A catalog of Yukon River spawning escapement surveys, Study notes of Construction

Download A catalog of Yukon River spawning escapement surveys and more Study notes Construction in PDF only on Docsity!

ADF8tG TECHNICAL DATA REPORT NO. 121 STATE OF ALASKA

(Limited Distribution) Bill Sheffield, Governor

A CATALOG OF YUKON RlVER SALMON SPAWNING ESCAPEMENT SURVEYS

By:

Louis H. Barton

July 1984

--

ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF F t S H AND GAME Don^ W.^ Colfinsworth

P.O. Box 3-2000, Juneau, Alaska 99802 Commissioner

ADF&G TECHNICAL DATA REPORTS

This series of reports i s desIgned to facil it a t e prompt

reporting of data from studies conducted by the Alaska

Department of Fish and Game, especially studies which

may be of direct and immediate interest to scientists of

other agenci es.

The primary purpose of these reports i s presentation of

data. Description of programs and data collection methods

i s included only to the extent required f o r interpretation

of the data. Analysis i s generally limited to that neces-

sary for clarification of data collection methods and

interpretation of the basicdata. No attempt is made i n

these reports to present analysis of the data relative to

i t s u l timate or i ntended use.

Data presented i n these reports i s intended to be final ,

however, some rev isions may occasi ona1 ly be necessary.

Minor revisions will be made via errata sheets. Major

revisions will be made in the fom of revised reports.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES.............................. i

LIST OF FIGURES............................. i i

LIST OF APPENDICES............................ i i i

ABSTRACT................................. i v

PREFACE................................. v

INTRODUCTION............................... 1

AREADESCRIPTION............................. 1

METHODS OF ESCAPEMENT ENUMERATION.................... 3

RESULTS................................. 17

Chum Salmon............................. 17

Chinook Salmon........................... 1 9

Coho Salmon............................. 23

Pink Salmon............................. 23

S o c k e y e S a l m o n........................... 23

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................. 23

LITERATURECITED............................. 25

APPENDIX I................................ 28

APPENDIX I 1............................... 33

APPENDIX111............................... 40

APPENDIX IV............................... 94

LIST OF TABLES

Page

1. Comparative Yukon River summer chum salmon escapement e s t i m a t e s , 1974-1983............................. 18

2. Comparative Yukon River f a l l chum salmon a e r i a l escapement e s t i -

mates, 1973-1983......................... 20

3. Comparative Yukon River chinook salmon a e r i a l escapement e s t i m a t e s ,

4. Comparative Yukon River chinook salmon a e r i a l escapement e s t i m a t e s ,

1972-1983............................. 22

5. Comparative Yukon River coho salmon a e r i a l escapement e s t i m a t e s ,

1972-1983............................. 24

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

I L i s t i n g o f Yukon R i v e r d r a i n a g e m i l e a g e s............ 28

I 1 S t r e a m c a t a l o g c o d e s...................... 33

I 1 1 L i s t i n g s o f Yukon River d r a i n a g e s t r e a m s............ 40

IV Yukon R i v e r s t r e a m c a t a l o g................... 94

ABSTRACT

Information on salmon spawning escapements in the Yukon River drainage from 1953 through 1983 are presented. Data are cataloged alphabetically by stream and include b o t h the Alaskan and Canadian portions of the drainage.

K E Y WORDS: Yukon River salmon, Oncorhynchus sp., spawning escapements.

INTRODUCTION

This r e p o r t catalogs salmon ( O n c o r h y n c h u s sp.) spawning escapements f o r the Yukon River in both the Alaskan and Canadian portions of the drainage. (^) Quan- t i f i a b l e information on spawning escapements has been a v a i l a b l e s i n c e 1953. The United S t a t e s Fish and Wildlife Service (^) (FWS) collected escapement d a t a from a few s e l e c t e d Alaskan summer chum ( 0. k e t a ) and chinook salmon (0. t s h a w y t s c h a ) (^) t r i b u t a r y streams i n the 1 ower Yukon River and Fai rbanks vi ci ni t y from 1953 through 1959, the year of statehood f o r Alaska. During t h i s period

the FWS a l s o conducted reconnaissance surveys of several spawning streams i n

the upper Yukon River drainage i n the Yukon T e r r i t o r y , Canada.

Limited escapement information, primarily pertaining t o chinook salmon, collected by the Environment Canada Fisheries Service, presently the Department of Fisher- i e s and Oceans ( D F O ) ,^ has^ been a v a i l a b l e since 1958, the year of^ construction of the Whitehorse dam and fishway. Since the l a t e 1 9 7 0 ' ~ ~several p r i v a t e Canadian

consul t i ng agencies, i n coopera t i on w i t h the D F O , have col 1 ected escapement

information in the Yukon T e r r i t o r y on a much broader s c a l e because of the pro- posed construction of t h e Alaskan/Canadian natural gas pipeline. Such agencies include F o o t h i l l s Pipe Lines Ltd., Beak Consultants Ltd., Environmental Manage- ment Associates, and Northern Resource Services Ltd. Information collected was presented in various annual agency r e p o r t s.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game ( A D F & G ) has been the lead agency i n col- l e c t i n g escapement data from Alaskan streams in the Yukon River drainage since

1959. The ADF&G has a s s i s t e d the DFO in c o l l e c t i n g escapement data from t r i b - u t a r i e s in the Canadian portion of the drainage s i n c e the l a t e 1960's. Further, intensive s t u d i e s were conducted in Alaska on s e l e c t e d spawning streams by a j o i n t StatelFederal Fish and Wildlife Advisory Team (JFWAT) during the mid-1970's as a r e s u l t of construction of t h e Trans-Alaska Pipe1 ine System (TAPS).

Most of the data presented i n t h e stream catalog a r e based upon a e r i a l survey observations. However, an attempt has been made t o include a l l q u a n t i f i a b l e escapement observations made from ground ( f o o t ) and boat surveys, counting tower and weir p r o j e c t s , and more r e c e n t l y , sonar counting p r o j e c t s. In a d d i t i o n , verbal and w r i t t e n r e p o r t s documenting t h e unquantifiable occurrence of salmon in streams where the ADF&G has not documented spawning a r e a l s o included, along w i t h the data source. Escapement estimates and observations presented i n the stream catalog do not represent t o t a l abundance f o r any given year. T h i s i s d i s - cussed more f u l l y under "Methods of Escapement Enumeration."

AREA DESCRIPTION

The S t a t e of Alaska has described the Yukon a r e a , f o r purposes of^ regulatory f i s h e r i e s management, to include a1 1 waters of the Yukon River and i t s t r i b u t a r y streams in Alaska and a l l coastal waters from Canal Point near Cape Stebbins southward t o Naskonat Peninsula (Figure 1 ). The Yukon i s the l a r g e s t r i v e r^ in Alaska, draining approximately 35% of t h e s t a t e , and i s the f i f t h l a r g e s t r i v e r in North America. The r i v e r o r i g i n a t e s i n B r i t i s h Columbia, Canada, within 48 km

(30 mi) of the Gulf of Alaska, and flows more than 3,700 km (2,300 m i ) t o i t s

0 6 miles

F i g u r e 5. The South and M i d d l e F o r k Koyukuk R i v e r d r a i n a g e.

-7- I