Wapiti River Watershed Study a Fisheries Management
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Wapiti River Watershed Study A Fisheries Management Enhancement Project Alberta Conservation Association By Paul J. Hvenegaard Northwest Boreal Region Peace River, Alberta March, 2001 Alberta Conservation Association Wapiti River Watershed Study ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was funded by Alberta’s anglers through the Fisheries Management Enhancement Program of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) and Alliance Pipeline Ltd. Messrs. Trevor Thera (ACA, Regional Programs Manager), Travis Ripley and David Walty (Alberta Environment) aided in the development of the project and critical review of this manuscript. The following individuals and their affiliation are recognised for many in-kind and logistical support items and services: Alberta Conservation Association staff members, Messrs., A. Wildeman, L. Osokin, J. Hallet Alliance Pipeline, Mr. Paul Anderson Alberta Environment: -Natural Resources Service, Fish & Wildlife Management Division, Mr. D. Schroeder - Land and Forest Service, Regional Resource Mapping Unit, Ms. R. Sprado Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mr. Earl Jessop Year One 2000-2001 i DRAFT Progress Report Alberta Conservation Association Wapiti River Watershed Study TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... v 1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 A. Wapiti River ................................................................................................................ 2 B. Redwillow River ........................................................................................................ 2 C. Beaverlodge River ..................................................................................................... 2 2.0 STUDY AREA .............................................................................................................. 3 3.0 METHODS .................................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Fish Trap .................................................................................................................. 4 3.2 Electrofishing ............................................................................................................ 5 3.3 Radio Telemetry ....................................................................................................... 6 3.4 Habitat Description ................................................................................................... 7 3.5 Data Management .................................................................................................... 7 4.0 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 8 4.1 Redwillow River Fish Trap ....................................................................................... 8 4.1.1 Arctic Grayling ............................................................................................... 9 4.2 Radio Telemetry ..................................................................................................... 10 4.2.1 Redwillow River Arctic Grayling Spawning Movements ............................. 10 4.2.2 Wapiti River Bull Trout Spawning Movements ............................................ 11 4.2.3 Bull Trout and Arctic Grayling Overwintering .............................................. 13 4.3 Electrofishing Surveys ............................................................................................ 15 4.3.1 Tributary Sampling ...................................................................................... 15 4.3.2 Wapiti River Sampling ................................................................................. 17 5.0 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................. 25 5.1 Wapiti River ............................................................................................................ 25 5.2 Redwillow River ...................................................................................................... 25 5.3 Beaverlodge River .................................................................................................. 26 6.0 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................. 27 7.0 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 29 Appendix A: Redwillow Trap Daily Catch Records ...................................................... 29 Appendix B: Redwillow River Fish Trap Fish Measurement Data ............................... 30 Appendix C: Radio Transmittered Fish Data ............................................................... 37 Year One 2000-2001 ii DRAFT Progress Report Alberta Conservation Association Wapiti River Watershed Study LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Fish species captured in the Redwillow River trap, 2000. .................................. 8 Table 2. Mean length at age (mm) of Arctic grayling captured at the Redwillow Trap, 2000. (Data in parentheses denotes sample size) .......................................................... 10 Table 3. Catch and effort summary for electrofishing surveys in the Redwillow and Beaverlodge watersheds. ................................................................................................. 17 Table 4. Catch1and effort summary for electrofishing surveys in the mainstem Wapiti River. ................................................................................................................................ 18 Table 5. Mean length at age (mm) of Arctic grayling and mountain whitefish captured during mainstem Wapiti River electrofishing surveys. (Data in parentheses denotes sample size)...................................................................................................................... 19 Table 6. Habitat data on inventory sites in the Beaverlodge and Redwillow River watersheds May and June 2000. ..................................................................................... 23 Year One 2000-2001 iii DRAFT Progress Report Alberta Conservation Association Wapiti River Watershed Study LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Wapiti River Watershed Study Area. .................................................................. 3 Figure 2. Historical Wapiti River Discharge Records (1961-1998) and for the 2000 Study Year. Source: Environment Canada (2000) ....................................................................... 4 Figure 3. Location of fish trap in the Redwillow River, 2000. ........................................... 5 Figure 4. Species composition of fish captured at the Redwillow River fish trap during spring, 2000. ....................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 5. Daily Arctic grayling catch and mean daily water temperature at the Redwillow River fish trap, spring 2000. ................................................................................................ 9 Figure 6. Length frequency distribution of Arctic grayling captured at the Redwillow fish trap, spring 2000. .............................................................................................................. 10 Figure 7. Arctic grayling spawning locations in the Redwillow River, spring 2000. ........ 12 Figure 8. Bull trout spawning locations in the Narraway River, fall 2000. ...................... 13 Figure 9. Bull trout overwintering locations in the mainstem Wapiti River, winter 2000- 2001. ................................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 10. Arctic grayling overwintering locations in the mainstem Wapiti River winter 2000-2001......................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 11. Inventory sites conducted during May and June 2000 in the Redwillow and Beaverlodge River watersheds. ....................................................................................... 16 Figure 12. Electrofishing sample reaches on the mainstem Wapiti River 2000. ............ 18 Figure 13. Length frequency distribution of mountain whitefish captured during mainstem Wapiti River electrofishing surveys 2000. ........................................................ 20 Figure 14. Length weight relationship of mountain whitefish captured during mainstem Wapiti River electrofishing surveys 2000. ........................................................................ 20 Figure 15. Length frequency distribution of Arctic grayling captured during mainstem Wapiti River electrofishing surveys 2000 ......................................................................... 21 Figure 16. Length weight relationship of Arctic grayling