAM FROM HOPE

Fish utilization of the Fraser River estuary and outer Burrard Inlet (including part of Vancouver Harbour) is intense, as all stocks of all salmon species must pass through the estuary as juveniles and as returning adults. It is likely that residency in the estuary is stock-specific and therefore use of habitats very complex. Although the fish communities have been described in some detail (see Table 2), adequate information is not available on residency time in the estuary and subsequent survival of all species. These are key variables to an assessment of the importance of specific habitat types in the estuary. Some short-term residency estimates are only available for chinook fry (up to 30 d) and chum fry (up to 11 d) in marshes of the Duck-Barber-Woodward Island area in the lower river (Levy and Northcote 1982) and for the same species in eel grass beds on Roberts Bank FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES

The filling and dyking of intertidal and shallow sub-tidal zones reduces the habitat fish use. It may also have the indirect effect of altering water flow and, depending on material used, it may reduce water quality by introducing toxic substances to the water. Dyking has been responsible for the majority of the irreversible changes in the high marsh and riparian wetlands in the lower estuary. According to Environment Canada (1986) "80% of the Fraser River delta wetlands have been converted to other uses, primarily agriculture". Blockage of slough habitat has the potential of reducing juvenile salmonid carrying capacity by, for example, eliminating refuges from predation and rearing sites. There are approximately 620 km of dykes along the lower Fraser River, about 30 km have been built or improved for flood control purposes since 1968 under the auspices of the Fraser River Joint Advisory Board. An earlier review of this issue indicated that about 70% of wetland habitats in the estuary were isolated from the river by dyking, which commenced in the late 1800's (Anon 1978b). Historically, wetlands flooded at least annually occupied an area of about 20,570 ha, compared to approximately 6,425 ha at present. Dyking also has had a direct effect on populations of salmon by impairing the migration of smolt and fry from tributaries to the mainstem Fraser. Pumps are used to control the water level behind dykes; where screens are not provided juvenile salmon and other organisms may be sucked through the pumps and injured. The mortality of downstream migrating coho smolts due to pumping has been estimated to be up to 20% on the Salmon River in Langley (Paish and Associates 1981).

Landfills for ports and housing have alienated habitat by smothering and through the blockage of water flows. The Westshore Terminals on Roberts Bank and the port developments along the lower Fraser River and in Vancouver Harbour are examples of large scale habitat loss in the outer estuary, but there are also many smaller areas of wetland habitat that have been alienated due to dumping rubble and garbage. Blockage of river and stream flow by housing developments and road construction has occurred. In expanding suburban municipalities such as Surrey and Coquitlam difficulties have arisen with this issue. There are about 105 salmon-producing tributaries below Hope and data on the impact of urbanization on these habitats is qualitative at best (Peterson and Lewynsky 1985).

Dredging, particularly of spawning areas for gravel, can significantly reduce fish production. Disposal of dredge spoil can create an additional problem especially if valuable habitats, such as marshes are filled. Marsh habitats provide refuge sites for juvenile salmonids and contribute significantly to the detrital food chain on which salmon depend (Naiman and Sibert 1979). Suction dredging in the lower Fraser estuary has resulted in the direct mortality of salmon fry that were entrained (Tutty 1976) and dredging is proceeding at a rate of about 1 x lo6 m3.y-1. Guidelines have been published (DFO 1986) which should reduce the loss of salmon due to suction dredging.

Concern for the effect of log boom storage on juvenile salmon survival has recently resulted in a number of studies; about 1,485 ha of the Fraser River estuary foreshore is leased for this purpose (Higham 1983). Juvenile salmon use some well-flushed log storage sites for example, that at Point Gray, at the mouth of the North Arm (Levy et al. 1982). However potential impacts from log booms include debris smothering bottom vegetation, lower productivity due to shading of the bottom and benthic scouring and compaction from logs and tow-boats. Information on these complex secondary effects is lacking.

Land and water use in the lower Fraser Valley have modified both the aquatic and terrestrial environments. Urban and industrial development have encroached upon the area. Prior to land use control legislation in 1974 it was estimated that about 1,400 ha of forested and agricultural land were being converted annually for urban and industrial development (Barker 1974 in Slaymaker and Lavkulich 1978). While forestry and mining are major primary industries in other parts of the Fraser River system, they are of less significance in the Fraser River valley. Here numerous secondary industries (e.g. lumber and paper production, metal finishing companies), are located within the regional districts of Greater Vancouver, Central Fraser Valley, Dewdney-Alouette and Fraser-Cheam. Agriculture is a major 10 BIRTWELL ET AL.

activity in the Fraser Valley which, together with two other regions (the Peace River and Okanagan areas), constitutes the 2.5 x lo6 hectares of farmland in the province of British Columbia. Approximately 190,000 ha of land is farmed in the lower Fraser Valley, of which about 35,000 ha are for animal husbandry (e.g., cattle, horses, swine, chickens, etc.) and the remainder produces crops (e.g., corn, potatoes, grain, vegetables, forage).

The population of the lower Fraser Valley is increasing, and so are industrial development and urban growth. Land use practices will change as development continues and industrial relocation may also occur as it has done from the City of Vancouver to more peripheral areas. It is predicted that the population of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) will increase by a factor of 2.2 (910,000 to 1,981,000) over the next 40 years, with the highest growth rate occurring in the regions distant from the main City of Vancouver. In the currently less populated areas of the Fraser Valley (ca. 250,000) the growth rate is predicted to be similar to that in the GVRD. Associated with such growth will be an inevitable demand upon aquatic ecosystems to accommodate urban and industrial wastes. The following notes indicate the sources and nature of contaminants that enter the lower Fraser River and its estuary and the priority that they should be afforded in relation to the management of fish stocks and their habitat.

MINING

In the early 1980's Carolin Mines Ltd., operated a gold and silver mine along a tributary of the Coquihalla River. Cyanide discharged from the mine killed 14,000 juvenile trout in 1982, thus emphasizing the sensitivity and magnitude of the resources at risk. Rock and gravel extraction along tributaries have, at times, resulted in high sediment discharges; a situation that merits continued management and surveillance for the protection of fish and their habitat.

PESTICIDES

The two major areas of pesticide use in British Columbia are the Okanagan region and the Lower Fraser Valley (Garrett 1982a). Little published information is available on the quantities used. Permits (more than 400 per annum) are required for pesticide applications on crown land but not for their use on privately owned land. Accordingly, accurate information on the use of pesticides is unavailable, although the largest volumes are used in ngriculture. Most agricultural practices occur in valley bottoms adjacent to water bodies and extreme caution is required during pesticide applications to prevent aquatic contamination. Pesticides are classified according to the group of pests which they control (for example, bactericides, insecticides, herbicides), and over 100 pesticides are listed for use under the provincial Pesticide Control Act Regulation. Many of these compounds pose a significant hazard to aquatic organisms. For example a recent survey (by Environment Canada and Agriculture Canada), indicated that in B.C. 30,000 kg of Dinoseb (a compound used as both an insecticide and herbicide) was sold in 1981. This constituted about 25% of the national sales of a compound which is highly toxic to fish, and is applied in the lower Fraser Valley. Many other pesticides are used on agricultural land but the impact of these applications has not been determined. Exposure of fishery resources, especially rearing salmonids, in the lower Fraser River and tributaries is of great concern and requires assessment. The situation is complicated by the lack of knowledge on pesticide applications on private land. Herbicides are used for the control of "noxious weeds" along transportation corridors or "rights of way". Grants from the provincial government assist regional districts and municipalities to apply pesticides within their boundaries. Increasing use of herbicides for improved silvicultural practices may well occur in the lower Fraser Valley.

The application of pesticides for the preservation of lumber is also of concern. Chlorophenols are extensively used for wood preservation in B.C. Approximately 680,000 kg of phenolic compounds are used annually (B.C. Government - unpublished information). Many wood treatment facilities are located along the Fraser River, and in the Fraser Valley region. According to Garrett (1982b) chromium, copper, arsenic, chlorinated phenols, dioxins, PAH's (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons), phenolics and creosote FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES are chemicals of concern. Creosote (wood preservative/pesticide) sales in B.C. are about 70% of the national sales and about 3.9 x lo6 kg of this product are used annually (unpublished information - Environment Canada).

The significance of wood preservatives to aquatic organisms is dealt with below. It is of great concern that pentachlorophenol has been found in the estuary of the Fraser River at freshet (conditions of maximum dilution) and contamination of fish species with these compounds is widespread (DFO - unpublished information; Voss and Yunker 1983).

Fish kills resulting from the discharge of wood preservatives have been recorded in B.C. and currently Environment Canada considers these compounds as priority chemicals for management, because of their potential hazard in the region (toxicity, bioaccumulation potential and environmental persistence) and exposure potential (Garrett 1982a,b). Other pesticides are also considered to be of major concern nationally by Environment Canada, but regionally they are less important. However, because of widespread use of such pesticides adjacent to valuable salmonid habitat in the lower Fraser Valley, a greater concern is warranted.

URBAN AND ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

Landfills may be conveniently divided into categories - large active municipal landfills, large closed municipal landfills, wood waste and small municipal and miscellaneous landfills (Atwater 1980). All have the potential to release contaminants to the lower Fraser River.

VANCOUVER

Boondory Boy

----Brct8sn Colurnblo CANADA Wo$hlnplan U S A

'ig. 2 Location of major landfills along the estuary of the Fraser River.

Within the confines of the Fraser River Estuarv Studv (Anon 1978a) (Kanaka Creek to the mouth of the Fraser River), eight major landfills were identified which discharged toxic materials either directly or indirectly into the Fraser River and its estuary (Fig. 2). It was estimated that greater than 7.5 million litres leach from the landfills and reach the river system daily. Flows and concentrations of contaminants are, of course, related to rainfall, and the nature of contaminants is determined by the material disposed at the sites. In general, landfills are a significant source of organic material, ammonia and solids but seemingly not of trace metals (Atwater 1980). In 1980, for example, 800,000 tonnes of municipal refuse and 430,000 tonnes of woodwaste were disposed of at five active 12 BIRTWELL ET AL.

municipal landfills and numerous small sites adjacent to the lower Fraser River. For each tonne of refuse, 5-10 kg of solids is leached out and most enters the Fraser River untreated (Atwater 1980). Inorganic constituents of landfill leachates have been categorized, and organic contaminants from a major landfill in the Fraser estuary have been studied and characterized (Jasper et al. 1986). At present there is no known method of predicting what contaminants are present in leachate or how long they will be discharged at levels that cause concern (Atwater 1980). The diversion of landfill "leachate" to sewage treatment plants may afford some protection to aquatic systems, but this is dependent upon the level of treatment provided at the plant. At Annacis Island, for example, only primary treatment is provided and this will not significantly alter the contaminant burden prior to discharge into the estuary.

The accumulations of waste wood adjacent to small tributary streams are widespread in the lower Fraser Valley, especially in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Of 35 such sites surveyed in 1977 (130 ha) about 90% were located adjacent to the Fraser River. Toxic effluent leaching from these sites is a problem aside from the physical alteration of fish habitat (especially juvenile coho salmon habitat). The cumulative effects of many small landfills, especially of wood waste, have significantly encroached upon the small tributary streams in the lower Fraser Valley.

Fig. 3 Stormwater and combined outfalls in the Fraser River estuary.

STORMWATER DISCHARGES

Stormwater discharges in the lower Fraser Valley release contaminants to the Fraser River. Land runoff in agricultural areas adds nutrients and pesticides to the adjacent waterways, but it is essentially in the more heavily populated areas that significant quantities of contaminants are estimated to be discharged in this way. In the Greater Vancouver Regional District alone there are over 100 separate stormwater discharges and 12 combined sewer overflows to the lower Fraser River and estuary (Fig. 3). It is recognized from studies elsewhere in North America that stormwaters are often highly contaminated. Few studies have been carried out on stormwaters in the lower Fraser Valley to document their burden of contaminants. FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 13

Studies at Still Creek have shown that heavy metals, PCB's and fecal coliform bacteria are major contaminants. The stream receives drainage water from urban developments and discharges from plating industries and sanitary sewers (Ferguson and Hall 1979). Swain (1982) measured oil and grease, phenols, pesticides and PCBs emanating from stormwater discharges. Ferguson and Hall (1979) consider stormwater pollutant loadings to the lower Fraser River and estuary to be a significant pollution problem. They estimated that 50% of the waste waters discharged to the lower Fraser River are stormwater, but this is probably underestimated. Many calculations are based upon average conditions and do not reflect maximum and minimum loadings, which may be critical during fish migrations.

INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENTS

Industrial effluents are often directed to municipal sewers, then transported to sewage treatment plants and discharged to the Fraser River. However, some separate industrial outfalls exist. Within the study zone of the federal-provincial Fraser River Estuary Study, it was determined that approximately 108 outfalls discharge directly to the lower Fraser River (~non. 1979). These outfalls were categorized as municipal (23), uncontaminated cooling water (211, forest products industries (241, food industry (14), metals industry (9), cement industry (7), and 10 miscellaneous. In all, approximately 330,000 m3.d-I is discharged through these outfalls; 51% discharge to the North Arm of the Fraser River, 32% to the main, South Arm and 17% above this division in the mainstem river. Industrialization on the North Arm of the Fraser River is significant in that a maximum of 15% of the total river flow is available to dilute 44% of the industrial wastes discharged. &cause of upstream water movements on flood tides during periods of low freshwater flow, contaminants could take approximately 72 h to move from the upstream end of the North Arm to the Strait of Georgia (Ages 1985) (Fig. 4). As a consequence, water and sedimeni qua1 ity has deteriorated and elevated levels of contaminants have been recorded in aquatic organisms. Adverse dilution conditions typically occur during the juvenile salmon downstream migration period when more than 5% of the water in the North Arm of the Fraser River may be industrial effluent and stormwater, but could be up to four times this level depending upon rainfall.

72

DISTANCE UPSTREAM (krn)

Fig. 4 Predicted movement of material from the Fraser River estuary (fresh- water discharge 850 m3.s-I at Hope: start 1700 h, 03 18 82, North Arm: Courtesy of A. Ages, DFO). BIRTWELL ET AL

MUNICIPAL EFFLUENT

Municipal effluent is discharged directly into the lower Fraser River and estuary. Effluent differs in constituents and volumes between discharge locations. In general, better treatment is afforded to municipal effluents discharged upstream of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. At Hope, Kent-Agassiz, Langley, Chilliwack, Mission-Abbotsford, Matsqui and Harrison sewage treatment plants, secondary treatment is practiced. Average flows from these treatment plants total about 40 x 103 m3.d-I whereas in the GVRD combined effluent flows from the municipal sewage treatment plants at Annacis, Lulu and Iona Islands average about 700 x 103 m3.d-l. Flows at all treatment plants may be substantially greater during wet weather, especially at those serving the older districts where storm and domestic sewer systems are combined. For example, at the Iona Island sewage treatment plant the minimum dry weather flow is about 2.5 m3.s-l, maximum flow is 17.7 m3.s-l, and the average flow is 4.7 m3.s-I (Anon. 1979). Despite the much greater effluent flow from the GVRD municipal wastewater treatment plants to the Fraser River, relative to upstream discharges, less treatment is provided. This is of concern in relation to the protection of aquatic resources and their habitats. Effluent dispersion is especially complex within estuaries, wherein multiple dosing of the receiving waters may occur due to tidal action (reversing water flows) - an issue which is dealt with in greater detail in the section on exposure of fish to contaminants. All three major sewage treatment plants (Iona, Lulu, Annacis) discharge into tidal reaches of the Fraser River estuary. Annacis is the furthest upstream and is expected to attain maximum discharge (6.78 m3.s-I) within 40 years.

Recent industrial development in the lower mainland of B.C. has generally been in areas outside the City of Vancouver, in the collection area of the Annacis Island sewage treatment plant which affords only primary treatment. This treatment removes few contaminants and most pass through the system to be discharged into the Fraser River. An inquiry into the adequacy of wastewater treatment practices, and specifically those used at the Annacis Island sewage treatment plant, was held by the provincial government's Pollution Control Board in 1980. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans presented a brief at that hearing (Birtwell et al. 1981). It was concluded that serious concern exists for the health of those organisms likely to contact effluent from this source: effluent that contains both inorganic and organic contaminants hazardous to aquatic life. The Pollution Control Board recommended that secondary treatment should be provided at this sewage treatment plant and the Lulu Island sewage treatment plant at some future date. The increasing quantity of industrial effluent being discharged from the Annacis Island treatment facility (ca 35%) and the relatively inefficient removal of toxic contaminants is of immediate concern.

Effluent from the Iona Island sewage treatment plant was discharged onto intertidal sand flats in the outer estuary of the Fraser River, but now (1988) it is dispersed in the Strait of Georgia from a depth of about 100 m (S and S Consultants 1983). Since 1963, when the plant began operation, extensive degradation of the intertidal area has occurred, resulting in the contamination of organisms and the often daily large-scale direct and indirect mortality (predation) of fishery resources (e.g., crabs, flounders, salmon) in early spring and in summer time (Birtwell et al. 1983) - events most probably attributable to decreased dissolved oxygen levels. While less than 10% of the effluent entering this treatment plant is of industrial origin, tanker truck discharges at the plant add concentrated volumes of a wide variety of materials. Recent studies have increased our knowledge of the effects of this discharge on sensitive fish habitat which is widely used for rearing (e.g. chinook and chum salmon, herring). Treated composite samples of Iona Island sewage were analysed every five days during a 63-d exposure of juvenile chinook salmon in 1983 (Rogers et al. 1986). The predominating organics were fatty acids, petroleum hydrocarbons, aromatic acids and chemical disinfectants. Some pharmaceutical residues, herbicides and food preservatives were also identified. Tetra- and pentachlorophenol were present in the sewage and their concentrations were measured. There was evidence of spills of these chemicals and the maximum values measured did not coincide in time. The two chlorophenols were rapidly bioaccumulated by the exposed salmon. FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 15

Juvenile salmon typically migrate down the Fraser River during its low flow period and at the start of freshet. They begin to enter the industrialized and urbanized lower Fraser Val ley during a relatively wet period of the year (February, March) when effluent flows are often extremely high. The dilution capacity of the Fraser River is, therefore, minimized at this time. Furthermore tidal activity in the estuary results in an extended residence time of discharged materials and a possible "multiple dosing" of water bodies occurs under certain tidal conditions (Fig. 4). The net effect is a buildup of contaminants, and a deterioration in water quality at the time of maximum downstream salmon migration.

To illustrate the problem, it has been estimated (Pollution Control Board 1980) that with only the average volume of effluents and stormwater discharged to the lower Fraser River at minimum river discharge, the dilution factor would be 25. Effluent quantities at the time of the downstream juvenile salmon migration almost certainly exceed average values. Precipitation substantially elevates effluent flows and accordingly dilution will be significantly less than 25:1, and could approach 4:l. Moreover, tidal reversals result in slack tide conditions and effluent pooling, thus giving rise to elevated concentrations of effluent in river water. It was estimated that in 1980, 213 hours of slack tide conditions existed between February and May at Annacis Island in the estuary of the Fraser River. This would reduce the dilution of effluent for example, from the Annacis Island sewage treatment plant which has been documented to be acutely toxic and to contain persistent inorganic and organic contaminants. The Fraser River Estuary Study concluded that "Conditions unsafe for fish may occur at times in the immediate areas of the outfall" (Anon 1980). Assuming a downstream migration of about 600 million juvenile salmon during February and May, 44 million salmon would probably encounter unfavourable slack water quality conditions (over 213 h) at this location. Other migrating fish, including about 10 million adult eulachons, move upstream during this period to spawn in the lower Fraser River. Of the six billion eulachon larvae that are produced, 300 million would encounter deteriorated water quality conditions. Other resident and migratory fish would also be subjected to these stressors at slack tide. Hence, valuable fishery resources are being subjected to reduced water quality episodes during their downstream (and upstream) migration. The exact significance of this exposure to a multitude of effluents and contaminants has not been assessed. Recent research on the effects of the Iona Island sewage treatment plant effluent on juvenile chinook salmon has shown deleterious effects at low concentrations including an impairment of osmoregulatory ability, uptake of contaminants (especially chlorinated phenols) changes in growth rate etc. (Kruzynski et al. 1986; Rogers et al. 1986).

CONTAMINANTS IN ORGANISMS AND THEIR HABITAT

A few uncoordinated studies have examined the contamination of organisms and their habitat, but they did not focus upon the significance of the contamination (see Garrett 1980 and Stancil 1980). Most recently (1986, 1987) adult sockeye salmon, from the river, were analysed and found to contain very low levels of inorganic and organic contaminants (DFO unpublished information).

Johnston et al. (1975) were among the first people to study contaminants in this system. They examined chlorinated hydrocarbon residues in fish and concluded that high levels of DDT and PCB's in fish suggested the presence of point sources of such compounds in the lower reaches of the Fraser River. They considered that the "low concentrations observed might nevertheless be adversely affecting fishes resident in the river". Furthermore, they concluded that the relatively high total DDT levels found in a few fish suggested that some impairment of reproduction may have occurred in a portion of the fish population. "The much higher levels of PCB's (up to 3.69 ppm) are particularly worrisome in this respect". Similar levels of PCB's in fish were recorded more recently by Chapman et al. (1980, 1981) and Singleton (1983).

High concentrations of organic contaminants were noted in sediments (Hall et al. 1987) in a freshwater slough adjacent to a major landfill site in the estuary, and at three locations in the North and Middle Arms which receive waste from a sewage treatment plant, direct industrial discharges and stormwater runoff. Fish tissues examined by Hall et al. (1987) especially those of starry flounders, contained chlorinated phenols but the quantitation of these compounds was suspect (K. Hall, personal communication). Recent experimental work by DFO staff examined the uptake of contaninants by chinook salmon exposed to North Arm Fraser River water and dilutions of municipal waste from the City of Vancouver. PCB's were taken up by juvenile chinook salmon after a short exposure period (days) as were penta- and tetrachlorophenol. Uptake of the chlorinated phenols appeared to be related to concentrations in the waste discharges, but measureable quantities were found in Fraser River water. In addition, several unknown compounds accumulated in the chinook salmon exposed to these municipal wastes. In 1986 and 1988, we examined eulachons (Thaleichthys pacificus) migrating through the Fraser River estuary to their spawning reaches. Organic contaminants were generally in higher concentrations in those fish which were captured after passage through the estuary, than in those captured at the river mouth (DFO, unpublished information). The significance of the uptake of contaminants is unknown, but exposure to wastes from the GVRD may well affect fish survival.

Starry flounders, captured along the discharge channel of the Iona Island sewage treatment plant, contained significantly higher body burdens of tetra- and pentachlorophenol, DDE, DDT and PCB's than did similar fish from an adjacent control site (Rogers and Hall 1987). The control fish showed a higher level of DDD. The sediments were enriched in phthalate esters relative to sediments from nine other locations in the Fraser River estuary.

Besides levels of organic contaminants, metal levels in fish, invertebrates and sediments have been found to be higher in the estuarine regions. of the lower Fraser River than in upstream areas. For example, mercury levels have exceeded guidelines for edible aquatic animal products. This was so for crabs in the outer estuary (McGreer and Vigers 1979), and fish such as prickly sculpin, northern squawfish, white sturgeon and largescale suckers (Northcote et al. 1975; Chapman et al. 1981 ).

The above examples serve only to indicate that aquatic organisms in the lower reaches of the Fraser River watershed are contaninated with a variety of compounds. While a more thorough examination of the extent of contamination is warranted, it is more important to determine the consequences to the health and survival of the organisms and effects on their habitat.

HABITAT ISSUES UPSTREAM OF HOPE AND IN THE THOMPSON RIVER WATERSHED

PULP MILL WASTEWATERS

Five pulp mills are located on the upper Fraser River and one on the Thompson River. All are bleached kraft mills with the exception of Quesnel River Pulp, which manufactures thennomechanical and chemi-thermomechanical pulp. The mills all have primary and secondary treatment systems to limit the escape of suspended solids, BOD and toxic substances to the receiving waters. They operate under permits issued by the British Columbia Waste Management Branch to minimize negative impacts on the receiving water and, indirectly, on the fishery resources. Information on the acutely toxic impact of these mills is summarized in Table 3. The mill which has had the poorest record is Quesnel River Pulp. This mill is probably a harbinger of future technology in the pulp and paper industry for reasons of high product yield, acceptable fibre strength and low capital outlay. The effluent consistently failed to meet federal and provincial effluent toxicity regulations despite a 225% increase in aeration, but, unlike the other mills its water use, and hence effluent output, is substantially less. In a pilot treatment study of the waste, successful detoxification was demonstrated when careful attention was given to the control of retention time and the level of aeration (Servizi and Gordon 1986).

Table 3 shows that other mills have had "toxicity failures" in recent years. At present there is no information on the chemical composition of wastewater samples that fail the toxicity test. Nonionic detergents of the FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 17 alkyl phenol ethoxylate type are widely used for pitch control in p~~lpmills and are suspect toxicants. Such substances have been reported to be difficult to degrade (Stiff et al. 1973). They are acutely toxic to salmonids around 2.5 mg-~-l.

TABLE 3. Data on Wastewaters Emitted by Pulp Mills on the Upper Fraser- Thompson River system 1981-83(a).

Daily Mill flow BOD5 TSS ~oxicit~(~) Year (m3) (kg. d-l) (kg- d-l) Compliance

Cariboo Pulp 6 Paper Co. 1985 Quesnel (c) 1986 1987

Northwood Pulp 6 Timber 1985 Prince George (c) 1986 1987

Prince George Pulp 6 Paper 1985 Intercontinental Pulp 1986 Prince George (c) 1987

Quesnel River Pulp Co. 1985 Quesnel (c) 1986 1987

Weyerhauser Canada 1985 Kamloops (d) 1986 1987

(a) Compiled from statistics supplied by Enviroment Protection, Pacific Region; (b) Times passed out of times tested. (c) Provincial toxicity requirement 96 LC50 = 100% (V/V) , 8, (d) " 96 LC50 = 90% (V/V)

The presence of chlorinated guaiacols and phenols in river water and tissue samples (whitefish, juvenile chinook salmon and largescale suckers) has been established at stations downstrean fra Prince George and Quesnel (Voss and Yunker 1983; Rogers unpublished data 1984; Rogers et al. 1988). Chlorinated guaiacols are acutely toxic to juvenile salmonids (Rogers and Keith 1976). On the other hand they are also eliminated after transfer of the exposed fish to clean water (Landner et al. 1977; Renberg et al. 1980). is not known how continuous exposure to low concentrations of these canpoundsmight impact populations of juvenile salmon and other fish in their natural habitat.

The extent to which juvenile salmonids and other fish use the river habitat downstream of the mill outfalls at Prince George and Quesnel is not well known, but recent data clearly show chinook presence all year round. Minimum water flow conditions occur from December to March and investigations have revealed juvenile chinook salmon occupying inter-cobble spaces under ice at low river water temperatures (Rogers et al. 1988). It is highly probable that these fish reside in the river bed over the winter and are therefore, subjected to continuous sub-optimal water quality conditions around the pulpmill outfalls and municipal waste discharges. Juvenile chinook using river reaches below Quesnel as nursery habitats in March would possibly be exposed to treated pulp mill waste concentrations of up to 1-2%. based on mean monthly flow data at Marguerite (Anon 1983). This is, of course, a conservative figure, and much higher effluent concentrations cculd be encountered within the zone of influence of the discharge. A concentration of 1-2% effluent would be far belw an acutely toxic level but but is probably in the lower sublethal effects range. 18 BIRWELL ET AL.

Sublethal effects on fish occurred below 2% concentration of secondary-treated BKME in an experiment reported in Sweden (Anon 1981) and this raises concern about the present health of the Fraser River system as spawning and rearing habitat for all 5 species of salmon. Concentrations of effluent discharged to the mainstem Fraser River may be in the sublethal effects range for many organisms, especially during the low flow period in winter. Moreover the effects of treated pulpmill wastes on fish food organisms during low flow conditions are also unknown.

A three year study in Sweden on the effects of bleachery wastes on perch in the Gulf of Bothnia is nearing its final stages. There are 22 chemical pulp mills on the Swedish coast of this low salinity water body and other mills are located on the Finnish shoreline. Results to date indicate serious biological effects on perch stocks at distances up to 10 km from bleached pulp mill outfalls. The effects that have been documented include disruption of carbohydrate metabolism, the immune response and reproduction, and the induction of skeletal deformities and fin erosion disease (Sodergren et al. 1987). The parameter measured in the mill wastes, receiving waters and tissues is total organically bound chlorine (TOCl), which may also be considered as residual chlorinated lignin. This is a highly complex mixture of chemicals covering a wide range of molecular weights, including polymeric material. Only about 12% of this matter has been chemically identified. Clearly the problem is highly complex and the use of chlorine in the bleaching of chemical pulp has serious negative side effects on fish stocks. The Swedish government and the pulp and paper industry are strongly promoting a switch to oxygen bleaching and a minimization of the use of chlorine. The implications of these findings for Fraser River organisms could be profound and merit investigation and concern.

MUNICIPAL SEWAGE DISCHARGES

Many communities discharge treated sewage to the upper Fraser or Thompson River systems. The total volume of sewage discharged is about 20% of the volume of treated wastes released by the five pulp mills located there (Table 3). With the exceptions of Lillooet, Lytton, and Boston Bar all communities treat their wastes to at least the secondary level.

Although no detailed study has been made of the organic chemical composition of sewage from any treatment plant on the upper Fraser and Thompson River systems, a few samples from Prince George and Kamloops have been analysed (Rogers and Mahood 1982; Rogers and Mahood 1983). The organic compounds observed were mainly fatty acids and waste petroleum residues, as has been the case in studies at Iona Island sewage treatment plant at the mouth of the Fraser River (Rogers et al. 1986). Wastes released from the municipalities on the upper Fraser and Thompson Rivers are mainly of domestic origin and there may be localized effects in river reaches adjacent to some of the out falls.

MINING WASTES

The main mines situated in the upper Fraser-Thompson River drainage basin are mostly copper and/or molybdenum producers, as listed in Table 4. Aside from the leaching of metals and in-situ extraction of gold on Lightning Creek, these operations currently pose little threat to fish and their habitat because they have efficient water recirculation systems. Sane concern exits about overburden and groundwater contamination in the Guichon Creek (Merritt) area. This creek would receive accidental discharges from the copper mines in the Highland Valley (British Columbia Ministry of Enviroment 1983).

Placer mining (Hope to Prince George), especially in the Bridge River and Cariboo areas, is of concern in relation to sediment discharges and alienation of fish habitat.

TRANSPORTATION AND SHIPMENT OF DANGEROUS GOODS

Because of its mountainous terrain, British Columbia presents formidable problems for highway and railroad construction. Thus linear FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 19

transportation systems are usually located in valleys which contain rivers or lakes. Such water bodies often constitute migratory, spawning, or rearing areas for Pacific salmon species.

Table 4. Metal mining operations in the upper Fraser-Thompson River Watersheds*.

Mill capacity Name Locat ion (tonnes-d-l) Status

Noranda Mines (Ross Mt.) 100 Mile House closed Molybdenum Gibralter Mines McLeese Lake ope rating** Copper/molybdenum Placer Develop. (~ndako) Endako operating Molybdenum Mosquito Creek Wells shutdown Gold Carolin Mines Hope temporary Gold closure Highland Valley Copper Logan Lake ope rating Copper/Molybdenum Afton Mines Kamloops operating Copper/gold Blackdome 100 Mile House operating Gold

* Frm.statistics provided by Environmental Protection, Department of Environment, Pacific Region ** Bioleaching of waste rock dumps in practice

In a study of dangerous cargoes shipped on Canadian National (CNR) tracks in 1975-79, it was concluded that chlorine gas, herbicides, hydrogen sulphide, sodium and potassium cyanide were the commodities of greatest hazard (Sherwood and Chorney 1980). Of these, chlorine was by far the most commonly transported chemical. It was also found that track failure, particularly on curves, was the main cause of accidents. Efforts by CNR to improve trackage, equipment and employee training have greatly reduced the accidents in recent years.

As a consequence of public hearings conducted in Vancouver, B.C. by the Railway Transport Commission in March 1985 and March 1986 on the transportation of dangerous good a "Dangerous Goods Transportation Study" was established by the Federal Government, Province of British Columbia and the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The purpose of the study is to examine the movement of dangerous goods primarily in the lower mainland area of British Columbia. Dangerous goods of greatest priority presently being transported in significant quantities within the lower mainland include hydrocarbon fuels, petrochemicals, toxic and flammable gases, pesticides and chlorinated organics and wastes. The study will assess present dangerous goods traffic and associated practices by the three main transportation modes: road, rail and marine. It will focus on public safety, effects on the environment, and emergency response.

HERBICIDES

For years, the softwood forests in British Columbia have been harvested at a rate greater than the rate of replanting of cleared areas. There are currently greater than 3.0 million hectares of good and medium forest lands partially or fully occupied by non-forest crop vegetation. This includes large tracts of aspen forest in the Peace River area. For these reasons selective applications of herbicides to reduce competitive deciduous species are of interest to the British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Lands and industry. Application of herbicides should allow the 20 BIRlWELL ET AL.

softwoods to reach harvestable size several years sooner than otherwise by suppression of deciduous species such as alder or maple.

An ever-increasing land area is being treated with herbicides in B.C. for the control of "brush". This is occurring partly as a result of the 1985 Canada/B.C. Forest Resource Development Agreement (FRDA) to assist reforestation efforts in the province. Information on the effects of the herbicide glyphosate on forest soils, streamside vegetation and aquatic life was collected in studies at the Carnation Creek experimental watershed on Vancouver Island beginning in 1984, and in subsequent laboratory acute toxicity trials (Mitchell et al. 1987; Servizi et al. 1987). Sublethal toxicity information on aquatic life using a range of forestry herbicides is currently being developed under a contract to private consultants through FRDA.

Pesticide use in B.C. is managed through a federal/provincial "referral" system. The "ten metre pesticide free zone" (PFZ), unique in Canada to B.C., is a key management strategy to minimize effects on aquatic life, streams and streamside vegetation in the province. This zone, protected where necessary by a buffer zone, is applied around all fisheries-sensitive waterbodies to prevent currently-known adverse impacts from pesticide applications.

WOOD PRESERVATIVES

Six industrial facilities within the upper Fraser and Thompson River basins operate pressure treatment systems for the application of wood preservatives. Of these, four use the copper-chrome-arsenate (CCA) process, one the pentachlorophenol (PCP) process, and a new plant at Ashcroft commenced operation in July 1984 using creosote. Besides wood preservation plants,.some 16 sawmills, located in the Upper Fraser-Thompson River region, use mixtures of PCP and tetrachlorophenol (TeCP) for protection of sawn lumber surfaces from sapstain moulds. This industry is widely dispersed and, until the present time, has been rather loosely regulated. Data on PCP (and TeCP) levels in fish within the upper Fraser-Thompson River watersheds are meagre. These compounds are not formed in the kraft bleaching process as the reaction conditions in the bleaching stage are not sufficiently drastic. However, small amounts of PCP and TeCP may occur in kraft wastewaters because of the practice of pulping shavings from the surface of PCP-treated lumber, produced at planer mills. Thus, in environmental studies in a Finnish lake and river system, PCP was present in waters upstream from pulp mills but downstream of sawmills (Paasivirta et al. 1980). A study of chlorinated phenol levels in water and tissue samples in the Fraser River and at two British Columbia coastal pulp mills was conducted in 1981-82 on behalf of the Council of Forest Industries (Voss and Yunker 1983) and recently by Inland Waters Directorate, Burlington (Carey et al. 1986). The levels measured in the pulp mill wastewaters ranged from 1,900 to 3,160 mg.L-l for TeCP and from "non-detectable" to 575 ngeL-l for PCP. Similar to the findings of Passivirta et al. (1980) not all the TeCP and PCP in the river water samples originates in the pulp mills; there were low levels (non-detectable to 14.5 ng.~-l for TeCP, 16.0 to 64.0 ng.L-l for PCP) recorded at the three upstream locations. If we use the river flow data for November 4 to 6, 1981 at Marguerite, when the samples were collected, and the average daily effluent flows from the mills, as shown in Table 3, then we find a theoretical concentration of 0.4% at Marguerite. This translates to a concentration of about 30 ngeL-l TeCP and 3 ngmL-l PCP, assuming no losses due to sedimentation, biodegradation or bioaccumulation. It is clear that the pulp mills are a minor source of PCP. However they are not insignificant contributors of TeCP to the river. Some mountain whitefish and largescale suckers were captured in the Fraser River at sites just north of Alexandria, below Quesnel. Pooled liver and muscle tissue samples from at least five individuals were analysed. TeCP was measured at 32.9 ng.g-l (wet weight) in mountain whitefish liver but was not detected in muscle tissue. Values of 14.1 and 2.4 ngeg-l were recorded in equivalent samples of largescale sucker tissue. The corresponding PCP levels were 25.6 and 2.4 ng.L-' for whitefish and 11.5 ng.~-l and "not detected" for largescale suckers (Voss and Yunker 1983). FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 21

AGRICULTURE

The main form of agriculture practised in the upper Fraser and Thompson River basins is livestock ranching. The bulk (76% of a total 13,710 ha) of available Crown rangeland in the Fraser River basin is in the Kamloops and Cariboo districts (McDougall 1984). Cattle use areas next to creeks and in doing so create problems by the addition of large amounts of nutrients into the surface waters, either directly or via runoff from the nearby pastures and feed lots. In the Nicola River valley, where water flows are limited by the low rainfall and withdrawal of river water for irrigation, this is a significant problem, requiring watchful management. Nicola Lake is eutrophic and supports excessive growth of water weeds (British Columbia Ministry of Envirorment 1983). The effects of eutrophication on invertebrate populations and on salmon fry emergence are matters that particularly need to be studied. A suitable location for this work would be the Nicola River downstream of the Merritt sewage treatment plant, where benthic algal blooms have become a problem. To some extent these same difficulties exist in the Bonaparte River and in the mainstem Thompson River below Kamloops Lake. In the latter case the problems are due to phosphorus releases from the Weyerhauser Canada pulp mill and the Kamloops city sewage lagoons. These nutrient sources have contributed to nuisance blooms of gelatinous sheathed and stalked diatoms in the mainstem Thompson River (Federal-Provincial Thompson River Task Force 1976; Bothwell 1985).

PHYSICAL IMPACTS

One of the most widespread issues in the smaller tributaries of the Fraser River relates to stream and river channelization. In the mainstem river "riprap" (large fractured rock) protect ion for projects such as railway. and highway construction and flood control can lead to loss of natural riparian habitat. Narrwing of the river could also increase current velocities which in turn could affect migration rates of returning adults with major implications for spawning success (Williams et al. 1986).

The recent report on the CN Twin Tracking Program (Federal Enviromental Assessment and Review Office (FEARO) 1985) has clearly identified the concerns related to habitat management on the Thompson and Fraser Rivers. Efforts to canpensate for lost fish habitat and to measure the effectiveness of the "replacement habitats" have been hampered by a lack of basic understanding of the fish productivity of the river's shorelines. There are virtually no data on juvenile salmonids' (resident and downstream migrants) habitat requirements. Grahan and Russell (1979) documented significant salmonid use of the shallow habitats in Shuswap Lake. However the effects of losses of natural emergent vegetation due to "infilling" from the lake shoreline are not known.

Smaller streams normally meander across flood plains and valley bottoms, thus the straightening of watercourses leads to loss of habitat for juveniles and spawning fish. The outside bends of rivers and creeks are frequently armoured to prevent erosion, to protect gas and oil pipelines, railways, pastureland, and highways. River bank annouring is possibly the most ubiquitous form of habitat disruption in the entire watershed. In the Coldwater River, for example, there are at least 50 locations where armouring has been used over a total river length of 87 km. Armouring can also result in decreased access by juvenile fish to off-channel habitats such as beaver ponds, identified as important coho habitat in the Coldwater River (Swales et al. 1986). Indirect impacts of annouring in streans relate to temperature effects since removal of vegetation can lead to higher temperatures due to shade removal. This problem requires mitigation and/or further investigation to quantify the effects. BIRTWELL ET AL.

LOGGING

Effects of logging in the lower Fraser Valley, in the coastal western hemlock biogeoclimatic zone, can probably be evaluated using data from extensively studied coastal systems such as that of Carnation Creek (see Hartman 1982). However, the vast majority of the Fraser River basin includes other types of forest cover, soil types, and totally different logging practices are used. Detailed research results on fish-forestry interact ions for this region are unavailable, but forestry project ions indicate that 66% of the total land area cut in the Pacific Region over the next 20 years will be in the Kamloops DFO district (includes all subbasins upstream of Lytton) (McDougall 1984). The exposed interior soils are more subject to erosion by rainfall and logging road construction can have direct and indirect (due to sediment) impacts on fish habitat. Whitfield (1983) concluded that water quality on the Anderson River was modified by logging activity. Winter temperatures in rivers and streams are much colder than on the coast so that temperature variations induced by forest cover removal may not be comparable. Since the overwintering ecology of juvenile salmonids is almost unknown in the Fraser River system, there is an obvious need for comprehensive fisheries research in relation to the logging of interior regions of B.C.

At this time the impacts of forest harvesting on chinook populations in the upper Fraser River watershed are an issue, but data on juvenile chinook in affected streams are scarce. For example, beetle infested pine trees are being harvested rapidly, especially in the Bowron and Willow River valleys (which have been clearcut). Several studies in the 1970s deal with impacts on Slim and Centennial Creeks but involved the use of transplanted rainbow trout (Slaney et al. 1977a). The capacity of those streams to rear juvenile fish can be decreased by practices which cause excessive sedimentation. Excess sedimentation in crevices between cobbles can reduce the amount of overwintering habitat for chinook, as recently shown in an Idaho river (Hillman et al. 1987). Increased water temperatures during summer in clearcut reaches could be beneficial to growth of juvenile salmonids. In Rosanne Creek (a tributary of Slim Creek), for example, growth of stocked rainbow trout in clearcut reaches one year after logging was much greater, apparently as a result of an average temperature increase of 3°C during summer to autumn in this cold stream (Slaney et al. 1977b). This suggests that the practice of directional falling and skidding could increase salmonid carrying capacity in small cool streams at this latitude, provided channel disturbance, stream sedimentation, and effects of early migration are insignificant. However where streams originate from lakes, water temperatures prior to deforestation are such that during summer large increases in maxima could be lethal to salmonids. In the very cold winters which characterize this part of the Fraser River basin removal of forest cover could also be detrimental to incubating eggs and rearing juvenile chinook. There are virtually no data on the ecology of overwintering chinook in these subboreal habitats.

WATER WITHDRAWAL AND REGULATION

There are 802 licensed dams in the Fraser River basin, according to a recent inventory (DFO 1985). Accordingly the effects of water abstraction are a major concern in the watershed (see also Pearse et al. 1985) especially in the drier areas above Hope. The Kenney Dam on the Nechako River in the Prince George district (42 dams) has the largest water licence on the entire system (23,686 x lo6 m3.y-1). The demand for water in the Kamloops (339 dams) and Williams Lake-Quesnel Districts (201 dams), is reflected in the large number of registered and licensed dams. The vast majority of individual licences in the latter two districts are for irrigation purposes, putting salmon in competition with agricultural production. Larger dams on the Bridge and Seton River tributaries are for generating hydroelectric power. There have been several proposals since 1948, when there was a significant flood, to construct large storage dams on the Fraser River. The report of the Fraser River Board (1953) provides most of the rationale and background for this particular use of the basin. A FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 23 more recent review of "System E" (subbasins east of Prince George) was provided by the Fisheries and Marine Service (1974).

EXAMPLES OF now PROBLEMS IN THE FRASER RIVER SYSTEM: THE NECHAKO AND NICOLA RIVERS

As part of its development for the generation of hydroelectric- power at Kemano, the Aluminium Company of Canada (Alcan), has diverted 67% of the discharge of the Nechako River (length 269 km) into the Nechako reservoir (Kenney Dam). The Nechako system is an important chinook and sockeye salmon producer. The 1979-82 4-year cycle sockeye originating in this system yielded an average annual commercial catch of 1.05 x lo6 salmon, and it contributes 136,000 sockeye annually to the native Indian food fishery. Sockeye migrate up the Fraser and the Nechako Rivers from June through September to spawn in tributaries in the Stuart and Nautley River systems. These fish encounter, during their migration, stressful, conditions of the Nechako River, particularly due to elevated temperatures.Moreover, down-river populations of pink and chum salmon may also be affected, mainly by a reduction of spawning grounds in the mainsten of the Fraser River between Hope and Chilliwack. The Nechako River chinook salmon stock has been affected by reduced flows. During the filling of the Kenney Dam in the early 19501s, chinook spawning in the upper Nechako River (above Fort Fraser) was severely reduced from estimated historical levels of about 12,000 fish. In the past 5 years, the average number of spawning chinook in the upper Nechako River has been approximately 3,100 adults. The reduced flows have probably affected chinook at several life history stages, including migratory, incubation and rearing phases. A recent agreement between Alcan, DFO, and British Columbia, which came into effect in January 1988, calls for the installation of a coldwater release in 1993 from the Kenney Dam to protect the adult sockeye runs using the lower Nechako River during .upstrean migration to the Stuart River. This will further reduce flows in the upper Nechako River. However, the chinook stock is to be maintained in perpetuity using a variety of canpensation measures, including habitat modification, sediment control, specific devices to prevent total gas pressure problems in cold water releases, fertilization, and, as a last resort, artificial production using a hatchery.

An example of the effects of changes in river flow on a smaller scale is provided by the Nicola River. It has its source near Okanagan Lake and flows northwest through Douglas and Nicola Lakes to join the Thompson River. Its total length is 128 km, and its catchment area is in the interior dry belt where human activities are ranching, logging and mining; all of which can affect the water resource by way of irrigation, clearing and gravel washing. The low precipitation in the valley (25-40 cmayr-I), along with maximum abstraction of water in summer, results in discharges in August and September (the peak of the adult chinook salmon run) that are less than 10% of June flows. The prime concern, therefore, is reduction of habitat for spawning and incubation in the mainstem Nicola River. In addition, a hazard is provided by unscreened irrigation ditches. High numbers of juvenile chinook and coho salmon, and trout, enter and thrive throughout summer, but when the irrigation season ends, and the ditches are improperly dewatered, the fish become trapped (Fleming et al. 1987). Fortunately, few unscreened ditches are in operation. These problems are compounded by, for example, the use of agricultural fertilizers and domestic sewage disposal at Merritt.

GAS SUPE RSATURATION

Gas supersaturation in river water is an issue that has been studied by DFO in the Nechako River (Byres and Servizi 1986). This relates to water spilled over Cheslatta Falls and affects chinook salmon and rainbow trout. Supersaturation occurs naturally in the Fraser River, due to turbulence, from Lillooet in the Fraser River canyon, down to about Port Mann (J. Servizi pers. comm.). This issue has been of major concern in the past when water impoundments, such as the proposed Moran Dam could have raised gas supersaturation to levels for which behavioural canpensation by fish would have been impossible (aside from many other effects). BIRlWELL ET AL.

SOME INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS IN THE FRASER RIVER CATCHMENT AREA

Since habitat is inherently linked to fish production it is essential that the myriad of disruptive features identified above, and natural variability, be taken into account in research that provides criteria linking habitat to yields. The specific research recanmendations cannot be made in isolation from one another and an integrated approach is necessary for the work to be of most value.

Some of the most relevant products from habitat research are criteria to help predict salmon production given certain habitat amounts and conditions (e.g. Binns 1979). Provisional criteria exist on how to nvaximize colonization production of salmon from habitat in small streams (e.g. Marshall and Britton 1980), but the methodology has yet to be tested and reviewed critically. No criteria are available for major waterways such as the Fraser River or its larger tributaries. None of the existing criteria considers details of water quality or estuarine habitat conditions. The plans for using stream habitat to produce juvenile salmonids by outplanting from hatcheries in streams may be well developed, but unless corresponding good quality estuarine habitat is available the fish may not survive their transit through the river and estuary.

Emphasis should therefore be placed on research into the capability of the Fraser River mainstem, selected tributaries, and estuary to rear juvenile salmonids and to allow the unimpeded return of adults to spawning grounds. The following projects are considered to merit attention:

(i) CARRYING CAPACITY OF SPECIFIC HABITAT TYPES, ESPECIALLY IN THE MAINSTEM RIVER AND THE ESTUARY

There are reaches of the mainsten where populations of juvenile salmon probably use certain habitats and lake shorelines intensively and impose significant grazing on available food. Questions such as the following, need to be addressed: What is the capacity of the river to produce food for juvenile salmonids? Is food a limiting factor, and how does food ~roductivity vary between habitat types? How will current plans for modifying the shoreline (eg. twin tracking proposals in the upper river, port development in the estuary) affect food supply and in turn influence survival of juveniles to adults? The nature of the interactions between physical variables and food supplies must also be addressed. How do these other possible factors such as tenperature, space, current velocities, and substrate type affect survival?

Much of this research is very basic and deals with the identification of critical life history phases such as overwintering periods. This basic work has not been done in the Fraser River. Similarly, attention is required on the use of specific habitats by adults in the system.

(ii) DETERMINING HOW CONTAMINANTS CAN AFFECT THE CARRYING CAPACITY OF RIVERINE AND ESTUARINE WATERS

Information is available which documents levels of contaminants in fish. From several experiments, done particularly in the estuary, lethal and sublethal effects on Fraser River chinook and other fish have been identified. However there are no techniques currently in place to link these effects to fish populations.

Dilution and dispersal by river water is currently the mechanism by which many contaminants are disposed of, but if water withdrawal results in reduced flows there may be direct toxicity aside fran increased sublethal effects which could affect the population structure of juvenile salmonids.

A program to expand knowledge on how contwinants affect stock growth and survival is required. This should involve gathering new information on contwinants present in the river water, on concentrations in fish, and on effects under varying flow regimes: in-situ and laboratory based work would be required. Since there is concern about regulated flow problems, low flows should be addressed via a comprehensive project which includes river discharge information. The research should be linked to fish residence studies and would be conducted at critical points in the river e.g. reaches immediately below Quesnel and in the estuary below New Westminster. FRASER RIVER HABITAT ISSUES 25

The proportion of enhanced fish to wild fish in the Fraser is gradually increasing. Over time significant numbers of fry and smolts that have been reared in artificial or semi-natural conditions will be using migration routes and estuaries. Artificially-reared fish are often not as fit as wild stock (Alderdice and Harding 1987) and are frequently released after handling which, together with other factors, may induce stress and/or predispose them to disease.

(iii) EFFECTS OF RIVER FLOWS ON MIGRATIONS

Ever since the Hells Gate blockage in the Fraser River canyon in 1913, fisheries managers have been concerned about migration blocks for returning adults and their potential for severely affecting the reproductive success of stocks. More recent research has shown that migration and energy demands can be influenced by even subtle velocity changes (Williams et al. 1986) but there is still a need for a fuller understanding of this topic. The data on adults are required to address current and future linear developments in the Fraser-Thompson River corridor. Juvenile migration data are needed to predict how hatchery and wild juvenile fish reside in, and use, the mainsten Fraser and Thompson Rivers and how velocity changes can affect their residency.

This report summarizes information contained in a more comprehensive unpublished document (DFO) which includes valuable data and opinions fran numerous people: we are particularly grateful to Dr. H. Mundie in this regard. Inevitably we will not have dealt with every issue and concern within the watershed. However, we consider that the majority of significant issues have been identified with the assistance of numerous individuals and organizations. Constructive reviews of the manuscript were provided by F.C. Boyd. G. Ennis, M. Fretwell, and J. Payne (Habitat Management Division) and Dr. G.F. Hartman (Salmon Habitat Section), DFO. We also recognize the efforts of G.E. Piercey, C. McPherson and other staff of the Salmon Habitat Section, for gathering and processing information. We are especially grateful to O.E. Langer (Fraser River, Northern B.C. and Yukon Division, DFO) for his review and help in locating pertinent reports and data, and similarly to Environment Canada staff in the Pacific Region. Ms. D. Price typed the manuscript.

KEY WORDS: Fraser River, Pacific salmon production, habitat alteration.

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