Data Summary Report for Chum Salmon Escapement Surveys in the Nass Area in 2015

Data Summary Report for Chum Salmon Escapement Surveys in the Nass Area in 2015

Data Summary Report for Chum Salmon Escapement Surveys in the Nass Area in 2015 Prepared by: LGL Limited environmental research associates 9768 Second Street Sidney, BC V8L 3Y8 Prepared for: Pacific Salmon Commission 600 - 1155 Robson Street Vancouver, BC V6E 1B5 and Nisga’a Lisims Government Fisheries & Wildlife Department P.O. Box 228 Gitlaxt’aamiks, BC V0J 1A0 Nisga’a Fisheries Report #15-26 31 December 2016 Data Summary Report for Chum Salmon Escapement Surveys in the Nass Area in 2015 Prepared by: LGL Limited environmental research associates 9768 Second Street Sidney, BC V8L 3Y8 Prepared for: Pacific Salmon Commission 600 - 1155 Robson Street Vancouver, BC V6E 1B5 and Nisga’a Lisims Government Fisheries & Wildlife Department P.O. Box 228 Gitlaxt’aamiks, BC V0J 1A0 Nisga’a Fisheries Report #15-26 31 December 2016 EA3624 DATA SUMMARY REPORT FOR CHUM SALMON ESCAPEMENT SURVEYS IN THE NASS AREA IN 2015 Prepared by: I. A. Beveridge, R. F. Alexander, S. C. Kingshott, C. A. J. Noble, and C. Braam LGL Limited environmental research associates 9768 Second Street Sidney, BC V8L 3Y8 Prepared for: Pacific Salmon Commission #600 - 1155 Robson Street Vancouver, BC V6E 1B5 and Nisga’a Lisims Government Fisheries & Wildlife Department P.O. Box 228 Gitlaxt’aamiks, BC V0J 1A0 Nisga’a Fisheries Report #15-26 31 December 2016 i TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................ii LIST OF FIGURES ...............................................................................................................................ii LIST OF PHOTOS ...............................................................................................................................ii LIST OF APPENDICES ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 2 METHODS ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Surveyed Streams ....................................................................................................................... 2 Water Quality .............................................................................................................................. 3 Percent Bankfull .......................................................................................................................... 4 Walk-ability, Snorkel-ability, and Spawning Habitat Quality Scores .......................................... 4 Walk-ability Score ................................................................................................................... 4 Snorkel-ability Score ............................................................................................................... 4 Spawning Habitat Quality Score ............................................................................................. 4 Bio Sampling ............................................................................................................................... 4 Escapement Estimation .............................................................................................................. 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................. 5 Streams Surveys .......................................................................................................................... 5 Chum Salmon Escapement Estimates ..................................................................................... 5 Pink, Sockeye, and Chinook Salmon Counts and Escapement Estimates ............................... 6 Bio Samples ................................................................................................................................. 6 Water Quality .............................................................................................................................. 6 Walk-ability, Snorkel-ability, and Spawning Habitat Quality Scores .......................................... 7 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 7 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 9 TABLES ........................................................................................................................................... 10 FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................... 18 PHOTOS ......................................................................................................................................... 27 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 33 ii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Access methods and travel time to Chum Salmon streams surveyed in 2015. ...... 11 Table 2. Survey dates, water quality, habitat quality score, count-ability scores, and Chum Salmon counts for streams surveyed in 2015. .............................................. 12 Table 3. A comparison of Chum Salmon escapement estimates for each system surveyed in 2015. ..................................................................................................... 14 Table 4. Nass Area Chum Salmon escapement, harvest, and exploitation rates, 1980−2015 (NJTC 2016). .......................................................................................... 15 Table 5. Summary of 2015 Nass Area Chum Salmon otolith and scale samples. ................. 16 Table 6. Summary of 2015 water temperature and turbidity measurements from surveyed streams. .................................................................................................... 16 Table 7. Summary of 2015 walk-ability, snorkel-ability, and spawning habitat quality scores for Chum Salmon survey streams. ................................................................ 17 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Pacific Fishery Management Area 3 and the Nass Area as defined by the Nisga’a Treaty. ......................................................................................................... 19 Figure 2. Nass Area Chum Salmon (A) escapement and (B) exploitation rates from 1980 to 2015. .................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 3. Declining trend in Chum Salmon catch per hour at the Lower Nass River fishwheels from 1994 to 2015. ................................................................................ 21 Figure 4. Nass Area Chum Salmon indicator and non-indicator streams surveyed in 2015. 22 Figure 5. Tributaries of the Kitsault River that were surveyed for Chum Salmon in 2015. .... 23 Figure 6. Kshwan River side channels and tributaries surveyed for Chum Salmon spawning in 2015. .................................................................................................... 23 Figure 7. Estimating percent bankfull based on the portion of the channel that is wetted. 24 Figure 8. Total Chum Salmon catch at the Gitwinksihlkw (GW) fishwheels, 1994–2015. ..... 25 Figure 9. Length frequency histograms for male and female Chum Salmon sampled in Nass Area streams in 2015. ..................................................................................... 25 Figure 10. Examples of different turbidity levels measured in 2015, ranging from 0.7 to 25.1 NTU. ................................................................................................................. 26 LIST OF PHOTOS Photo 1. Representative images of lower Nass Chum Salmon streams: Gitzyon Creek, Tseax Side Channel, Zolzap Creek, and Ksemamaith Creek. ................................... 28 iii Photo 2. Representative images of Pearse Island streams: Lizard Creek, Pirate Cove Creek, and Crag Creek. ............................................................................................. 29 Photo 3. Representative images of Donahue Creek in 2015. ................................................ 30 Photo 4. Representative images of Stagoo Creek in 2015. .................................................... 30 Photo 5. Representative images of a Kshwan River side channel (west side of the river) and an east side tributary. ....................................................................................... 30 Photo 6. Representative images of Kitsault River tributaries and a mainstem side channel surveyed in 2015. ....................................................................................... 31 Photo 7. Representative images of Illiance River and Wilauks Creek in 2015. ...................... 32 Photo 8. Examples of Chum Salmon biosampling. ................................................................

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