Kakwa River Watershed, Arctic Grayling Assessment 2016 – 2017 Kakwa River Watershed, Arctic Grayling Assessment 2016 – 2017 Scott Seward and Brad Hurkett Alberta Conservation Association 101 – 9 Chippewa Road Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada T8A 6J7 Report Editors PETER AKU GLENDA SAMUELSON Alberta Conservation Association R.R. #2 101 – 9 Chippewa Rd. Craven, SK S0G 0W0 Sherwood Park, AB T8A 6J7 Conservation Report Series Type Data ISBN: 978-0-9959984-8-3 Reproduction and Availability: This report and its contents may be reproduced in whole, or in part, provided that this title page is included with such reproduction and/or appropriate acknowledgements are provided to the authors and sponsors of this project. Suggested Citation: Seward, S., and B. Hurkett. 2018. Kakwa River Watershed, Arctic Grayling Assessment 2016 – 2017. Data Report, produced by Alberta Conservation Association, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. 12 pp + App. Cover photo credit: David Fairless Digital copies of conservation reports can be obtained from: Alberta Conservation Association 101 – 9 Chippewa Rd. Sherwood Park, AB T8A 6J7 Toll Free: 1-877-969-9091 Tel: (780) 410-1998 Fax: (780) 464-0990 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ab-conservation.com i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Alberta’s Arctic grayling population has declined due to a number of factors including habitat degradation and fragmentation, and overfishing. Resource development in the Kakwa River watershed has expanded over the last two decades and is suspected of negatively impacting Arctic grayling populations, but data are outdated. Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) conducted a two year study assessing abundance, distribution, and population structure of Arctic grayling in the Kakwa River watershed. The goal of the study is to update Arctic grayling data, which feed directly into the development of a provincial Arctic grayling Fish Sustainability Index (FSI) rank for the Kakwa River watershed. We angled Arctic grayling throughout the Kakwa River watershed during July and August of 2016 and 2017. We sampled 117 sites covering a total distance of 55.8 km of stream. Five different species of fish were captured in the watershed including Arctic grayling (n = 259), bull trout (n = 72), rainbow trout (n = 43), mountain whitefish (n = 14), and redside shiner (n = 1). Arctic grayling represented 67% of the total catch. All 259 Arctic grayling were captured in the downstream three quarters of the watershed, with Arctic grayling being detected at 44% of sampling sites. No Arctic grayling were captured upstream of the South Kakwa River Falls or the Lower Kakwa River Falls. We captured 67 adult Arctic grayling throughout the study area, representing 26% of Arctic grayling catch. Of the 67 adults captured, 57% (n = 38) were caught in the Kakwa River mainstem. Relative abundance of Arctic grayling was low with a catch-per- unit-effort (CPUE) of 0.57 fish/hr (95% CI = 0.40 – 0.72). We captured Arctic grayling ranging in size from 103 to 388 mm fork length (FL). The most prevalent size groups for tributaries was 180 – 240 mm FL and 180 – 200 mm FL for the Kakwa River mainstem, but with good representation from the larger size groups in the mainstem as well. Fourth-order streams had the lowest percentage of fish detections (19%). Seventh-order streams had the highest percentage of fish detections (85%), followed closely by fifth-order streams (83%). The data collected in this study will aid in the development of an Arctic grayling FSI rank for the Kakwa River watershed and support regulatory actions to remediate the effects of industrial activities on Arctic grayling populations and their habitats. Key words: Alberta, Kakwa River watershed, FSI, Arctic grayling, distribution, abundance. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Adrian Meinke of Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) for assistance with project design and development. Reg Arbuckle, Andrew Goldberg, Cindy Oulette, and Shauna Cooney of AEP provided logistical support. Alberta Conservation Association employees Jason Blackburn, Andrew Clough, Jessy Dubnyk, Colin Eyo, Kevin Fitzsimmons, Jeff Forsyth, Troy Furukawa, Brendan Ganton, John Hallett, Paul Hvenegaard, Dave Jackson, Chad Judd, Nikita Lebedynski, Mike Rodtka, Diana Rung, Britt Schmidt, Layne Seward, and Ken Wright assisted with data collection. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................... vii 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 STUDY AREA ................................................................................................................................... 1 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................................................... 2 3.1 Fish abundance, distribution, and population structure ........................................................ 2 4.0 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................ 4 4.1 Fish abundance, distribution, and population structure ........................................................ 4 5.0 SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................... 9 6.0 LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................... 11 7.0 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 13 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of the Kakwa River watershed. Inset map shows the location of the study area within the province of Alberta. .............................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Sampling sites and locations where Arctic grayling (ARGR) were captured in the Kakwa River watershed using angling gear, July and August, 2016/17. ................. 5 Figure 3. CPUE by size class of Arctic grayling in tributaries and mainstem of the Kakwa River Watershed, using angling gear in July and August, 2016/17. .......................... 9 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Catch of fish species by stream order in the Kakwa River watershed using angling gear, July and August, 2016/17. Species codes: ARGR = Arctic grayling, BLTR = bull trout, RNTR = rainbow trout, MNWH = mountain whitefish, and RDSH = redside shiner..................................................................................................... 6 Table 2. Total CPUE (fish/hr, 95% CI) of juvenile and adult Arctic grayling captured in the Kakwa River watershed using angling gear, July and August, 2016/17. ................. 6 Table 3. Site detections of Arctic grayling (ARGR), by stream order, in the Kakwa River watershed using angling gear, July and August, 2016/17. ......................................... 6 Table 4. Total catch and CPUE (fish/hr, ± SE) of juvenile and adult Arctic grayling by stream order in the Kakwa River watershed using angling gear, July and August, 2016/17. .............................................................................................................................. 8 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1. Summary of habitat measurements at angling sites in the Kakwa River watershed, July and August, 2016/17. Mainstem angling sites are not included in this table. .......................................................................................................................... 13 Appendix 2. Summary of angling site locations (NAD 83, Zone 11) and fish capture by species in the Kakwa River watershed, July and August, 2016/17. Species codes: ARGR = Arctic grayling, BLTR = bull trout, MNWH = mountian whitefish, RNTR = rainbow trout, RDSH = redside shiner. ....................................................................... 17 Appendix 3. Juvenile Arctic grayling relative abundance (fish/hr) in the Kakwa River watershed. ....................................................................................................................... 22 Appendix 4. Adult Arctic grayling relative abundance (fish/hr) in the Kakwa River watershed . .......................................................................................................................................... 23 Appendix 5. Fork length distributions of Arctic grayling captured using angling gear in the Kakwa River tributaries (n = 142), mainstem (n = 117) and watershed (n = 259), July and August, 2016/17. .............................................................................................. 24 Appendix 6. Fork length distribution