Chinook Escapement Monitoring
Since 2001, the Native Village of Eyak has conducted radiotelemetry studies of Chinook salmon escapement in the Copper River. The Copper River supports one of the largest Chinook subsistence fisheries in Alaska, and is also heavily utilized by commercial, sport, and personal-use fisheries. NVE uses fishwheels to capture and mark Chinook salmon at two remote sites along the Copper River, Baird Canyon and Canyon Creek. The project is currently funded through 2013.
The main purpose of the project is to improve upon existing fisheries. This includes continuing research to enhance the success of subsistence fisheries management in Alaska and promoting capacity building within NVE to enable a meaningful contribution to assessment and management of our fisheries. Also important is improving communication and cooperation between State and Federal resource managers and Alaska Native and rural organizations so that all fisheries resource uses are adequately represented in management plans.
NVE is working to continue this long-term monitoring program to estimate the annual, system-wide escapement of chinook salmon to the Copper River in order to provide fishery managers with an accurate and timely escapement estimate for chinook salmon each year. The goal of this project is to estimate the annual, system-wide escapement of chinook salmon to the Copper River using mark-recapture techniques such that the estimate is within 25% of the actual escapement 95% of the time. In order to achieve this goal, NVE uses a Peterson 2-sample mark-recapture study design (n=mc/r) employing fish wheels at two sites along the river. Fish are captured at both sites using specially modified research fishwheels. Fishwheels are large and have adjustable depths, 3-4 baskets per wheel, and live tanks with adjustable escape panels that allow sockeye to be released while retaining chinooks. The fish are tagged using TBA-PIT tags, an original NVE design. The project also employs an uniquely coded RFID transponder.
The Chinook Escapement Monitoring Program has filled a critical data gap by successfully generating an unbiased and accurate chinook salmon abundance estimate every year since 2003. In addition, it has firmly established NVE's capacity to be an integral part of Copper River fisheries management and provides employment for 1 year-round and up to 10 seasonal employees annually. In terms of NVE capacity building, it has led to many valuable partnerships and opened new channels of communication between user groups and managers in addition to providing research infrastructure and cost leveraging for many other studies.
Publications:
Feasibility of Using Fishwheels for Long-Term Monitoring
of Chinook Salmon Escapement on the Copper River (2001)
Feasibility of Using Fishwheels for Long-Term Monitoring of Chinook Salmon Escapement on the Copper River (2002)
Feasibility of Using Fishwheels for Long-Term Monitoring of Chinook Salmon Escapement on the Copper River (2003)
Estimating Chinook salmon escapement on the Copper River (2004)
Estimating Chinook salmon escapement on the Copper River (2005)
Estimating Chinook salmon escapement on the Copper River (2006)
Estimating Chinook salmon escapement on the Copper River (2007)
Estimating Chinook salmon escapement on the Copper River (2008)