The 1996 Fishwheel Project on the Nass River, B.C. Michael R. Link Fisheries and Oceans Canada d Room 202, 417 - 2" Street Prince Rupert, British Columbia V8J 1G8 , 1999 Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2476 :isheries and Oceans P6ches et Oceans ;anada Canada Canada )cience Sciences Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2476 1999 THE 1996 FISHWHEEL PROJECT ON THE NASS RIVER, BC prepared by Michael R. Link LGL Limited environmental research associates 1 fo r the Nisga'a Tribal Councie 1 9768 Second St., Sidney, BC V8L 3Y8 2 P.O. Box 231 New Aiyansh, BC VOJ lAO 11 ©Minister ofPublic Works and Government Services Canada 1999 Cat. No. Fs 97-4/ 2476E ISSN 0706-6473 Correct citation for this publication: Link, M. R. 1999. The 1996 fishwheel project on the Nass River, B.C. Can. Manuscr. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2476: 92 p. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................... vi LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... x RESUME ...................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION .... ............................. ................ ..................... .... ................. 1 STUDY AREA ...... .... ................ ...... ..................... .......: ................................... 1 METHODS ............................... ...... ........................ .................................... .... 1 Fishwheel Operation ................. .................. .............................................. 1 Fishwheel Effortand Catch ............................................................. .............. 2 Tagging .... .... ........................................................................................... 2 Tag Recovery ............................................................................................ 3 Escapement Estin1ates ........................................... ...................................... 3 Inseason Escapement Estimates ................ ........... ....... ............................. 3 Post-season Escapement Estimates .......................................... ............. .... 3 Run Reconstruction ............. ................................... ....................................4 Age andLength Sampling . ................................... .........................................4 RESULTS ....................................................................................................... 5 Fishwheel Operation . ...... ........... ...................... ; ......................................... 5 Fishwheel Effort ................... .................................. ................................... 5 Catches and catch per unit effort . ........................... ......................................... 5 Tagging ..................................... ............................ ..................... .............7 Tag Recovery ........... ................................... .............. ......... ... ...... ......... .... 7 Escapement Estimates ............. .............................................. ...................... 8 Inseason Escapement Estimates ............. ..... ............................................. 8 Post-season Escapement Estimates ....... .................................................... 8 Run Reconstruction ................. .................. .......... ....................................... 9 Age and Length Sampling . ............................................ .......... ..................... 9 DISCUSSION .................. ............................................ ... ................ .... ........... 10 Operational Evaluation ....................................... ......... ....... ...... ............... 10 Escapement Estimates . 10 Summary of Final Escapement Estimates . .... ..................... ............... ........ 11 Fishwheels as a test fishery ...................... .................................. ................. 12 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......... ......... ............................ ............................... ..... 13 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS - Cont'd REFERENCES................ ....................................................................... ........ 14 TABLES ........................................................................................................................................ 15 FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... 26 APPENDIX A ........................................ ......... ................................................................... ............42 APPENDIX B ....................................................................... ................................ ......................... 50 APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................ ........................ 69 APPENDIX D ........ ......................... ....................................................................... ........................ 75 APPENDIX E ........ ........................................................... ......... ............ ............... ......................... 86 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Numbers of each species of salmon caught and tagged at four fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996. ........................................................................................ 16 Table 2. A summary ofthe number of tag recoveries by location for the tags applied at the Nass River fishwheels, 1996. .......................................................... 17 Table 3. Population estimates derived fromtagging of adult sockeye and coho salmon at the Nass River fishwheels and recovery of tags at the Meziadin fishway, 1996. ........................................................................................................ 18 Table 4. Summary of escapement survey data and estimated escapement for chinook salmon upstream of Gitwinksihlkw, 1996. : ............................................. 19 Table 5. The estimated percentages of adult chinook, sockeye, and coho captured with fo ur fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996. ...................................................... 20 Table 6. Means, standard errors and 95% confidence intervals for sockeye travel times fromthe fishwheels to the Meziadin fishway fo r 3-day release periods, 1996........ .................................................................................................. 21 Table 7. Summary of age composition of chinook, sockeye, and coho salmon sampled at the Nass River fishwheels, 1996...... .................................................... 22 Table 8. Mean nose-fork length (em) of salmon (by age) sampled at the Nass River fishwheels, 1996.. .................................................................................................. 23 Table 9. Summary of the estimates of catch, escapement, and total returnto the Nass River fo r chinook, sockeye, and coho salmon, 1996. ................................... 24 Table 10. Comparison of stock composition estimates for Nass River sockeye salmon (percent Meziadin) from scale, GSI and tagging methods, 1986- 1996.................. ....................... ...............................................................................25 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The Nass watershed showing locations of the fishwheels, the Meziadin fishway and chinook spawning areas that were surveyed........................ .............. 27 Figure 2. Fishwheel effort (h) and speed (RPM) for fo ur fishwheels on the Nass River, 1 996 .............................................................................................................28 Figure 3. Fishwheel CPUE (catch per wheel hour) fo r adult chinook salmon captured with fo ur fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996 . .......................................29 Figure 4. Fishwheel CPUE (catch per wheel hour) fo r adult sockeye salmon captured with fo ur fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996 . .......................................30 Figure 5. Fishwheel CPUE (catch per wheel hour) fo r adult coho salmon captured with fo ur fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996. ...................................................... 31 Figure 6. Fishwh eel CPUE (catch per wheel hour) fo r adult steelhead captured with four fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996. .............................................................. 32 Figure 7. Fishwheel CPUE (catch per wheel hour) for adult pink salmon captured with fo ur fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996. ...................................................... 33 Figure 8. Fishwheel CPUE (catch per wheel hour) fo r adult chum salmon captured with fo ur fishwheels on the Nass River, 1996. ......................................................34 Figure 9. Time between release and recapture fo r chinook salmon tagged at fishwheels 1 and 2 and subsequently recaptured in the fo ur fishwheels, 1996.......... ............................................. ..................... ................. .................. ......... 35 Figure 10. Time between release and recapture fo r sockeye salmon