01/12/2015

Habitat Restoration and Sockeye Re-introduction in the Valley, BC

Presented by: Amanda Stevens, ONA Fisheries Department BC Interior Stewardship Workshop, Grinrod, BC November 5, 2015

Okanagan Nation Alliance

Seven member band communities: 1. 2. Indian Band 3. 4. 5. 6. Lower Similkameen Band 7. Upper Similkameen Band

And the Colville Confederated Tribes (USA)

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Salmon Integral to Okanagan Culture

Valley ChangesTHE ISSUES 1920 -1960

q̓awsitkʷ (OKANAGAN RIVER) - Canada • supports majority Columbia Sockeye • 1 of BC’s most endangered Rivers

1- HABITAT LOSS • 84% River = channelized • 50% River length = lost • 90% Riparian vegetation = lost

NATURAL: 3 km SEMI-NATURAL: 2 km CHANNELIZED: 30 km

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Valley ChangesTHE ISSUES 1920 -1960

q̓awsitkʷ (OKANAGAN RIVER) - Canada • supports majority Columbia Sockeye • 1 of BC’s most endangered Rivers

1- HABITAT LOSS 2- FISH ACCESS IMPEDED • 17 Vertical Drop Structures (VDS) • Dams (McIntyre, Skaha, Okanagan dams + Tributaries)

Migration obstacle Migration barrier

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Valley ChangesTHE ISSUES 1920 -1960

q̓awsitkʷ (OKANAGAN RIVER) - Canada • supports majority Columbia Sockeye • 1 of BC’s most endangered River

1- HABITAT LOSS 2- FISH ACCESS IMPEDED 3- FLOWS ISSUES • water quantity • flow release timing

Mainstem River flow management Water withdrawals

Okanagan Salmon Recovery

Element Pre-Contact (1800’s) Industrial Era (1830-1985) Current Status (1985 to present)

Okanagan 75,000 – 100,000 15,000 to 70,000 15,000 (5,000 CAN/10,000 Population US) Salmon 1-6 million 0.2 -1 million 0.005-0.2 million Abundance Salmon Diversity Five species (Chinook Sockeye, Chinook Sockeye (viable populations) (chief), Sockeye, Steelhead, Coho, Chum) Salmon Osoyoos Lake, Skaha Lake, Osoyoos Lake Osoyoos (Re-intro to Skaha) Distribution Okanagan Lake

Salmon Timing May to October July to September July to September

Fishery Salmon Chief Canadian/US federal Joint management (ONA-DFO, Management (tribal/kinship) agencies Canada, Pacific Salmon Treaty; US vs Oregon (US) Fishing Kettle Falls (hoop net, dip, Collapse of fishery by Re-vitalize platforms at base Camps/Sites gaff); Okanagan River Weir 1960’s (loss of food of Chief Joe, Okanagan (Omak), Skaha Falls (OK fishery, intertribal trade Weir, Osoyoos Lake, Ok Falls Falls, Fish baskets, gaff/dip) essential) trap.

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ONA Fisheries Department Mandate

The conservation, protection, restoration, and enhancement of indigenous fisheries (anadromous and resident) and aquatic resources within Okanagan Nation Territory.

 Fish Passage Projects  Habitat Restoration Projects Sockeye Reintroduction  Flow Management  Revitalize Fisheries

Okanagan Sockeye Re-Introduction

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Sockeye Re-intro: Background

• Okanagan sockeye ARROW LAKES population is one of two remaining viable Okanagan Columbia River stocks • Okanagan run makes Wenatchee up 50-90% of all Columbia river sockeye

Columbia River sub-basins historically accessible to sockeye

Columbia River sub-basins with present day viable 1200 km and 9 major dams sockeye populations to get to spawning grounds on Okanagan River!

Sockeye Re-intro: Program Overview

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Stock Augmentation

• Eggs/milt collected from broodstock near Oliver and reared in hatchery. • Thermally-marked fry (up to 1.8 million) released in Penticton Channel (above Skaha Lake) the following spring.

Sockeye Re-intro: Skaha Dam Fish Passage

2014

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Sockeye Re-intro: Key Questions

Key questions include (not limited to): • What impacts will Sockeye have on existing Kokanee stocks? • What components of the food web and physical ? environment most strongly control the production of Sockeye and Kokanee? • What are the effects on the existing Osoyoos Sockeye population?

Sockeye Re-intro: Skaha Food Web

Simplified...

1-3+ nerkids (SK and KO)

Hatchery sockeye fry Kokanee fry Mysis

? Zooplankton

Non-edible phytoplankton

Edible phytoplankton

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Skaha Re-intro: In-Lake Results

• Juvenile Sockeye have relatively good juvenile abundance, growth, and survival in Skaha Lake • Low impact to native fishes (such as Kokanee) • Increased understanding that Mysis shrimp are driving the food webs; OKR discharge also significantly influences productivity • More to learn about the interactions at higher trophic levels (older nerkids, Trout, Whitefish, Burbot, benthic invertebrates, etc.)

Sockeye ReNext-intro: Steps Next Steps

• Release of up to 3.5 million sockeye fry and monitor interactions. • Expand telemetry program. • Habitat Restoration and improvement. • Planning for Okanagan Lake Tribal Owned Hatchery Reintroduction.

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Fisheries Revitalization

The Future & Challenges

Some Challenges: • Funding • Cumulative impacts of humans as population increases • Climate change • Transboundary mgmt.

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Lim Limp’t (Thank You)

WILSEY DAM FISH PASSAGE

• Constructed in 1928 between Mabel and Sugar Lakes, blocking salmon (Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye) and trout from accessing upstream habitats. • Fish ladder in original design drawings, but was never built.

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WILSEY DAM FISH PASSAGE

Goal is to achieve fish passage at the dam site to restore anadromous access for Chinook, Coho and Sockeye into the upper reaches of the Shuswap River.

Beginning in 2008 BCH Fish Passage 2011 Formal 2000’s Feasibility 1970’s, various Decision Framework Wilsey Dam Fish studies ID’d initiatives to completed Passage entrainment and reintroduce ( Currently Step 3 of 7 = Committee survival of smolts as salmon above dam Env. Feasibility Studies) formed critical uncertainty

WILSEY DAM FISH PASSAGE

2015 Entrainment Study Objectives: 1. Determine if acoustic tagging methods are suitable for estimating entrainment at Wilsey Dam (range testing) √ 2. Provide detailed technical recommendations for entrainment study using acoustic tags √ 3. Complete bathymetric profiling to inform future entrainment studies √

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WILSEY DAM FISH PASSAGE

2016 Entrainment Study Proposal (FWCP): 1. Raise and tag Chinook Salmon smolts from the Shuswap River hatchery for release upstream of the dam. 2. Determine the proportion of Chinook smolts that pass via turbines vs. spillway. 3. Determine the survival of Chinook smolts by passage route. 4. Estimate overall dam survival for Chinook smolts.

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