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IlU M4/Titl e Page
ALA SKA DEPARTM EIIT OF FISH AIID GAME
SUS I TNA AQ UATIC STUD I ES PROGR ~
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REPORT NO.7 Cf:sl/'
RES IDEN T AND JUV EIH LE ANADROMC US F I SH
INVES TIGA TIOI IS (MAY -OCTO BER 1ge 4 )
Project le ade r:Dana C.Scbmt dt
Acti ng Project Le ader :Stephen S.Hal e
Ed ito rs:Drew L.Cr awf ord
Ste ph e n S.Ha l e .and
Dana C.Schmi dt
Prepared f or :
Alas ka Power Aut ho rity
334 ~r.Fift r.Aven ue,Sec c r d Fl oo r
Ancho rage.Alaska 995Cl
PREFACE
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DR AFT /PAGE 1
5/1/85,4/2 5/85
NUM4 /P r eface
This report i s one of a se ries of report s prepar ed for the A l ask~Power
Authority (APA)by the Alas ka Depa rtment of Fi sh a nd Game (ADF&G )to
provide informat ion to be used in evalua ti ng t he fea sibility of t he
propo sed Susitna Hydroele ctri c Project .The ADF &GSusitna Hydro Aquati c
Studies program was i ni ti ated i n November 1980.
The r eport cov ers stud ies of juvenile salm on a nd re s ident fi sh s pecies
of t he Sus itna Ri ver conducted from Ma y th rough October 19 84. I n
add ition,some information on ov erw int er ing of r esident f is h r adio-
t agged in 1983 is i ncl uded .The ma jority of the effort durin g t he 1984
open·wa te r season was on the l ower r iver (fr om the mouth t o th e Chu l itna
Ri ver confluence ). No s tudies were conduc ted th is year i n t he ar ea
ab ov e Devil Canyon.Th is volume con sists of f our part s.
Part 1 (RS A Ta s ks 16A and 166 )covers the mig rati on and gr ow th of
j uv enil e salmon . Coded wire tagging of c hum a nd sock eye fry in the
middle ri ver (Chul itn a River con fluenc e to De vil Ca nyo n) and collect i ng
of a ll .species of outm igrati ng fry a t Tal keetna Station were s im ilar to
1983 stud ies.In addi tion,a mark-and-recapture cold brandi ng study was
co nducted in t ri butaries ,sloughs,a nd side channels of t he midd le r iver
to ob tain a n index of chi nook and co ho ju venile salmon abunda nce and
re si den ce t i me i n th ese r earing ar eas.This study compl eme nts the coded
wire t agg ing s tudies of chum and sock eye f ry i n t he middle river .Also .
outmigrant traps were operated a t Fl at ho rn Stat i on (R iver N'i l e 22 .4 }
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DRAFT/PAGE 2
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NUM4 /Preface
near the mo uth of the river to obtain a t iming index of outmtqrat t on
from the l ower river.
Studies of the distribution and relative abundance of juvenile salmon
and modelling of rearing habitat in the lower river are discussed in
Part 2 (RSA Tas!,,:s 14 and 36).These stud ies were similar to those
conducted i n the mt ddTe river in 1983.Habi tat suitabil ity cri teri a
deve loped for the middle river were used for the l ower river unless
evidence of different conditions in the lower river necess i tated
modificat ions.Habitat modelling results from 14 RJHAB model sites and
6 IFIM model sites are presented.The RJHAB and IF 1M models were
compared by using both at two sites.
Part 3 (RSA Task 14)conta ins the resul t s of res ident fi sh stud ies in
both the middle and lower river.Mon itor ing of fish mo veme nt throug h
use of radio tags was continued and i ndex s ites in the middle river were
sampled as part o f the long term monitoring effort.Population est t -
mates for some species were made from multiple year mark~recapture data.
Part 4 (RSA Task 16A)i s a statist ical t ime series anal ysis of 1983 a nd
1984 discharge,turbidity,and j uvenile sa l mon outm igration data in the
mi ddle river.This part represents the beginning of an effort t o
analyze,integrate,and sunmarize the five years of data cnl l ected by
t he Susitna Aquatic Stud:ps Program.The final report on th is fi ve year
s umm ary will be completed a year from now.
ORA FT /PAr.E 4
5/1/85.4/25 /85
NU H4/Preface
:1
I
j
I,
I
Report
Number
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
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TITLES IN THI S SERIES
Title
Adult Anadromous Fi sh Investigations:
Hay - October 1983
Resident and Juven ile Ana~romous Fish
Investiga ti ons:May -October 1983
Aquatic Hab itat and Instream Flow
Investi9ations :Hay - October 1983
Access and Transmission Corridor Aquatic
Investigations :May -October 1983
Winter Aquat ic Inve stigations:
September 1983 to Hay 1984
Adult Anadromous Fish Investigations :
Ha y - October 1984
Resident and Juvenile Anadromous Fish
Investi9ations:Hay - October 198 4
Publ i cati on
Date
April 1984
July 1984
Sept em ber 1984
September 1984
Harch 19 85
198 5
19 85
,
Quest i ons co ncerning th is report s ho uld be di rected t o :
Al aska Power Author ity
334 ~est 5th Av enue
~ncho ra c e .Alaska 99501
Te'ephon e:(~O7)276 -0001
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COtlTEtlTS OF REPORT 110.7
DP ArT /PAG E 5
5/1 /85,4/25/85
rlUM4/Preface
Part 1.
Pa rt 2 .
Part 3.
Part 4.
The ~fgration and Growth of Juven ile Salmon in the
Sust t ne River.
The Relat ive Abundance~Distribution,and Ins t ree m Flow
Relationships of Juvenile Salmon in the lower 5usitna
River.
Resident Fish Distribut ion and Population Dynam ics in the
Susft"a River below Devil Canyon.
Ti;ne Series Analys is of Juvenil e S ~lt!lO n Outrl'igrat ion.
Discharge.and Turb idity in the Sus itna Ri ver, Alaska.
I
DRAFT /PAGE 1
5/21/85
NUMIB /Abstract
PA RT 1
THE MIGRATION AND GROWTH OF JUV ENILE SA LM rnl
IN TH E SUSI TNA RIV ER
DRAFT/PAGE 2
5/21/85
NUMIB/Ab<tract
THE MIGRATION AND GROWTH OF JUVENILE SALMON
IN THE SUSITNA RIVER
Report 110.7.Part 1
by Kent J.Roth and Mike E.Stratton
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Susitna Aquatic Studies Program
620 East 10th Avenue.Suite 302
Anchorage.Alaska 99501
Stud;es of adult sa1mon spawn f 09,emb ryo i "cuba ti on I and juvent l e
rearing are all critical in under standing th e current habitat dynamics
of the Susitna River but the final measure of the value of a reach of
river to the freshwater life stages of salmon is the number and cand;·
tic"of the fry which outmigrate from the reach to the ocean.Ba sel ine
data on salmon outmigration have been collected at Talkeetna Stati on (RM
103 .0)for the past t~ree years .The data from 1982 and 1983 had shown
that a substantial number of chinook, coho.and sockeye fr y o u t m i g r ~ t e
from the middle river during their first surrmer .secause the l:1a jority
of returning adults have spent at least one winter rearing in fresh-
water~an important question was whether these age 0 + f ish overwintered
in the lower river of had a low sur vival rate.To help answer thi s
question,outmigrant trap s were al so operated neer-the mouth of the
Su sitna Ri ver (RM 22 .4) duri ng 1984.Mark and recapture s tudies gave
DRA FT /PAG E 3
,/ 21/85
NU mB /Abs t ract
popul ation e stimates for chum and soc keye fry (ma rked by co ded wire
tags ) i n the Susitna River above Tal keetna Stat ion (mi ddle r i ver )a nd
for chinook and coho fry (mar ked by cold bra nding)i n Indi an Ri ver and
other sites •.The co ld branding stlJdy also mo nito red outmigra ti on tim ing
from I ndian River and obtai ned est imates of j uvenile chin ook residenc e
time i n mafnstem rearing areas.The Talkeetna River and Oes hka «tver
were als~fntermitt.~ntly sampled to help explain the ma1nstem out migrant
trap data .Age 0+chinook fry apparent l y outmigrate from the middle
river upon reaching a critical size .A large proportion rema in to
overwinter and outmigrate during their second s unrne r.Coho fry outmf-
grate at a wider range of lengths than chinook fry so the cu mulative
b iomass of coho fry l ags behind the cumulative numbers of ind i v i dual s by
one or two weeks.Age 0+ ch inook and coho fry grow about 30 IJ111 i n
length during the ope n-water season.Juven ile sockeye sa l mon appear to
seek out la ke-li ke rearing areas at a s ize of ab out 50 mm .The l imited
amount of th is habitat in the middle river forces them to the lower
river .The est imated middle r iver population si ze was 299,000 for a ge
0+sockeye and 2,039,000 for chum fry.Chum fry feeding in the middle
river was demonstrated by their growth and by analysis of stomach
contents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES
1.0 INTRODUCTION
2.0 METHODS
2.1 Study Locations
2.1 .1 Flathorn Station
2.1.2 Oeshka River
2.1.3 Talkeetna River
2.1.4 Talkeetna Station
2.1.5 Coded wire tagging
2.1.6 Coded branding
2.2 Field Data Collection and Recording
2 .2.1 Flathorn Station outmigrant traps
2.2.2 Oeshka River Qutrnigrant weir
2.2 .3 Talkeetna River beach seining
2 .2.4 Talkeetna Station outmigrant traps
2.2 .5 Coded wire tagg ing
2.2.6 Cold branding
2.3 Data Analysis
2.3.1 Juvenile salmon catch per unit effort
2.3.2 Population and survival estimates
2.3.3 Environmental variables
3.0 RESULTS
3.1 Chinook Salmon
3.1.1 ratch per unit effort
3.1.1.1 Age 0+
3.1.1.2 Age 1+
3.1.2 Growth
3.1.2.1 Age 0+
3.1.2.2 Age 1+
DRAFT /PAGE I
5/21/85
NUMIB /Table of Content s
DRAfT /PAGE 2
5/21185
NUMIB/Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Co ntinu ed)
3.1.3 Col d brandi ng
3.1.4 Pop ulation estimates
3 .2 Coho Salmon
3.2 .1 Catch per unit effort
3.2 .1.1 Age 0+
3.2.1 .2 Ag e 1+and olde r
3.2.2 Growth
3.2.2.1 Age 0+
3.2.2.2 Age 1+and older
3.2.3 Cold branding
3.2 .4 Populat ion est imates
3.3 Sock eye Salmon
3.3 .1 Catch per un it effort
3.3.1.1 Age 0+
3.3.1.2 Age 1+
3.3.2 Growth
3.3.3 Coded wire tagging and recovery
3.3 .4 Pop ulation est imates and s urvival rates of ou tmigrants
3.4 Chum Salmon
3.4.1 Catc h per un it effort
3.4.2 Gr ow th
3 .4.3 Co ded wire t aggi ng and recovery
3.4.4 Po pul ati on esti mates and s urvival rates of outmigra nts
3 .5 Pink Sa lmon
3.6 Descriptive Stat istics for CatCh and Environme ntal Variables
4.0 DISCUSSION
4.1 Chino ok Sa lmon
4.1 .1 Outm igration
4.1.2 Freshwate r life history
4.1 .3 Estimates of popu lat ion
4.1.4 Gr owth
DRAFT/PAGE 3
5/21/85
NUMIB/Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued )
4.2 Coho Salmon
4.2.1 Outmigration
4.2.2 Freshwater life history
4.2.3 Growth
4.3 Sockeye Salmon
4.3.1 Outmigratfon
4.3.2 Freshwater life history
4.3 .3 Estimate of population and survival
4 .3.4 Growth
4.4 Chum Salmon
4.4 .1 Outmfgratitn
4.4.2 Freshwater l i f p his~ory
4.4 .3 Estimate of populatiJn and survival
4.4.4 Growth
4.5 Pink Salmon
4.5.1 Outmigration
4.5.2 Freshwater life history
4 .5.3 Growth
5.0 CONTRIBUTORS
6.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
7.0 LITERATURE CITED
8.0 APPENDICES
Appendix A Juvenile Salmon Catch and length
Data.1984
Appendix B The Schaefer Estimate of Population
5fze
I A
DRA FT/PAGE 1
5121/85
'IU MIB /l is t of Figures
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1 Map of juvenil e s al mo n outmigration s tudy
f ield stations i n the Sus itna River ba sin,
1984 .
Bottom profile of the Sus i tna River at the
stationary and mobile outmigrant trap
s ampli ng po ints at Flath orn Stat ion.
2 Map of the stationa ry outm igrant t rap and th e
mobi le outmigrant trap s ampling points on the
Sus itna River at Flathorn Station.1984.
3 Map show ing the lo cati on of the fyke net weir
on the Desh ka River,1984.
4 Map sh owing the r each where j uven il e salmon
mark-re capture sites are located (RM122.2 t o
144.8 and Indian River)and the l oca tions of
the Tal keetna s tationary outmig rant traps (R M
103 .0)and the Tal keetna Ri ver sampl ing si te
(TRM 1.0 ).1984.
4A Map of c oded WI re tagging and c ol d b ra nding
s ites in the middle re ach of t he Susitna
Ri ver,1984.
5 Branding l ocat ions and s ample brands used f or
cold branding chi no ok and coho sal mon
j uveniles , 1984.
6 Chin ook salmon (age 0+) average catch per
minn ow t rap by sampl i ng per iod and s urvey
s ect ion i n Indian River,1984.
7 Chinoo k sal mon (age 0+)s moothed da il y cat c h
per un it effo rt and adju sted cumulative catch
r ecorded at the Talkeetna s ta ti onary
outm 1grant traps,Ma y 14 through Oc tober 6 ,
1984 .
8 Chi no ok sal mon (ag e 0+)smo othed da ily ca t ch
per unit effort and adju sted cumul at ive catc h
r ecorded a t the Flathorn sta t ionary
outm ig rant trap,Ma y 20 th rough Oc tober 1 ,
1984.
DRAFT/PAGE 2
5/21 /85
NUM I8/Lis t of Figures
LIST OF FIG URE S (C onti nued)
9 Chin ook salmon (age 0+)daily catch per unit
effort recorded at the Flathorn mo bil e
outmigrant trap,July 12 through August 30,
1984.
10 Chi noo k salmon (age 0+)percent of total
catch by sampling point recorded at the
Flathorn mobile outmigrant trap,1984.
11 Chinook salmon (age 0+)catch per unit effort
by samp li ng period recorded at JAH S s ites in
the l ower reach of the Sus ftna River,1984.
12 Chinook salmon (age 1+)s mo othed daily catch
per unit effort and ad justed cumulati ve catch
recorded at the Talkeetna stationary
outmf qrant traps,Ma y 14 through Oct ober 6,
1984.
13 Ch inook salmon (age 1+)smoothed dail y catch
per unit effort and adjusted cumulative catch
recorded at the Flath orn stationary
outm igrant tra p.Ha y 20 through October 1.
1984.
14 Chinook sal mo n (age 0+)mea n length and ran ge
of lengths by sam pli ng per iod f or fi sh
c ollected in the lower and middl e reach of
t he Susitna Ri ver,1984.
15 The linear regr ession of t he weightllength
relationsh ip for ju venile chinook salmon
collected at the Tal keetna s tat ionary
outmigrant traps,1984.
16 Coho salmon (age 0+)average catch per minn ow
tr.ap by sa mpling period and survey sect ion
in I ndian River.1984.
17 Coho sa l mon (age 0+)smo othed da ily catch per
unit e ffort and adju sted cumu la tive ca tch
recorded at the Talkeetna stationary
out migrant traps,May 14 through October 6 ,
1984.
18 Coho salmon (ag e 0+)smoothed dail y cat ch per
unit effort and adjusted cumulati ve catch
recorded at t he Flathorn stationary
outm;grant trap,May 20 t hrough October 1,
1984.
DRAFT /P AGE 3
5/2 1/85
NU MI8 /List of Figures
LIS T OF FIGURES (Co ntinued)
19 Coh o salmon j uv eni le catc h pe r un it e ffort by
sampling peri od recorded at JAHS s i te s i n the
lower reach of the Susitna River .1984 .
20 Coho sal mon Cage 1+and old er )smo othed da i ly
catch per un it e ffo rt and ad justed cumula tive
ca tch recorded at the Ta lkeetna sta tionary
outmfg rant traps ,May 14 t hrough Oc tober 6 ,
1984.
21 Coho salmon (age 1+and olde r)sm oothed da il y
catch per unit effort and adjusted cumulative
catch recorded at the Flathorn s tati onary
Dutm;g rant trap ,May 20 through October I,
1984.
22 Coho sa lmo n (age 0+)mea n length and ran ge of
l engths by sampli ng per iod f or f ish collected
i n t he lo wer and middle reach of t he Susitna
Riv er. 1984.
23 Co ho sal mon Cage 1+)me an len gth by mo nth fo r
fish co ll ected i n t he low er and middle reach
of the Sus i tna Ri ver.1984.
24 The li near regre ssion of t he weight /l ength
rela tionship f or j uveni l e coho s almo n
collected at t he Tal keetna stat iona ry
outmigrant tr aps,1984.
25 So c ke ye sa l mon (age 0+)smo othed dail y catch
per unit effort and ad justed cumulati ve catch
recorded at the Talkeetna stationary
outmigrant traps ,Ma y 14 through Octobe r 6,
1984 .
26 Sockeye salmon (age 0+)smoot hed dail y catch
per un it effort and ad ju sted cum ulat ive catch
recor ded at t he Flathorn stati on ary
outm igrant trap .Ma y 20 t hroug h October 1,
1984.
27 Sock eye salmo n (a ge 0+)da i l y catch per unit
effort r ecorded at the Flath orn mob ile
outm igrant trap.J uly 12 through Augu st 31.
198 4.
28 Sockeye sal mon Cage 0+)pe rcent of th e t ota l
catch by samp ling po int record ed at the
Flathorn mo bile outm i grant tra p, 1984.
DRAFT /PAGE 4
5121 /85
NUMIB /List of Figures
LI ST OF FIGURE S (Co nt inued)
29 Soc keye salmon j uvenile catch per un it effort
by sampling perfod recorded et JAHS si tes in
the Tower reach of the Susftna River,1984.
3D Socke ye sa l mon (age 1+)smoothed dail y catch
per unit effort and adjusted c umufa ti ve catch
recorded at the Flathorn and Talkeetna
stationary outmigrant traps .May 14 through
October 6, 1984.
31 Sockeye sa lmon (age 0+)mean leng th and range
of lengths by sa mpl i ng period for f is h
collected i n the t ower and mi ddle reach of
the Su s itna River,19 84.
32 The linea r regression of the we ightl1ength
'atio nship for juvenile soc keye salmon
~o11ected at the Tal keetna stat ionary
outmfgra nt traps .1984 .
33 length of t ime between ma rk an d recapture of
coded wire tagged s ockeye s al mo n j uveniles in
the middle reach of t he Susitna Riv er,1984.
34 Chum sa lmo n fry smoothed dail y catch per unit
effort and ad justed cumu lative catch recorded
at the Talkeet na stat ionary outmigrant tra ps.
May 14 t hroug h October 6,1984 .
35 Chum salmo n f ry smo othed da i ly catch per unit
e ffo rt and adjusted cumulat iv e catch recorded
at t he Fl athorn stationary outmigr ant tr ap ,
May 20 through Oc tober I ,1984.
36 Chum sa lmo n f ry cat ch pe r unit effort by
s amp li ng period recorded at JAHS sites in the
l ow er reach of the Susitna Ri ver.1984 .
37 length of time between the mark and recapture
of coded wire t agged chum sa lmon juve ni les in
the mid dle reach of the Susftna River,19 84.
38 Pin k salmon fr y smoothed da ily catch per unit
effo rt and adjusted cumulat ive catch recorded
at the Talkeetna stat ionary outm igrant t raps,
Ma y 14 through October 6 ,19 84.
39 Pink salmon fr y smoothed daily catch per uni t
effort and adjusted cumulat ive catch recorded
at the Flathorn stationary outmigrant tr aps.
May 20 t hrough October I , 198 4.
nR~.FT /PAGE S
S/a/8S
NUM18/list of Figures
LIST OF FIGURES (Continued)
39A Mainstem discharge,water temperature.and
turbidity in the middle reach of the Susitna
River,1984.
398 Mainstem discharge in the lower reach of the
Susitna River measured at the USGS gaging
station at Susitna Station,1984.
40 Chinook salmon (age 0+)adjusted cumulative
catch recorded at the Talkeetna stationary
outmi9rant traps ,19 83 and 1984 .
41 Chinook salmon (age 1+)adjusted cumulative
catch recorded at the Talkeetna stationary
outm19rant traps ,1983 and 1984.
42 Chinook salmon (age 0+)mean length and range
of mean lengths by sampl fng per iod recorded
at the Talkeetna stationary outmigrant traps
durin9 1982 ,1983, and 1984.
43 Chinook salmon adjusted cumulative catch and
biomass by age class recorded at Talkeetna
and Flathorn stations,1984 .
44 Coho salmon (age 0+)adjusted cumulativ e
catch recorded at the Talkeetna stationary
outmigrant traps ,1983 and 1984 .
45 Coho salmon (age 1+)adjusted cumulative
catch reco rded at the Talkeetna stationary
outmigrant traps,1983 and 1984 .
46 Coho salmon (age 0+)mean length and range of
mean lengths by sampl i ng period recorded at
the Talkeetna stationary outmigrant traps
durin9 1982, 1983, and 1984.
47 Coho salmon (age 1+)mean length and range of
mean lengths by sampling period reco rded at
the Talkeetna stationary outmigrant traps
durin9 198 2,1983, and 1984 .
48 Coho salmon adjusted cumulati ve catch and
biomass by age class recorded at Talkeetna
and Flathorn Stations, 1984.
49 Sockeye salmon (age 0+)adjusted cumulative
catch rec orded at the Tal keetna st a ti onary
outmigrant traps,1983 and 1984 .
DRAFT /PAGf 6
5/21 /85
NUMI8 /L ist of Fi9ures
LI ST OF FIGURES (Cont inued)
50 Mean 1ength of coded wi re tagged so ckeye
salmon fry at recovery s ites in the middle
reach of the Susitna River by week,19 84 .
51 Sockeye salmon (age 0+)mean length and ran ge
of mean 1engths by s amp1i og peri ad rec orded
at the Talkeetna stat ionary outmigrant traps
durin9 1982, 1983,and 1984.
52 Sockeye salm on adjusted c umulat ive catch and
biomass by age clas s re corded at Tal keetna
and Flatho rn Station s ,1984 .
53 Chum salmon fr y ad justed cumu lative catch
re corded at the Talkeetna s tationary
outmi9rant traps ,1983 and 1984.
54 Mea n length of coded wire tagged c hum salmon
fry at recovery site s in t he middle r each of
the Susitn a River by 5 da y peri od ,1984.
55 Pink s al mo n fr y ad justed cumulat ive catch
recorded at t he Talkeetna stati onary
outmigrant trap s.1983 and 1984.
DRAFT IPAGE 7
5/21/85
NUMIB/List of Figures
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1 The number of chinook salmon fry marked and
recovered in Indian Rivc~by sampling period,
1984 .
2 Chinook salmon fry,popul at tun estimates by
site for sloughs and side channels surveyed
i n the Sus itna River above the Chulitna River
confluence,1984 .
3 Coded wire tag release data for sockeye
salmon fry on the Susitna River by ta gging
site and release date,1984 .
4 Recoveries of coded wire tagged sockeye
salmon fry at mainstem river sites between
Talkeetna and Devil Canyon,19B4 .
5 Coded wire tag release data for chum salmon
fry on the Susitna Rive r by tagging site and
release date ,1984.
6 Sunmary statistics for juvenile salmon catch
per hour by species and age class recorded at
the Talkeetna Station outmigrant traps ,Ma y
14 through October 6,1984.
7 Summary statistics for habitat variables
recorded on the Susitna River between the
Chul itna River confluence and Devil Canyon,
May 14 through October 6,1984 .
8 Summary statistic s for juvenile salmon catch
per hour by species and age class recorded at
the Flathorn Station outmigrant traps,May 20
through October I,1984 .
DRAFT /PAGE 8
5/21 /85
NUMIB /lfst of Fi9ures
LIST OF APPENDI X TABLES
Appendix Table
A-I Weir catches of juvenile chinook and coho
salmon on the Deshka River.May 10 through
September 19,1984.
A-2 Results of incidental minnow trapping in the
Deshka River,1984.
A-3 Number of fish ,mean length,a nd range of
lengths for age 0+chinook salmon by sampling
period on the Susitna River between Cook
Inlet and Talkeetna,1984 .
A-4 Number of fish.mean length.and range of
lengths for age 0+chinook salmon by sampling
period on the Susitna River between Talkeetna
and Devil Canyon,1984.
A-5 Number of fish.mean length.and range of
lengths for age 0+ coho salmon by sampling
period on the Susitna River between Cook
Inlet and Talkeetna,1984.
A-6 Number of fi sh I mean 1ength.and range of
1enqths,for age 0+coho sa 1mon by samp l t ng
period on the Susitna River between Talkeetna
and Devil Canyon,1984 .
A-7 Number of fish,mean length ,and range of
lengths for age 1+coho salmon by samp1 ing
period on the Susitna River between Cook
Inlet and Talkeetna,1984.
Aa8 Number of fish,mean length,and range of
lengths for age 1+coho salmen by sampl ing
period on the Susitna River between Talkeetna
and Devil Canyon,1984 .
A-9 Number of fish ,mean length,and range of
lengths for age 2+coho salmon by samp1 f ng
period on the Susitna River between Co ok
Inlet and Devil Canyon ,1984.
A-I0 Daily catches at outmigrant chum and sockeye
salmon fry in a fyke n~t located at the mouth
of Slou9h 21 ,May 23 to June 12,1984.
A-ll Number of fish,mean length,and range of
lengths for age 0+sockeye salmon by sam pling
period on the Susitna River between Cook
Inlet and Devil Canyon,1984 .
DRA FT /PAGE 9
5/21/85
NU M18 /List of Fi gures
LI ST OF APPENDI X TA8LES (Continued )
A-1 2 Number of fish,mean length , a nd ran ge of
lengths for age 1+sockeye salmon by sampl ing
period on the Susitna River between Cook Inl et
an Devil Canyon,1984.
A-13 Number of fish ,mean length ,and range of
lengths for chum s almon fr y by s ampl ing
period on the Susitna River between Co ok
Inlet and Devil Canyon,1984 .
8-1 Data collected on the coded wi re ta g.
mark-recapture experiment f or so ckeye s almo n
fry to provide a population estimate using
the method s outlined by Schaefer (19 51).
Tagg ing and recovery periods are by e ight da y
intervals .Ma y 22 throu9h September 18 .19 84.
B-2 Computation of th e soc keye salmon f or
outmigrant population from the data presented
in Append ix Table 8-1 .
B-3 Data co 11 eeted on the coded wi re tag I
mar k-recapture e xperiment for chum s al mo n fr y
to provide a populati on estimate using the
methods outlined by Schaefer (195 1).raggin 9
and recovery periods are by eight da y
intervals ,May 22 through Jul y 24,1984 .
8-4 Computation of the chum salmon
population from t he data
Append ix Table 8-3.
fo r outmigrant
presented in
DRAFT I PAGE 1
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NUM1 /R oth ,5/15/85
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Studies of the migrat ion and gr owth of juvenile s al mo n in th e main stem
Susitna Ri ver are a part of the ongo ing invest igation s being conducted
by the Resident and Juvenile Anadromou s Fish Project (RJ)of t he Susi tna
Aquatic Studies Program.The scope of these stud ies ha s been t o describe
the periods of freshwater residen ce 9 grow th, and timing of outm i gratio n
for juvenil e sa lmon in the Sus itna Ri ver and t o provide populati on
e st imates for the reach of ri ver between Tal keetna and Devil Canyon .
This report pre sents the re sults of juvenil e salmon Qut mi gration studies
c onducted on the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon
during the 1984 open-water s eason .Fi ve Pacific s al mo n s peci es are
a ddre ssed i n th i s report :chinoo k (On corh ynchus tshaw ytscha ),c oho (Q.
kf s utc h] , so ckeye (Q.nerka ),chum (Q.keta l,an d p ink (Q.gorbuscha ).
Inve stigat ions of the d i s tributi on,abundanc e,and mig ration of j uveni l e
s al mo n dur ing 1982 and 1983 were fo cu sed pr ima ril y on the Susi tna Riv er
rea ch above the Chul itna Rive r c onf l uence (AOF&G 1983, Schmid t e t e l ,
1984).These studi es inc 1uded the o perat io n o f st a ti ona ry o ut mi gr ant
trap s at Ta l ke etna Stat io n r i ver mil e (RM)10 3.0 ,du r ing 1982 a nd 1983
and a mark-recaptu re program fo r po st -emergent c hum and so ckeye sa lmo n
f ry using half-length coded wi re tag s i n 1983 (Ro t h et al.1984). These
techni ques have pro vided val uable information on the su cce ss o f pre viou s
s paw ni ng r uns , th e effe ct of di scha rge o n redi s tribut ion o f yo ung -o f-
the-year sa lmon j uvenil es,and e st teat es o f populat ion and su rvi val f or
c hum and soc keye sa l mo n fry.
DRAFT I PAGE 2
4/ 22/85,5/6185.5/21 /85
NUM I/Rot h,5/15/85
Dur ing the 19 84 open-wa ter s eason,additional tas ks were added to
f urther descr ibe j uv enile sal mon gr owth,mi gra ti on ti mi ng,and re sponse
t o chang ing habitat conditions .Ttl e study are a was e xpanded t o in clude
the entire r iver between Cook Inlet and De vil canyon.Ne w tas ks begun
in 1984 were the addition of stat ionary and mo bil e outmigrant traps at
Fle thorn Sta ti on (RH 22.4),intermittent trapping of migrat ing chinook
salmon juveniles in the Oeshka and Talkeetna r ivers,and mar k~recaptur e
by c old branding of juvenile chinook and coho salmon in the Curry
Station to Devil Canyon reach.
Inve st igati ons of the migration and growth of j uveni le salmon abo ve
Tal keetna dur ing 1982 and 1983 i ndicated extens ive mi gr~t i on of
p re-s mo lt juveni les of all species to areas be low this reach.This
mi gra tio n o f pre-smo lt c hi nook sa l mon was a lso ob served i n the Oeshka
Ri ver i n 1980 (Delaney et al.198 n.If this mo vement is COlTlTlQn i n the
ma jor t ri butar ies entering the Sus1tna Ri ver,e xten s ive rearing a nd
grr ..th of juvenile salmon,part icularly ch inoo k,ma y occur i n haoitats
associated with the mainstem river.Small hab itat c hanges in the r each
of river below Talkeetna could impact large numbers of rearing salmon .
The combined studies of j uvenile s al mo n growth and migration conducted
during the 1984 open-water se ason were developed to provide data to me et
the fol lowi n9 object ive s:
o Est imate the t iming, r el at ive ab undance , an d size of
outmigra ti ng j uven il e sal mon in the Sus ft na Riv er abo ve t he
Ch ul i tna Ri ver conf luence •
..,-
DRAFT /PAGE 3
4/2 2/85.5/6/85, 5/21/85
NUHI/Roth. 5/15/85
o Est i ma te t he popu lat ion o f outmigrating chum a nd s ockeye
s a lmon fry a nd egg to out migrant fry s urvi val in this rea ch of
river .
o Esti mate the t iming and size of outmigrating chum salmon from
the Talkeetna River.
a Est imate the t iming an d r ate of moveme nt o f j uvenile chinook
and c oho salmon out of India n Rive r a nd th eir res idence ti me
at selected macr ohabitats associated with the ma instem 5u5ftna
Rive r.
o Estimate the t iming and rate of outmigrat ion o f chinoo k sa l mon
ju ven il es from the Desh ka River i nto the mains tem 5u5ftna.
a Esti mate the t iming and rate of outmigra tion o f j uven ile
sa l mon from the 5u5ftna River into Cook Inlet.
o Est imate the rate of growth of juvenile chum and c hinook
salmon from the ti me they en t er the l ower river (b e low
t he Chu l itna River c onflu ence) until t hey en t er the ma ri ne
env ironment.
o Estimate the effect of c hanges i n mai nstem Sus itna discharge
and o ther environmental var iables o n juven ile salmo n out -
mig r ation .
-s
DRAFT /PAGE 4
4/2 2/e5,5/6/85,5/2 1/85
NUMI / Roth, 5/1 5/85 I
Sam pli ng o f ch um sal mon f ry i n the Talkeetna Rive r was hindered by
equipment f ai lure and insuff icient data were co ll ected f or th is s pecies.
although some growth and re lative abundan ce data for chino ok sa l mo n were
collected .
Although init ially designed as a survey of Portage Creek usin g a
s tat i onary Qutmigrant trap.the cold branding s tudy was relocated to
I nd ian River with minnow traps serv ing as the p ri ma ry collect ion
tech nique.The des ign of the or iginal collecti on equipmen t did not lend
itself well to the continuall y fluctuatin g hydraulic cond it ions presen t
at Portage Creek .The low numbers of juvenile salmon observed in Portage
Creek after June 15 combined with the comparative logistical inacce s si -
bility of th is s tream .nade Indian River a better choice for a study
site.
J uvenil e sal mon out migra t ion t i mi ng and rates during 19 84 f or the re ach
of ri ver between Tal keet na and Devil Canyon (middle river)are
presented .Population and survival est imates are provided for chum and
sockeye salmon fry migrating downstream of th is rea ch,and data on
populat ion s ize and intrastream mo veme nts of juvenile ch in ook and coho
salmo n are a lso given.length comparisons by spec ies and stud y area are
provi ded to show th e growth of j uv en il e sa l mo n f or a ll the s ites
sur veyed.
The data presented in this report will provide an inde x that can be used
t o detennine the s ize of the present fishery resource.Its potential
loss caused by hydroelectric development .and the mit iga tio n
DRA FT /PAGE 5
4/22/85 ,5/6 /85,5/21/85
NUM I /Roth, 5/15 /85
requ ireMents necessary t o compensate for an y reductions of the j uve nile
s al mo n popul ations i n the Susitna River.
lP';.r 'J:.!_i'i:1
":::.B::~,~,f j:.~,::.,Ii
IU."l.'?QT:l ~,·.~/15
J '...~
,=.•,.
,,',,".-.1 ~#·""'·,-'r '.#...-"'-r -(z-:••'''''·.··.1.'.r ,-.- '.'.,- _._.','.',._oJ .:••11 .'.......,.,'.'""':. .•......"':....,."_.._
.1 =::::i""
..~,.
•I I '....
t.,.tw'·'·n V ItJIJt.'lr j r t ver mile (TRM)2 .5 a nd TRM 5 .0 t o est imat e t he
t.lrnlr"J .H l rj '<It_I ~'J f nu tmf qre t i un for juvenile chinook salmon (Fi g.3 ).
l?;,r "J:,:_i~.,
',::.f1 ~~'"f!5 .~I ::,11 :
IU:-I l.?OT;l ~,',=1 1 5
'. : .::;t ":h r.",-•..,t :l -;n
J :n
';~;-;:1,-_.
,=,~,.
(;~Z2 .:l.:1"0:
:r-,:;..
t.1·~~/"'·n VltJI Jt.oilf'j r t ve r mile (TRM)2.5 a nd TRM 5 .0 to e st im ate t he
t fr"lr"1 .HI /I (,Itl !{J(nu tmf q r e t i un for j uveni le c hinook sa lmo n (Fig.3 ).
..~
ALASK A
TA LKEET NA~--I..,.
STATI ON
P ROPOSED DEVIL
CANYON DAM SITE
f ~A RIV_~SUS 'c-«r
~
c rc ,.,.
I I I I
(lU Ll S
!41'1<••Su '.1
COOK I Nl.£T
Figure 1 .Map of juvenile salmo n outm 1g rat ion study field stati ons in
t he Su sitna Ri ver basin,1984.
EAST CHAKm IRlZl .11
~-••••••
g ••
~•..8
....•,..-m -...,.....,-I tt'
HOMZOHTAl,CMlTANCa am
I IU ULE cHAlm II I %%.11
•
•
l.llnJU PlIIHTS
...IT A110NAlltT ot/TIollQlll4Hf T1Uo~
•woeu OUT\oIIQA_r flItAl'
IUT CHUm 1111 ZZ.41
~••••••••
•
~;....
%••8"•..
..•••.........-...,.....,-"......'*",-
HOIftZOffTAL ClIau..c::r em
Fi gure IA.Bo t tom prafile of t he Susit na Ri ver at the stati onary
Qut mf grant t rap samp l i ng points at Fl athorn St at io n.
on Augu,t 23, 1984 at a mai ns tem disc ha rge of 114,000
US GS gaging stat ion at Sus i t na St atio n.
and roo bl1e
Meas ure<:!
cfs at the
..,
"
-";.
'".,
•
~l
.."-"'-
'".."
.....\'c,
'"'-""
".,
•,0
",'1 6
"
\:'"
,
.......,.,.,""""".,..
f
"
'.....
..\::"'~- '''-:'c:,.
.'
.'
'.
"..
,
I"..
,
.'
..
"
"
'"
"
,,
FLAT HORN
S TAT ION
,
SAM P LI NG POIN TS
•Slat lon a ,y Ou'ml\ltonl Tra p
•Mobil,Ou l ml\l f on l rrce
Figure 2 .Map of t he stationary Qutmi grant tr ap and th e mo bile outm i gran t
trap s ampling points on the Sus itna Riv er at Flatho rn Stati on,
1984 ,
MILES
IAppro•.Seo ••1
•
o
I
•
Fykl Net ---+M<:l'
We ir Site
(T RM 2 .51
IVl--••~illtEA
Figure 3 .Map showing t he l ocation of t he fy ke net we i r on t he Des hka
Ri ver ,1984 .
DRA FT /PAGE 7
4/2 2/85,5/6/85, 5/21/85
NUM I/Roth,5/1 5/85
2.1.3 Talkeetna Ri ver
A beach se ine s ampling s i te f or outm ig rant s wa s lo ca ted 1n th e no rth
channel of the Talkeetna River (RM 97 .5 )appro xi ma t el y one mil e upst re am
f romthe river's mouth .(F ig.4 ).
2.1.4 Talkeetna Station
Two stationary outmfqre nt traps were depl oyed on th e «a t nst em Susitna
River above the ChuT itna River confluence at Ta lkeetna St at io n (RM
103 .0)at the same locations used i n 1983 .One trap wa s set o f f t he
ea st ban k (Trap 11 and t he other off the west ban k (Tr ap 2)of t he ri ver
(Fig. 4 ).
2 .1.5 Coded wire ta g91no
Coded wi re tagg i ng 5 ites were se 1e eted from th ose locat 1ons above t he
Chulitna River conf luence where high density spawni ng by adu lt s was
recorded (Barrett et aT.1984 ),and from surveys of the ava il ability of
s uff ici ent numbers of post -enerqent c hum and so c k.e ye sal mon fry f or
collect i on and tag ging (Fig .4 ).Speci f ic coded wi re t agg i ng s ites (Fig.
4A )were :
Figure 4 .
(pro pose d On,l CanyontDOlfiSIl t
-Cod.d WI"TOGGln;8
Cold Brand '''Q 5,1.'
...
"
•.,
Map showi ng the reach wh~re j uvenile sal mon mar k-recapture s ites are
l oca ted (R M 122.2 to 144 .8 an d I nd ian Rfver) and the l ocat ions of the
Tal keet na stat10na ry outm fgrant t raps (RM 103.0),and t he Tal keetna
Ri ver sam pling sft e (TRM 1.0),19 84.
.SAMP L.I "l G S ITE
~.
LOUGH 21
SIDE CHANNEL SLOUGH 21
L OUGH 20
SLOUGH 19
SL OUGH II
UPPER SIDE CHANNEL II
SI DE CHANN EL 10
SLOUGH 9
SL OUGH BA
MOOSE SLOUGH
SLOU GH BB
S LOUGH 22
INDIAN RIVER
SLOUGH 17
SLOUGH 16
SLOUGH 15
-=-TAL KEETNA STATI ON OUTMIGRANT TRAPS
I
••,
",•iJ
Fi gu re 4A.Ma p o f coded wi re t agg i ng and co l d branding s it es in the
middle reach o f the Susitna Ri ver .1984 .
CDDcD WIRE TAGGI NG
SITES
Slough 8B
Slough BA
Slo ug h 9
Slough 11
Slough 15
Indian Riv er
Slough 20
Slough 21
Slough 22
2.1.6 Co ld bra nding
DRAFT/PAGE B
4/22/85.5/6/85.5/21 /85
NUM I/Roth.5/15/85
RIVER MILE
122 .4
125 .3
129.2
135.3
137 .3
138.6
140.1
142.0
144.3
A cold brand mar k-recapture study was c onducted at the mouth and at
numerous side channels and si de sloughs of Indian Ri ver (RM 13 8.6 )which
were found to contain large concentrations of juvenile chinook and coho
salmon .Indian River was divided into th ree s ec tions for this study.
Section I inc luded the mo uth upst ream to TRM 0 .5.Section II was the
portio n of Indian River from TRM 0.5 to 7.5 and Sectio n II I was fr om TRM
7.5 upstream to TRM 12.3 (Fig. 4).
Cold branding was also used to est imate the populat ions and study the
mo veme nts of juvenile sa lmon at the follow ing study si tes (Fig.4A):
COLO 8RANOING
SIT ES
Hoose Sl ough
Side Ch annel 10
Uppe r Side Channe l 11
Slo ugh 16
Slough 17
Slough 19
Sl ough 20
Side Cha nnel Slough 21
Slough 22
2.2 Field Da ta Co llecti on and Recording
2.2.1 Flathorn Stati on outmigrant traps
DRA FT I PAGE 9
4/2 2/85 ,5/6 185 ,5/21/85
NU MI/Roth,5/15/85
RIVE R MILE
123.2
133.8
135.9
13 7.7
138.9
139 .7
140 .1
141.1
144 .3
The stationary outm igrant tra p on the wes t bank of t he Susit"a Rive r at
Flathorn Station (RM 22 .4 )was operated from Ma y 20 t hrough October 1 ,
1984.A d e s c r i ~t i on of t his outmigra nt t rap is provided in AO F&G
(l985).The t rap was checked at l east twice e ach day to rem ove t hl
captu red f ish and to c le an the t rap.
The mo bil e outmigrant trap at Ftatho rn St ation was o perated for
appro ximatel y 20 days each mo nth f rom J uly 12 t hrough September 13 ,
198 4.A desc ript i on of the trap an d 1ts operation i s presented 1n AOF &G
(1 985).The trap wa s f ished for l O-minute per iods a t t en d i fferent
t ransect points during a fishin g day.
DPAFT /PAGE 10
4/22/85,5/6/85 ,5/21/85
NUMI /Roth,5/15/85
Habitat and bi ological data recorded for each check of the stationary
Dutm;grant t rap i nel uded fi shi ng effort (hours ),trap depth (feet).
di stance fr om shore (feet)I and catch by species and age c la ss.
Mainstem st age was recorded once ea ch day.The first 25 fish o f each
species and age class collected daily were measured for total length
(tip of snout to tip of tail)in mill imeters (mm).
Biological and habitat data for the s tationary trap were entered
d irectly i nto an Epson HX-20 microcomputer in the field .Operational
pro cedures for the microcomputer and the associated data form program
are presented in ADF&G (1985).Computer entries were made for each trap
check throughout the field s eason.Printouts and cassettes were
periodicall y tran sferred to Data Processing to be entered into a
mainfr ame computer for later data retrieval and analysis.
Transect number,fishing effort.total water column depth ,set velocity.
and drift vel ocity (if the trap wa s not held stati onary during the set )
were recorded for each indiv idual transect point at which the mobile
outmig rant trap was fi shed.Total catch by species and age class was
al so r~,.o rd ed ,and total length measurements were taken for all captured
fish.Data were recorded on a field data form for later anal ysis.
2.2.2 Deshka River outmigrant weir
A weir was establi shed on the Deshka River (RM 40.6 )using a f yke net
(3/16 inch square mesh)to block a portion of the r iver.The f yke net i s
described in ADF&G (1985).The weir was operated at varying tributary
DRAFT /PAGE 11
4/22/85.5/6/85.5/21 /85
NUMI /Roth .5/15/85
miles (TRM 2.0 -5.0)periodically from May 10 through June 22.The
weir was moved to TRM 2.5 on July 11 and was fished periodically through
September 18.Minnow traps were fished intermittentl y from late June
through mid October to supplement the weir data .
Fishing effort and total catch by s pecies and age class were recorded
for the outmigrant weir and the minnow traps.A sampl e of each species
and age class captured were measured for total length and scale samples
were collected for age determination.
2.2.3 Talkeetna River beach seining
Beach seining (1/8 inch squa re mesh)wa s conducted one to two ti me s each
week from June 5 through September 15 . Sampl ing was conducted to obtain
a s uff icient sample for comparative length and Qutmigration timing data.
Total cat ch by species and age cla ss was recorded ,All captured fish
were measured for total length and released .
2.2 .4 Talkeetna Station outmig rant traps
Two in clined plane outmigrant traps we re operated continuousl y i n t he
mainstem Susitna River at Talkeetna Sta t ion (RM 103 .0 )from fola y 14
through October 6 ,1984 using the methods outlined by Roth et a l .
(984).
DRAFT/PAGE 12
4/2 2/85,5/6/85,5/21/85
NU MI/Roth,5/15/85
Measu re me nts of the f ol low ing habitat paramet ers were recorded dail y at
the outmigra nt t raps :afr and sur face water temperatu re (OC)9 turb id ity
(NTU).wa ter velocity (ft/sec ).and main stem stage data .The equipme nt
and me thods used to collect the habita t da ta are gi ven 1n ADF&G (1985).
Trap fi shing depths and d istances from sh ore were ad justed to ma ximize
catches and minimize mortal ities.All j uvenil e f ish capt ured were
anesthetized using MS-222 (Tricaine methanesulfonate).Field specimens
were identified using the gu ide lines set forth by r~cConnel and Snyder
(197 2),Trautman (1973),and Morrow (1980). J uv enile chi nook and coho
sa lmo n collected at the traps were checked for a cold brand ma rk an d a ll
recovered mar ks were r ecorded.Ch um a nd sock eye s almo n j uve nil es with
a c lip ped adipose fi n we re passed through a dete ctor to verify t he
pre sence of a ceded wire tag .All coded wire ta gged f ish r ecovered a t
th e traps were preserved a nd t ags were late r emo ved and decoded usi ng a
rea ding j ig and a binocular mi croscope.All other fis h re covered a t t he
traps were held until anesthetic recovery was complete and then relea sed
downstre~m of the traps.
Sca1es were co llected from a r epresentati ve sub-sampl e of f ish captured
for comparison to lengt h f requency data f or fin al age c lass
determin at i on.B;'Jl ogical and habitat data we re e nte red di r ect ly i nto
an Ep son HX-20 mi cr ocompute r.
leng th and wei ght r ela ti onship data were also col l ected f rom s am pl e s of
ju venil e ch inook, coho,and s ockeye salmo n collec ted in t he out mig rant
DRAFT/PAGE 13
4/22/85,5/6/85,5/21/85
NUM1 /Roth,5/15/85
traps at Tal keetna Station .Total length was recorded to the nearest
millimeter and l ive weights were determined to the nearest 0.1 grain .
2.2.5 Coded wire tagging
The coded wire tagging was conducted at Slough 11 (RM 135.3 )from Ma y 16
through June 20,1984. The fish were transported from the collection
areas to Slough 11 in an aerated tub,tagged ,held for at least 24
hours ,and then returned to the collection areas.The fish were al so
held overnight at the collection areas prior to releas e.
The primary fish collection techniques were beach seines which were used
to weir off the downstream end of the collection area.These wei rs were
checked at least once each day to collect fish and remove debri s .Bea ch
seining and dip netting supplemented the weir catches at sites wh ere
wei ring alone did not provide enough fish for the taggi~g operation.
The coded wire tagging equipment and implantati on pro cedu re s a re similar
to those outlined by Roth et al .(1984 )using the gu idelines pr ovided by
Koerner (1977)and Mobe rly et a1.(1977 ).One -he 1f 1ength bt nary coded
wire tags measuring 0 .02 inches (0 .533 rnm )in length and 0.01 inches
(0.254 rnm )in diameter were used in th e study.The ca ptured f ish we re
separated by species and length prior to t agging .Ph y si cal dif fe r e nces
between fish required the use of sepa rate head molds for each s pecies
and length c las s.Fifty fish of each g roup were me asured f or t ot al
length to dete rm i ne the proper head mo lds fo r the tagging pro cedure.
DRAFT/PAGE 14
4/22/85.5/6 /85.5/21/85
NUMI /Roth.5/15/85
The adipose fin was clipped from each f ish prior to t agging to provide a
visual indicator of t he presence of a coded wire tag.At the end of
each tagg1ng day, a s ubsample of 10 0 tagged f ish were anesthetized and
passed through the qual itj control device to determine t~e ta g retent ion
ra te . Mortal ities were re corded the foll ow ing day and j ust prio r to
re lease.A s ingle t ag code was used for ea ch speci es tagged and f or
each coll ec ti on site.Si x dist ince tag codes were used for j uv enile
s ockeye sa l mon and fourteen dist in ct tag codes were us ed for j uvenile
chum 5a l/OOo.
Coded wire tagging data rec orded a t e ach sf te i ncluded date tagged.t ag
code.s pecies.number of f ish tagged .percent tag retent ion,mo rt al i ty ~
and date and time of release.Total numbers of fish tagged by species,
coll ec ti on si te.and release date as we ll as final tag retenti on and
morta li ty were tabu lated for each t ag code.
2.2.6 Cold brandi ng
Ma rkM recaptu re studies us ing cold bra nding were cond ucted f rom J uly
thro ug h mid Octo ber.Sites i n I ndian Rive r wer e sam pled twic e a month
a nd f ish we re ca ptu red.br a nded .and re leased cont inua ll y thro ughout the
field seas on. Sampling in the s loughs and si de channe ls of the Susitna
River was condu cted for f ive consecut ive days and captured f ish were
either branded and r eleased t he s ame day or held unt il the e nd of the
f ive day per iod before release .
DRAFT /PAGE 15
4/22 /85,5/6/85 ,5/21 /85
/lUm /Roth,5/15/85
Primary collection technique s were minnow traps,beach seines,and dip
nets .Captured fish were transported from the areas of coll ecti on to
the Gold Cree k field camp for cold brand marking .Cold branded fish
f rom all sites e xcept Indian Ri ver were held for 24 hours to dete rm ine
ma rking morLdlity before being release d at the area of collection.Fish
collected in Indian River were marked,held f or 24 hour s.and then
released at a side slough at TRM 7.2.
The brands consisted of single brass letters or symbols measur ing
approximatel y three mill imeters in height which were soldered onto
threaded brass caps.l iquid nitrogen was used as the c oolin g agent and
the branding procedures were similar to those outlined by Raleigh et al .
(1973).The cold branding equipment is desc ribed in ADF &G (1985).
Juvenile chinook and coho sal mon were mar ked with a distin cti ve brand to
sign ify the collection site and date of their capture .Fish we re mar ked
on one side o f the body at one of three ta rget brand ing area s (Fig.
5 ),and a branding t ime of two s econds was used .
Date,collection site,gear type,fishing effort,specie s,number of
fish captured ,and brand symbol we re re corded fo r each site.The number
of recapture s by species and the symb ols for previou sl y marked f ish were
also r ecorded.Total length wa s measured for 50 f ish of each species
during each s ampling trip.
-~--------
Six Brand ing Locat ions
111.'
...~..'••....='•.•
~)''a - '-b ·.c .," .-•,'...;':"',.J t .:·· ·!,"..".-:.!~...._----'".~·i <
L e ft S ide Right Sid e
a)anter ior t o d or sal f in
b)benea th dorsal f in
c )po s ter io r 10 do rsa l f in
Samp le Cold-Brands
U :::>n c
E I.LJ 3 [T1 ~........;
1 -.\."".'T ....-t ;;8 ~.'i .~.:-_w .
~.
L ...J 1 r
I -L-1 S
Figu re 5 .Br and ing l ocati on s and s amp le bra nds used f or col d branding chinook
and coh o sa l mon j uv enil es.19 84.
I
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DRAFT /PAGE 16
4/22/85.5/6/85,5/21/85
NUM1/Ro th.5/15:85
2.3 Oat.An alys is
2 .3.1 J uvenile salmon catc h per unit e f fort
The catch per uni t effort (CPUE )data collected f or j uv enile sa l mon at
the stat ionary outmtgrant trap s are pre sented as th e average catch per
hour for each calendar day of sampling ef for t.The ca tch was expanded
to 24 hou r i ntervals by dividing the numbe r of hours fi shed on a given
day i nto 24 a nd then multipl ying th is r atio by the c atch f or e ach
species and age class.
Th e catch r ates plotted for ea ch speci es ant ~ge cla ss of juvenile
s al mon coll ected at t he stationary traps were smoo thed us i ng the von
Hann li near f ilter (Di,on et al .1981). The equation is:
where :Z(t )=smoothed ca tch per hour for day (t)and
Yet )=observed ca tch per hour fo r day (tl
This i s simil ar t o a th ree day mov ing average ex cept that the cu rrent
day is weighted t wice as heavi ly as the preceding a nd sub sequent days .
Th e cUrmJ lative catch totals were adjusted for days not fished by
t abulati ng th e me an of t he t ota l catc hes reco rded for the three day s
precedi ng a nd t he t hree days following an unsam pled day.
DRAFT /PAGe 17
4/22/85, 5/6/85,5/21 /85
NUMI /Roth,5/1 5/85
length frequen cy di 5trfbut i on and se a1e ana1Y5 ;5 da t e we re used to
dete~ine th e age class compo sition of chinook,coho. and s ockeye salmon
juvenil es ,
We ights were c onverted t o grams and the data entered into a 1 inear
reg re ssion computer program t o provide the length/weight relationship
fo r e ach spe c ies.These data were used to provide est imates of the
t otal biomass pas sing the Talkeetna a nd Flathorn s t at io n outmigrant
traps by sampling period through the season .
2.3.2 Population and surv i va l estimates
Pot ential t:'gg deposition for chum and sockeye salmon was cal cula ted by
fTlJ1tiplying the average fecundity for e ach specie s by the est imated
number of female spawners that pa ssed Curry Sta tion in 1983 (Ba rrett et
al ,1984 ).The chum ,s ockeye,'and chinook s almon adult populat ion
estimates were r educed by 40%,39%,and 7%respectivel y,to account for
milling fish which eventuall y spawned below the Chulitna Ri ver
c onfl uence (Barrett 19B4;Barrett et el . 1984).The follow ing fonnula
was used to determine egg deposition :
Total potent ial egg deposition ={E l x (I-M)x (P)x (F)
where:
E =Adult population estimate at Curry Sta t ion
M=Percent mill ing
P =Percent females
F =Average fecund ity
-..
I
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DRAFT IP AGE 18
4/22/85 ,5/6 185, 5/2 1/85
NUMI/Roth ,5/15 /85
Population e st i mat es for chum and sock eye o utmigrants were c a l c ul ated
by the Schaefer (1951)me thod .Es ti ma tes of s urviv al fo r both spec ies
were det erm ined by dividing the population est ima te s by the c alcul ate d
potent i al egg depos iti on for ea ch spec ies .Onl y val f d tagged fish were
used in t he calcul ation s.The total nu mbe r of val id tagged fis h was
determ i ned by s ubtract i n9 the morta1it i es for ea ch day of ta ggi n9 f rom
the total number of fish tagged and then multipl y ing th is by the tag
retention rate.Total tag recove ries at the Talkeetna Station out-
migrant traps include only those fish with a coded wire ta g.Fish
hav ing a cli pped ad ipose f in but no tag were not con sidered i n the pa-
pu lat i on e st imates.
Populati on esti mat es f or chinook and coho s almo n we re calculated fr om
t he data coll ected dur ing t he cold branding study usi ng t he Petersen
(Chapman 1951)o r Sc haefer (1951 )metho ds,or by comparing c atch per
unit efforts.Egg-to-fry survival fo r chinook salm on i n i nd i an River wa s
extrapolated us ing the techn ique listed ab ove for detenminati on of chum
and sockeye survival except that the estimate of egg deposition wa s
reduced to represent the percentage of chinook (determined from peak
spawning counts)whi ch spawned i n Ind ian River.Fecundi tie s used were
those measured by Heal y and Heard (1984)f or Kenai River an d Co ok Inl et
ch inook s almo n.
2 .3.3 Env ironme ntal variab les
Result s of a statist ical time s eries ana lys is of d t s charqe ,t urbidi ty,
and age 0+c hi no ok and sockeye s al mon out mig ration are presented i n Part
4 of th is report .
DRAFT I PAGE i s
4/22 /85,5/6185 ,5/21/85
NUMI /Roth ,5/15/85
3.0 RE SULTS
The re sult s of the j uvenile salmon outmigration studie s are presented by
species .The c atch per unit effort (CPUE)data ar e presented as a
percentage of the highest CPUE (after smooth ing)recorded at the
st ationary t raps dur ing 1984 .The cumulat ive catch data a re presented as
a percentage of the total adjusted cumulat ive catch after application of
the smoothing funct ions.Juvenile salmon length data collected at
Fla thorn Station are from both the stati onary and mobile traps and the
length i nfo rma t ion presented for Tal keetna Stat ion i s from both the
stationa ry t raps located at this site.
3 .1 Chinook Sal mo n
3.1.1 Catch per unit effort
3.1.1.1 Age 0+
Chi nook s al mo n fry were collected i ncidenta lly during the coded wire
tagging study in May and June .As chum and s ockeye f ry were ta rgeted in
the coded wire tagg ing stud y 9 c hi nook c a tch rates were not re c orded.
Chinook fry were o bserved t o be most abundant at Sl ough 22 and Indian
Ri ver .
Th e cold brand ing study captured 26,823 chinook s al mo n f ry in Indian
Ri ver from J uly I t hrough Octobe r IS .Fifty eig',t percent of th is
1
DRAFT/PAGE 20
4/22 /85,5/6 /85,5/21/85
NUM1/Roth,5/15 /85
catch was recorded near the mouth of the river (section I ).30 %in the
lower portion (section II)and 12 %in the upper portion (section Ill ).
Beach seining of sections II and III during July captured 3,280 chinook
salmon fry;66%in section III and 34%in section II.Minnow tl"'i'pping
begun in Indian River in late July collected a total of 23,543 chinook
fry during 947 minnow trap days (defined as one trap day for each
overnight minnow trap set)for a season average of 24.9 fish per trap
day.
Catch rates in Indian River (Fig.6) were generally highest in s ect ion
II except during late August when high and turbid water conditions
reduced trapping effectiveness.The CPUE for chinook fry in Indian
River for all sections combined was highest during late July (average of
36 fish per trap day)and steadily declined through the season to a low
of 15 fish per trap day in early October .
A total of 11~875 chinook salmon fry were captured in sloughs and side
channels in the middle reach of the Susitna River during the cold
branding study from July 1 through October 15.Sloughs accounted for
84%of the catch while the remaining 16%were collected in side
channels .Beach seining during July and August collected 39 %of the
total catch at these sites while minnow trapping begun in early
September captured 61 %of the chinook fry.
,
C HIf'IOOK 0 +I I'lO IAN P illE R 1 9 8 4
4'
"'"~\~5 -
~-,.,..
.:..\~~.~30
«
'<.----"'"~
'"25 e \~,""..wc,
:I:cs 20 ....,::'''.•--I~
~"-...~I'J
15 "< ;-.~~I I
10 -
.......<,I
15
L JUL E Aue l Au e E SEP L 5 EP E ':'(T
SAMPLIN C P ER IOD
Figure 6.Ch inook sa lmon (age 0+)average catch per minnow trap by
sampling period and survey section In Indian River.19 84.
OkAFT /PAGE 21
4/22/85.5/6/85. 5/2 1/85
NUMI /Roth.5/15 /85
The 7.291 c hi nook se lmcn fry captured by minnow t rapping a t s lough a nd
side channel site s i n th e middle r iver were collected dur ing 378 minn ow
trap da ys for an a ve rage of 19 fi sh per trap day.Mean CPUE by s tu dy
site ranged f rom a hig:.of 48 f is h per trap day at Slough 22 during
earl y October to a low of 3 fish per t rap day at Side Ch a nn el 21 in lat e
September.
A total of 14,110 chinook s al mo n fry we re c oll ected a t t he Talkeetna
Station outmtqrant t raps.Peak c atches were re corded f rom la te Jun e
through earl y August and the hi ghest catch rate of 17.3 chinook fry per
hour was rec orded on Jul y 26 (Fig .7).Fifty perc ent of the catch was
re corded by July 20.Catches decreased a fter e arly August and the la st
capture of chinook fry at thi s s ite wa s re corded on Sept em ber ?9.
A to tal of 2 ,118 chi nook se 't non fry were captured in th e st atio na ry
outmigrant t rap at Flathorn Stat ion.Catch rates were gre ate st between
late J une and l ate August (Fig.8 ).The chinook f ry catch r ate at th is
site peaked at 7.8 f ish per hour on J uly 23,50%of th e captures we re
r ecorded by Jul y 13 ,and the la st capture wa s recorded on September 30.
The highest catch rate of t he Flath orn St ation mob ile t rap was 16.2 fis h
per hou r,recorded on J uly 23 (Fi g.9).Of the 189 chinook f ry
coll ected in the mobile trap dur ing 19 84,60:we re captured at bank
t ransect sampling points and t he re ma ining captu res occurred at center
channel s ampli ng site s (Fig.10).
,;
",
B O TH TF:AP :::,(-+-
8 0 \
I
7 ,}.
6 <)~
00 l It /
-><).);'I I
cOO J I If .,\\"'~.i "\A ~i,1 .;;,(,.,~.:'.'-+,.illl 11 1nrm 1tI11l lll iil ,Iill II i 'i lli l II III i ll i"I,ill i iii ill ,111I 11 1111 ill lil ",llllli Illl i ilti '11 11 ,Ii I "j ,il lT,-,jli i erm ,I :Tr."":':":'"
M..W 1 4 JrJ 1 .n"1E J,(1 J i 1 6 A 1 ;..1 f.:
DATE
S t '.?16 oc r '
Figure 7,Chinook salmon (age 0+)smoothed dail y catch per un it effort
and adjusted cumula ti ve catch recorded at the Tal keetna
s tationary outmigrant traps,May 14 t hrcugh Oc tober 6 ,19 84.
FLAT H O R f\1 S TATIOf\1 C HII 'IO O r-,C'+
S 1 S 15 OCT
7.CU MlJLAnv E
Y.o r H IGHEST CP U E
A 15A
I
J\__I
IIlllllillilllllllililltlilllillillllllliillllllllillllll illiff ii} l tillillli i'Tiltl l rtlln rrl
JY 1 JY 1 5
10 1)
gO
80
70
00
!;
w
<J 5 0'"...
"-40
30
2 0
10
0
MAY Z O JN 1 IN 15
DATE
Figure 8 .Chinook sal mon (age 0+)smoothed daily catch per un it e ffort
and adjusted cumulative catch recorded at the Flathorn
stat ionary ou tm lgrant trap.Ma y 20 t hrough Octobel'I ,198 4.
'l:ll -r------ -Tr- - - - - -- --- --------- -- - -- --
•
C
.'(l
,~"I
_II _
• -Not ••II\O"d
b -No F..h C.ll"",.d i
~o -
·",'!'<:,t"J -
"
,"'':'4 ['_•~·~:r
'"c.
•
1 2 15 20
Figure 9.Chinook salmon (age 0+)daily catch per unit effort recorded
at the Flathorn mobile outmigrant trap,July 12 through
August 30,1984_
.AGE 0+CHIi'JOOf<:SEASO N CATC H
21
20 /
19 //
18 //
/
17 //
I.//
%'//
&!15 //
'"'"'i::u
.J 13
;!12..,
11~...10
0 9~
%8...7oa:s...
0.5..
3
2
1
0
"1 2 3 .."5 "."7 8 9 ·'0
TRANSE CT POINT N UMBER
•BAN K TRANSECTS
Ffgure 10 .Chfnook salmon (age 0+)percent of total catch by samp ling
pofnt r ecorded at the Flathorn mobile outm fgrant trap.1984.
DR AFT /PA GE 22
4/22/85. 5/6/85 . 5/21 /85
NUMI /Roth. 5/15/85
The O es ~ka Ri ver weir captu red 1,808 chinook s almon during 1984
(Appendi x Table A-II .Eighty-eight percent of the captures were
recorded du ring July and the peak catch rate of 2 1. 2 fi sh per hour was
re corded on Jul y 25 .Minnow trap catches at thi s site were highest
during late June a t 8 .7 fi sh per t rap (Appendi x Table A-2).
A total of 1 ,356 chinook salmon fry we re colle ct ed in the lower reach of
the Susitna Ri ver by the Juvenile Aquatic Habi tat St~d ies (JAHS )surveys
from June through earl y October (see Part 2 of th is report ).Catch
rates f or all sites comb ined peaked in Au gust and then decreased ~h ro u g h
ea rly October (Fig.II).
3 .1.1.2 Ag e 1+
Age 1+chinook s al mo n were captured in cidentally during the co ded wi re
tagging ~tudy in Ma y an d June and were most abundant at Indian River and
Slough 11.No age 1+chinook were captured during the cold brandin g
s tudy begun in July , as mo st of the se f ish had outmi grated by that t ime.
Peak catch rates of the 1,321 age 1+chinook captured at the Talkeetna
Station outmigrant t raps were reco rded dur ing the deployment of the
tra ps in mid May and again i n mid and late June (Fig. 12 ).Fifty
percent of the s eason catches occurred b ~'June 23.The highest catch
rate f or th is age c las s was 3 .6 f i sh per hour recorded on Ma y 15 and the
las t age 1+chin ook wa s captured in the traps on Aug ust 7 .
,......
C H INOO K C PUE 1 9 84
100
7 0
8 0
..,7 0
"0-
U eo
~
'"..,
50z
>lz
~4()
o
"3 0
~o
10
0
..%
'//
//-'"/.//,1
E JU ;~L J UN E JUl L JUL E Aue L Au e E $EP L ~EP C ccr
SAMPUNG P ER IOD
Figure 11.Chin ook sal mo n (age 0+)catc h per unit effo rt by sampling peri od
r ecorded at JAHS s ites In th e lowe r reach of the Sus ltna River .
1984.
TA LKEET NA B OTH TRAPS
A 1£·J ','1 6
1\
I
IN 1 I N 1 e.J ';1MA':14
10 ,"'1 -';'--.----- - - - - - - -r-- - --- --------oJ
80 i\
,I
70 l'
I::~
4 (),1\
3 0 ~\I
"0 ,y\J!I !.l I '
10 ~/~\.vll I
I)~j"i II III ill III i,~jLi Iii 111 m I i i ii h li 1,111l illi .",ili Ii i ii ,l i lli .ttl Il lil l'TT ,llj ,j ,il li'I lli n.n l "l ,l ""I i ,I,lll ll l'"".'"Ii i,!
'';'':.;1-:'•'f~"':'
DATE
Figure 12.Chin oo k salmon (age 1+)smoothed dail y catch per un it e ffort
and adjus ted cumulative catch recorded at the Tal ke etna
s tat ionary outm1 grant t raps ,Ma y 14 through Oc tober 6, 1984 .
DRAF T/PAGE 23
4/2 2/85 ,5/6 /85,5/21 /85
NUMI /Rot h,5/15/85
Catch rates for the 346 age 1+chi nook s al mo n captured a t Fla t horn
St ation were highest dur ing early J une (Fig. 13).The highest CPU E of
6.4 fish per hour was recorded o n June 14 (SO t o f the seas on tot al by
thi s date)and the last age 1+chinook.was collected at th is s ite on
August 23.
N-ne age 1+chi nook sa lmon were collected i n the Des hk a Rive r du ring
wei r and minnow t rap s ampl i ng , with t he l ast cap ture recorded on October
10 .
3 .1.2 Growth
3.1.2 .1 Ag e 0+
Chinook f ry co l lected between Talkeetna and Devil Canyon (middle river )
averaged 43 nm during late May and showed a steady growth through the
season to a mean leng th of 64 Il1II by early Octob er (Fi g. 14).Age 0+
chinook coll ected between Cook Inlet and Talkeetna (lower river)du ring
t he s ame pe riod averaged c onsi st entl y l arger t han fry co ll ected 1n the
middle rive r.Chinook fry 1n the l ow er rive r i ncreased from a me an
l engt h of 41 ImI in late May t o 75 ImI i n earl y October .Th e number of
fish mea sured.mean length,a nd range of le ngths by sa mpl ing per iod for
chinook sal mon fry are presented f or each data co ll e ction a rea in
Append ix Table A-3 and A-4.
F LATH OR N STATI ON C H If'JOO K 1 +
r.C UMU LAnvE
%o r H IGHEST C PU E
11'I1iii'iii'n,lIlTfi'rillililillillllllllllllllllll lll illll t
'00
9 0
8 0
70
8 <)
~zw
"50'"W
0.
40
3 0
/
20 #
10 1/\-'\
0 1\JV
M<Jy 2 0 Jr ~1 I N 1S .ffl JY1 6 A l
DATE
A 1 6 s ,S 1 6 O c t 1
Figure 13 .Chinoo k s.lmon (age 1+)smoothed dally catch per unit effort and
ad justed cumulat ive catch recorded at the Flathorn s ta tiona ry
out mig rant trap.May 20 t hrough October I ,19 84.
C HINOOK 0+1984
9 0 -.--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
I
E S EA..S Efl -E ')(1
5 0
//
.-/
~~SuaItN RIver
/~.----'--..;;;;;;;:;;.-------
?---/'
45-,//
1//
40 41- --,- -,------,-- --,- -,---,---..,-------1
L t..1AY E J u r~L JU t~E JU L L JUL E Aue l Au e
75
7 0
~
~3 S -w .-
"
SAM~L1NG PER IOD
Figure 14 ,Ch in oo k salmon (age 0+)mean length and r ange of length <by
sampl ing per iod fo r fi sh collected i n the lowe r and mi~dle
reach of the Sus 1tna River,1984.
Age 1+chinook sa lmon for a ll sites sa mpled averaged 78 rrm dur ing May
lengths f or th is age class stayed the same through late J uly by wh ich
time most of the age 1+c hinook had migrated out of the Susftna River.
provide a ,e lationsh ip between length and we ight for fi sh passing th is
Average
DRAFT /PAGE 24 j
4/22/85,5/6/85,5/21/85
NU M1/Roth. 5/15/85 1
I
I
I
I
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I
3.1.2 .2 Age 1+
A samp le of juvenil e chinook wa s measu red at Talkeetna Station to
and the mean length increased to 90 lTIII dur ing early J une .
site (Fig. 15).
3.1 .3 Cold brandfng
A tota l of 23.406 chinook sal mon f ry we re cold branded i n Jndian Ri ver
between Ju l y 1 and October 15 ,19 84 (Table 1).One hundred f orty-seven
of these marked fish were late r recaptured in Indian River ,five were
captured in the Talkee tna Stat ion outm igran t traps ,and fiv e were
captured below Indian River in side channels and sloughs associated with
the mafnstem Susitna River.The time between release of ma rked chinook
f ry i n Ind ian River at TRM 7.2 and their s ubsequent re capture at th e
rrouth o f this tributary ranged from nine to 70 day s with a me an o f 30
days . The five chinook fry bran ded in Indian Ri ver which were collected
in the outmi grant traps at Talkeetna Station averaged 17 days between
rel ea se and recapture with a r ange from 8 to 26 days .
A total o f 9,802 chinook salmon fry were cold b randed in s loughs and
si de ch anne ls in the middle r iver between July 1 a nd Oc tober 15.Of
LI NEAR RE GRE SSION -C HI N OOK S A L MON
6 ,-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------,
In 'J =-12.71 -+3.24 In.
n Ac tu a l Dolo
Reg res s io n Une
c
o
4
5
•Ee
'".E
:l'3
.S!'••
907050
o +----~--~---~---~--~~--__l
3 0
To lal len gth in mi llimete rs
Figure 15.The linear r egres si on of the weight /l ength r el at ionship f or
j uvenil e chi nook salmon collected at the Tal keetna stati onary
outm i grant traps,1984 .
,
DRA FT /PACE 1
5/1)/85,5 /21/85
M.l'C l8/Table 6
fa ble 1 .f he nl,Wllbe r o f ch ltlOOk ull'lQn f ry aa rked .."r ecovered ,.Indlln Rive r by
sa~pl l ng per i od,198'.
Reca pt ure Per iod
NUfIlbe r
Ma r king o f F1 s h Jul y August August Sept .Sept .Oc t
Perl o d Ma rked 16·)1 1-15 16 -)1 1-15 1 6-)0 1· 15 Tou l
July 1-15 2,093 26 10 5 2 3 3 .,
July 16· )1 1.92'5 •5 5 2 21
August 1-15 6 .73 5 •17 ••..
Au gut 16-31 3 ,806 •5 2 11
Sept_tier 1-15 5 ,'92 17 ,"5e ptefllber 16-)0 ),356
f OfAL S 23 .'06 2.15 17 28 38 23 ,.,
DRAFT/PAGE 25
4/22/85,5/6/85,5/21 /85
NUM1/Roth,5/15/65
these fish,643 (6.6%)were later recaptured;631 in the same slough
they were originally marked and released.six fish in sloughs and side
channels downstream from their release sites,four fi sh in the Talkeetna
Station traps and two fish at sites upstream from their points of
release.The branded chinook fry collected in the Talkeetna outmigrant
traps averaged 12 days between release and recapture with a range f rom8
to 17 days.
3.1.4 Population estimates
Females comprised 43.9 t of the estimated population of 8,450 adult
chinook salmon (greater than 350 mm)which passed Curry Station in 198 3
(confidence intervals (C.l.)of 5,700 to 13,150 fish).Indian River
chinook comprised 26.9%of the peak spawning survey counts (Barrett et
al .1984).An estimated 10.635,000 eggs we re deposited in Indian River
during 1983 which prov ided a total production of 3,211,000 chinook
salmon fry during 1984, a surv ival rate of 30.2%(C.I .- 19.4 to 44.8%).
The cal culations used in the Schaefer estimate of population for chinook
fry in Indian River are provided 1n Appendix B.
Population estimate experiments were conducted at four sloughs and three
side channels in the middle river during the cold brand ing study (Table
2).Populat ions were estimated at a high of 47,050 chinook fry in
Slough 22 to a low of 3,420 in Upper Side Channel 11.
Yeble 2.
DRAFT /PACE 1
5/13/85,5/21 /85
NUM1BITabie 5
Chinook :!>lImon fry,populat fon e sttemtes by site for s loughs and side
channels s urveyed f n the 5us l tna River ab ove the Chuli tna River confluence.
1981t.
Sampling Brandi ng Recapture Est imate Population
Site Dates Dates Method Estf on ite
Upper S ide Channel 11 7119 •8/1 7/30 8/2 Scha efer 3.'20
Side Channel I.7/16 •7/19 7/17 7/20 Schae fe r 7.630
Hoose Sl ough 8/8 - 8 /11 8/9 •8 /12 Schaefer 4.990
Slough 22 9/8 -9/13 10 /8 Peter sen 47 ,050
Slough "8/29 9/26 Petersen It ,5.so
Si de Channe l 21 9/2'-9/26 CPU'Index 3 ,700
S lough 20 10/8 •10/ 12 CPU'Index 13 ,800
·1 -:..._------
DRAFT/PAGE 26
4/22/85,5/6/85,5/21/85
NUMI/Roth,5/15/85
3.2 Coho Salmon
3.2 .1 Catch per un it effort
3.2.1.1 Age 0+
Juvenile coho salmon were observed du ring the coded wire tagging study
to be most abundant at Indian Rive r .Catch rates were not recorded .
The cold branding study collected 1.548 coho salmon fry in Indian River
from July I through October IS.Of this catch .3n of the coho were
captured i n Sect ion I,44%in sect ion II and 26%in 5Pctfon III .Beach
seining of sec tions ([and ([I du ring July captured 444 j uvenile coh o
salmon ;76 %i n section II and 24 %in sect ion III.Mfnnow trapp ing begun
in late Ju ly captured 1.129 j uvenile coho sa lman du ring 947 minnow trap
days for a season average of 1.2 coho per t rap day. Of these catches .
43%were recorded in the lower section ,3 U in the middle sect ion .and
26 %in the upper section.
The catch per unit effort for all Indian River sections combined was
steady through t he season rangi ng from 1.1 to I.5 fi sh per trap day
(Fig .16).Catches of coho fry were always highest in section ([(wh ich
averaged 5 .0 coho per trap day over the season.Season average CPUE i n
section II was 1.4 coho per trap da y and Secti on I averaged 0.8 coho per
trap day .
A total of 90 coho sal mon fry were captured during the cold branding
study in sloughs and s ide ;hannels in the middle Susftna River.
F1gure 16.Coho salmon (age 0+)average catch per m1nnow t rap by sampl lng
perlod and survey sectlon ln Indian Rlver,1984.
DRAFT /PA GE 27
4/22/85,5/6/85, 5/2 1/85
NU MI /Roth,5/15/85
Ninety-f ive percent of the coh o catch was recorded i n s lough habi tats in
this reach.Beach s eining during Jul y and Au gust c aptured 40%o f th e
season's total catch while minn ow t rapping during September and earl y
Oc tober collected the remaining 60%(average of 0.2 coho per t rap da y),
Daily minnow trap CPUE ranged from a low of 0 .01 at Slough 22 and Side
Channel 21 in September t o a high of 7.6 coho per t rap da y at Slo ug h 14
o n September 10.
Peak catches for the 1 ,830 age 0+coho salmon coll ected at the Talk eetna
Stat ion out mi grant tr aps were recorded during late July and August ,and
the highest catch rate of 2.9 coho f ry per hour wa s recorded on July 30,
by which t ime 50%of the season total ha d been reco rded (Fig .17).The
la st coho fr y was cap tured i n the traps on October 4 .
A total of 441 age 0+coho salmon were captured at the Flathorn
stat ionary outmigr ant tr ap during 1984.Cat ch rates were highest dur ing
late Augu st and late September and the peak catch rate of 1.5 fish per
hour was recorded in the t rap on September 30 (Fig.18 ). Fi fty perc en t
of the catch at this site occurred by August 26 .Onl y 16 age 0+coho
were captured i n the mobile trap at Flathorn Station.
A t otal of 380 age 0+coho s almon were captured in t he lower Sus it na
River du ring the J AHS stud y (see Pa rt 2 of t his report ). Catch ra tes
were highest during the la te s unme r sampling and tne pea k cat ch rat es
were recorded in earl y Oc tober (Fi g.19).
"'..
T ALl<EETt-I A B OTH T P A F"~,,-.-t,:"-I
I.-'l_';-"1 '--(:+-
l0 C'l r ---- -- - -- --- - -:jr - - - -..,.--_--.--:
/'.,:::~1//'
7 :)-l
,J 1\
0°1 II ,
::~f,/~\I \t/\
2 0 ~l\\I I \i \
10 I ~~~.':)j J '\I \1 L v .J''c ,
o t r-:\.-\_·'_I ..\~-._.
,)tlilllilil'fi7i ,;nIlM~I"'IIIi1 .n ,iillj,.ilill i ,t1 llj1lfj llli ji ,jj .i!li ,,,Ill ,,,i l li,,,ilt ioi li i il ,,,II li i H"
MAY 1 4.Jt.l 1 In ,6 .1'(1 J Y I E·A 1 A IS S
[;t-TE
Figure 17 .Co ho sa lmon (age 0+)smoothed daily catch per un ft effort and
ad justed cumulative catch recorded at t he Talkeetna s tat i onary
outmfgrant t raps,May 14 through October 6 .1984.
FLAT H OR i'J STAT ION AG E 0 +COHO
1/
-7.C U MULATIv E
-n O F HIGHEST C PV E /
V
"i ~l_V \I\.)",J VVV ,-...
'''0
3 0
8 0
70
6 0....z
'"c 50tx
'"0-
40
3 0
2 0
10
o
MAY 2 0JN 1 I N 15 .J'(1 JY 1 5 A 1 A 15 S 1 S 15 0 CT
CATE
Fig ure 18 .Co ho s almo n (age 0+)smoot hed dail y catch per un i t effort an d
ad just ed cumu l ative catch recorded at t he Fl athorn s tationary
outmi grant tra p,May 20 thro ugh October I ,1984 .
~~-_.~----
•
C O H O C P U E 1984
10 0
//
//'..,,9 0 //
/,-
80 //r >/
7 0 -:..'/u
//"////0-w 60 // /
~r »,',/~.//
<A /.//,///'//u 50 r >.:I:/,(,/////'",,////:I://///...40 /.~/."//
<)/'/''///
"/~</,./
30 '/
/-;/,
///;/
0 0 "/.r/'/.
10 ~'~J-j/,//0
E JUN L J UN E JUL L JUL E AUG L AUG E SEP L S EP E O CT
5.AMP LING P ER IOD
Figu re 19,Coho salmon j uv eniles catch pe r unit effort by sampl i ng per iod
r ecorde d at JA HS si tes I n th e l ower re ach of th e Su s l tna
Riv er,1984.
DRAFT/PAGE 28
4/22/85,5/6/85,5/21/85
NU MI/Roth, 5/15/85
The Desh ka Ri ver we ir captured 95 coho sal mo n fry duri ng 1984;the pe ak
catch rate of 1.3 f ish per hour was recorded on July 25 (App e nd ix Table
A-I ).Minnow t rap catches at th is s ite were highest dur ing late Augus t
at 2.6 coho per trap (Appe ndix Table A-2).
3.2.1.2 Age 1+and older
Age 1+ co ho salmon were co llected s poradica ll y during th e coded wire
taggi ng study in May and June with the highest concentrations observed
i n Slough 11 and Indian River .the co ld branding study from Jul y
through early October captured 25 age 1+coho at Indian River and 18 at
middle river slough and side channel sites dur ing the season .
Pea k catche s for the 1,425 age 1+coho salmon juvenile s captured at t he
Talkeetna Station Qutmfgrant traps were observed i n mid June and were
again high in late July and .late August (Fig .2D).Fifty percent of the
catch was recorded by June 25. The highest catch nte for these age
c l asses was 1 .6 fi s h per hour reco rded o n June 18 a nd the l ast capture
was on October 2.
Catch rates f or the 291 age 1+ coho s a lmo n juveniles captured at the
Flathorn stationary o utm igrant t rap were highest during i ate A'lgust and
September (Fig.21)and the highes t CP UE of 0.3 coho per ho ur was
recorded on September 3 . Fi fty percent of the total catch was recorded
by August 30 and the l as t capture of these age clas ses wa s October 1.
The mobile out migrant trap captured 10 age 1+ coho s almon during the
s eason.
FLATHOR N STAT IO!'J CO HO 1 +&:'7 +
.
)
1/,
I-~C U M ULAnvE I-~O F Hlc.H EST ("pur
-
\~\Iji»..
I.
I \)I
~\
o
MAY'~J V N lJU~~15 J UL 1 JUL 15 Aue l A ue 1 5 S EP l SEP 16 O CT
DATE
'00
90
8 0
70
6 0
~zwo '0'"wc,
4 0
JO
~I)
'0
Figure 20 .Coho s almon (age 1+and older)smoothed dally catch per unlt
effort and adjusted cum ulatl ve catch re corded at the Tal keetna
statlonary outm lgrant traps,May 14 through October 6,1984 .
TAU<EET ~J A B O TH TPAF"::i COHO 1 +,S':
...
~
/\
,\I '"'-":-I _.~''--
"•.Ii III lit 'l id ,t il ..,"."'"II ·rnrtrnrt-''' '"..,;
j
,,
1 <)<),,----------------===,....---,
0 0 J,
S,)l
::~
SO l
4.0 ..{l
1\i\3°1 J\2 0 -1 \~f\/1C-l Y
"~
'-'"-~a.
'.1AY 1 4..JtJ ~I N 16 .IY ,~t f;'';:"S '':,....•
Figure 21,Coho salmon (age 1+and older)smoothed daily catch per un it
effort and adjusted cumulative catch recorded at the Flathorn
stationary outmlgrant trap.May 20 through October I,19 84.
DRAFT /P AGE 29
4/22 /85,5/5/85, 5/21/85
NU MI /Roth,5/15/85
The JAHS s tudy i n the lower river coll ected 62 age 1+ coho s a lmon
j uv eniles with mo st of the captures bein g recorded at tributary s ite s in
t his re ach .
The Oe shka River we ir collected 26 age 1+coh o wh i le min no w trapping at
this site cap tured 119 f is h.Catches were observed throughout the
s eason with a peak rate of 6.2 coho per trap recorded in late August .
A to tal of 44 age 2+c oho seleon j uveni les were collected during the
1984 stud ies .Talkeetna St ation, Flathorn Sta ti on and the Desh ka River
accounted f or 95%of the cap tures of th is age class .
3.2.2 Grow th
3.2 .2.1 Age D+
Co ho f ry col lected i n the lower ri ver were con si stentl y larg er than t he
fry coll .cted in the middle river throu9ho ut the season (Fi g.22 ). Coh o
fry co ll ected between Talkeetn a a nd Dev il Canyon averaged 40 ITITI total
length during late May and sh owed a steady growth to a mean of 58 mm by
la te August .Coh o f ry in the lower river averaged 42 mm i n ea rly June
and had g row n t o a mea n length of 71 mm by l ate Se pt emb e r.The numb er
of f is h mea sured,me an l ength, and range of lengths by s am pling period
f or co ho fry are presented fo r each data co llect i o n a rea in Append ix
Table A-5 and A-5.
•
C OHO 0 +1984
72 ,--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---:l
·' 0
68
6 6 -
64
62
~:e 60 -"~58
I
~56
~54
J
'i 5 ~
w 5 0 -
"4'3
46
44
4 2 -
4 _)
LAue E S EF'L S E?
E O,T
E J UL L JU L E AUG
SAM PLING P ERIOD
l J UN
38 -+-- -,-- -,-- -,-- -,-- -.,-- -.,-- -,---1
L ",,\AY E JU fJ
Fi gu re 22 .Coho salmo n (age 0+)mea n length and range of l engths by
sampl ing per i od for f i sh collected i n t he lowe r and middle
re ach of t he 5us it na River,1984 .
DRAFT /PAG E 3D
4/22/85,5/6 /85, 5/2 1/8 5
NUMI /Roth,5/15 /85
3.2.2.2 Age 1+and older
Age 1+coh o s al mo n j uv eniles collected in the lower river also averag ed
lar ger thr ou gh the s eason than fi sh of the s ame age cl ass coll ected i n
the middle r iver (Fig.23 ).Age 1+coho averaged 70 mm total length in
both reaches durin g Ma y and i ncreased to 104 mm i n the mi ddl e river and
1 11 ifill in th e lower river by early October .leng th data by collecti on
area and s ampl ing peri od are prov ided i n Appendi x Tabl e A-7 an d A-B.
Age 2+coho s al mo n juvenile s collected during the 1984 s tudies averaged
137.1 mm and ranged from 114 t o 176 mm (Append ix Table A-9 ).
A s ample o f ju venile co ho s almon were measured a t Ta l ke etna Sta tio n to
provide a rela tio nship between l ength and we ight f or fish passing this
s ite (Fig.24 ).
3.2 .3 Col d branding
A t otal of 1,4 80 juvenile coho s almon were cold branded i n Ind ian River
from Jul y 1 through October 15 .Of thfse fish ,fi ve were re c aptured i n
Indian Rive r and two were rec overed at t he Talkeetna Sta tion outmig rant
traps.The mar ked co ho recapt ured i n Indian Rive r were branded and
re leased at TRH 11 .5 on July 17 and re captured at TR~l 2 .2 between
Sept embe r 9 and 11 ,f or an ave rage o f 55 days betwee n rel eas e and
re cover y.The two branded coh o recovered at Ta l keetn a Stat ion were
relea sed i n India n Riv er o n Au gust 12 and were recovered i n th e outm i-
CO HO 1 +1984
Low.,au.8na RIv.,
11 5
1 ~O
105
100--~
~9 5~
I
~
"g Oz
'"....
z 85
"'"~80
/
7 5
7 0
6 5
MAY JUNE JULY
SAMP LIN G PERI OD
AUG S EP-OCT
Fi gu re 23.Coh o salmon (age 1+)me an le ngth by mon th fo r f ish col lected
in the lower and middle r each of th e Susitna Riv er,1984 .
LI NEA R R EGR ESSION -C O HO SA LMOf'.1
2 2 ,..-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----",
In.,=-12.23 +3 .12 In II
/
/o
o Ac t u al Doto
Regres 9ion li rl9
1201008060
20
18
1 6•E 14e
'".s 12
~s:
.2'10•••8
:J
6
4
2
0
40
T otal le ngth in mi llimet ers
Fig ure 24 .The l inear regress i on of t he we ight/length re lationsh ip f or
j uvenile coho sal mon coll ect ed at the Talkeetna ,t atlonary
out ml grant traps .1984.
DRAFT /PAGE 31
4/22 /85.5/6/85.5/21/85
NUMI /Roth.5/15/85
grant traps on August 31 and September 22; 19 days and 41 day s.
respectively,between release and recovery.
A total of 106 juvenile coho salmon were cold branded at ~l ou g h and s ide
channel sites,and the only recapture was recorded at Talkeetna Station.
The recaptured fish was marked and released at Slough 14 on September 10
and was recovered in the traps on September 16.
3.2.4 Population estimates
Since only 100 to 200 of the estimated 750 adult coho passing Curry
Station in 1983 entered Indian River,and since juvenile coho of the
same brood year outmigrate as age 0+,1+,and 2+f ish.few juvenile coho
salmon were captured for marking during the 1984 cold branding stud ies .
Too few branded coho salmon were recaptured to provide population
estimates for any of the sites surveyed.
3 .3 Sockeye Salmon
3.3.1 Catch per unit effort
3 .3.1.1 Age 0+
Sockeye salmon fry were collected during the coded wire tagging s tudy i n
May and June at sloughs SA t 9t I1 t and 21 but catch rates were recorded
only for Slough 21.These data were determined from 24 hour fy ke net
catches and are presented in Appendi x Table A-IO.
DRAFT /PAGE 32
4/22/85,5/6/8 5,5/21/85
NU H1/Ro th,5/15/85
A tota l of 248 s ockeye s almon fry were c aptured at sl ough a nd sid e
c hannel s ites in the middle riv er and i n Ind i an Ri ver duri ng beach s ei ne
S3 1J1P1;n9 conducted in Jul y and August,Of the se f 1sh,94%were co 1-
le cted -in sloughs and the rema ining 6%were collected i n Indian River
and at mainstem side channels .
Peak c atch ra te s fo r the 7 ,484 age 0+ s ockeye salmon fry col lected at
the Talkeetna St at ion o ut mig rant traps were recorded i n mid June and
earl y Ju ly with the highest da il y catch ra te of 13.0 s oc keye fry per
hour oc curri ng on June 18 (Fig.2 5) .The ma jor down stream red istri-
buti on of s ockeye fry in th is reach had occurred by mid Jul y (50 %by
July 4 ).The last sockeye f ry at Talkeetna Station was observed on
October 4 .
Juv enile soc keye catches at the Flathorn stat i ona ry outmfgrant trap were
great est dur ing May and Ju ne but the dow nstream mo vemen t of s ockeye f ry
c ontinued through the open water sea son (Fig.26).A t otal of 2 ,315
sock eye fr y were collected in the trap during 19 84.and the pea k catch
rate of 4 .6 f ish per hou r was recorded on June 8.Fifty percent of the
catches had occurred by Ju ne 29 and the las t capture was October 1.
Mobil e t rap catches of s ockeye f ry at Flathorn St ation were hi ghest
during June and the pe ak catch rate of 5 .4 fis h per ho ur was recorded
on J uly 12 (F ig. 27).Of the 114 soc keye co ll e cted i n th e mob ile trap
dur ing 1984.59 %wer e captured at ban k transect po ints (Fi g.28).
T,AU<E E TNA BOT H TRAP S
-*
,i 111
M .:l..Y 1 4.J f..I 1 IN 1!)J ,(1 JY 1 6 A
DATE
.\1t3 5
Figure 2S,Sock eye salmon (age 0+)smoothed dal ly catch per un it effo rt
and adjusted cumulative catch recorded at the Tal keetna
stationary outmig rant traps.May 14 t hrough October 6 . 1984 .
FLA.THOR f'J STAT I O N SO CK EY E 0 +
\
~o
au
7 0
roo T - -r;- - -- - - - - - -- - - - =:;;== ==-,
'0
I I::II I
10 \J
~CU Mu LATIvE
~o r HIGHE ST CPU E
S 1 S 1 6 OCT 1
Fi gure 26.Soc keye salmon (age 0+)smoothed dafly catch per unft effort
and ad justed cumulative catch recorded at the Flathorn
statfonary outmfgrant trap.May 20 through October 1.1984 .
AG E 0 +S O C H :r F',',[-'1.1 1'
'"..,."
.-Not .........Cl
..-No f\Illl C•.,tur.-d
,CO Al ll:>LI$ T 205
lIAT '::
20 JULY 3 0 1
---------_.-,--.__.-.'-,'IH '
,:..,·
"e ('·
ir
'-;0•"",,~,(,,
r
"5 11 ·C
"c <0••,'.:",r
L.:
~;u
I(J
••"-r 'n,,15
Figure 27 .So ckeye salmon (age 0+)dally catch per un ft effort recorded
at the Flathorn mobile outm lgrant trap,July 12 t hrough
Au gust 31,1984 .
AG E 0 +SO CK EY E S EASON CATC H
24
22
2 0
I 1 8
o //~-c 16 //u -~~-'~14 /
0 //
~'2 //.../
Q /'i::~10z /
"'//u 8 0'""'c.6 /
4 /
~2
//
0 /
",2 3 4 '5 '6 '7 8 9 "'0
lRANS ECT P OI NT NUM BER
•8Al'oIK T RAf\,l SE CTS
Fi gu re 28.Sockeye sa l mon (age 0+)percent of the t otal catch by
s a1l1'11 ng poin t 'rec orded at the Flathorn mob il e out mig rant
trap. 1984.
DRAFT/PAG E 33
4/22/85.5/6/85.5/21/85
NUHI/Roth.5/15/85
A tot al of 4 12 sockeye s al mo n fry we re collected i n the lower river
during JAHS surveys from June th rough October (see Part 2 of this
repo rt).Catch rates at JAHS sites pea ked in late J une and then were
low t hroughout the rema ind er of the sea sor.(F ig.29).An increase in
catch r ates was reco r ded a t some sites incl uding Rolly Creek (RM 39 .0)
a nd Beav er Dam Sl oug h (RH 86.3) in late Augus t and Sep tem ber.in di cat ing
t he mo veme nt of sockeye i nto t hese s ites during l ate summe r .
3 .3 .1.2 Age 1+t
A tota l of 90 age 1+sockeye salmon juveniles were collected.Nineteen
we re captured at Talkeetna Station and 63 we re collected a t Flathorn
Stat ion.
Ninety-s ix pe rcent of the catch for age 1+ soc keye c o ll ected at the
Dutrnigrant traps (Talkeetna a nd Flat horn combined)was recorded during
May and June (Fig.30).The l ast age 1+sock eye was captured at
Ta lkeetna Station on J uly 29,
3.3.2 Growt h
The mean l ength and range of lengths for age 0+sockeye salmon by r each
of river and sampling period is presented i n Fi g.31.Dur i ng May and
June, socke ye fry collected in the mi ddle r i ver rea ch had a smal ler mean
l ength th an the same age class sockeye collected i n the lower r iver .By
early July,sockeye fry averaged the same le ngth (49 rrm ) in both
-.-
SOCK EYE C PUE 1 9 8 4
r oo ,..---v-;..,,-.---------------------,
00
w::>
Q.
"
.."
8 0
70
00
50
30
20
10
//
//~
E JUN L J UN E JU L l J UL E Aue L AUG E S EP l S EP E O (;T
SAMP LINC PE RIOD
Figure 29.Sockeye salmon juveniles catch per un it effort by sampl ing
period recorded at JAhS sites In the lower reach of the
Susitna River ,1984.
T A L K E ETi'I A &FLAT H OR N S O CK E Y E 1 +
100 n r ----;::::;:= =='------ --------,
90
8 0
7 0
6 0
~z
W
<J 50'"W
0-
4¢
3 0
0 0
10
Y.C UM V LATI\IE
~o r HIGH EST CP U E
o -IlInnmmrrmmm"""",,,,,,,,,nn\,/,1mmf,\mmrrohhmirtnnmmm,,,,,,,,,,,",",mmmmnmmnn,mmmmrt
MAY 14 I N 1 IN 1 6 JY 1 J Y 1 6 A 1 A 16 S 1 S 16 OC T 1
DATE
Figure 30.Soc keye salmon (age 1+)smoot hed daily catch per unit effort
and adjusted cumulative catc h recorded at the Flathorn and
Tal keetna stat ionary ou t migra nt traps,Ma y 14 through
Octo ber 6,1984 .
SOC KE YE 0 +1 9 8 4
I
I
L SEP
E e'C T
E S[FLAUe.:E J Ul L J UL E Av e
SAM PLIN G.PER IOD
~6
5 0
56
62 ,-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------- - --.
S8
5'
60 "..--------1'...--e-"
//'/.:I/~I
4 4 Low.,au-lt1Wl At¥~1/
42 ---7
:~/
3 6 j /,//~ki d "Su*ttna Alver~~r -/--.--- ,.-- - -.----.-----,- - - .--- -.----i
l MAY E JU N L Ju r ~
Figure 31 ,Sockeye sal mon (age 0+)me.n length and range of length s
by sampl ing perfod for fish collected fn the lowe r and
middle reac h of the Su sftna Rf ver,1984 .
DRAFT/PAGE 34
4/22/85 .5/6/85.5/21/85
MUH I/ Roth.5/1 5/85
reaches .and by late August ;mi ddle river s ockeye fry were averaging
larger than f i sh collected in the lower river.This trend continued
through the remainder of the se ason .The nu mber of fis h measured ,the
mean length and range of length s by sampl f og pe riod for s ockeye salmon
fry are presented for each of the data collection area s in Appendix
Table A-ll .
The 90 age 1+ s oc keye sa l mon collected dur i ng 1984 avera ged 73 mm t otal
l ength and ranged from 56 to 102 mm (Appendix Tab le A-12l.A coded wire
tag ged s oc keye fry released 1n 1983 and recaptur ed in 1984 had in creased
from 32 mm to 81 mm.
A sample of juven ile sockeye were measur ed at Talkeetna Station to
provide a rela ti onshi p between l ength and weight fo r f ish passi ng t his
site (Fig.32).
3.3 .3 Coded wi re t aggi ng and recovery
A total of 14,532 tagged sockeye salmon fry averagI ng 33 mm tota l length
were re leased betw een May 22 and Jun e 2 2~1984 {Table 3 }.Ta g retenti on
rates f or s ockeye fry averaged 97 .1 ~and ra nged f rom 92.3 to 99.0:.
Tagging mo rtali ty ranged f rom 0 .6 t o 2 .6 ~an d averaged 1.3 ~.
A to tal of 366 tag ged sockeye sa lmo n fry (2 .5 :of the t ota l ta gge d
s oc ke ye released)were re covered from t he 7 ,484 age 0+sockeye captured
and e xamined for t ags at the Tal keetna Station out mi grant t raps du ring
LI N EAR R EGRESSION S OC KEYE SALM ON
6 .,-- - -- -- - - - -- - -- - - -- -..,
In 'I =-12.34 "3.11 In a
5
1
a
Ac tuol Do to
R e gres s ion Li n e
a
c
a
o
4
3
•Ee
'".s-L
.go
U,
U~2
907050
o +-- -,----,,-----,--- --,-----,----,-------1
3 0
Totol lenolh In m illimetera
Figure 32.
The l inear regression of the weight/length relati onship
for j uvenile sockeye sal mon col lected at t he Talkeet na
stationary outm 1grant t raps.1984 .
hbhl 3 .
DRAFT /PAC E 2
5/13/S5,5/21 /85
NUM1 B/Table 3
Coded 'li t re t ag re teese data for sockeye u llllOn fry on the Susltna River by
tagging site and re lease date.198~.
Taggfng Site Number of D.1te of Perc ent Tag Percen t
(Rive r Mnel Fh h Tagged Releasll Retention Mortal ity
Slough 21 3.736 5/28 97.9 2 .6 a
(RM 1_2.01
Slo ugh 11 2.327 5/22 92.3 1.1
(RM 135.31 2 .732 5/24 97 .7 0 .7
1 .537 6/22 96 .6 1.1
Slough ':i 2 .052 6"99.0 1 .0
(lit 12&.3)
Slough SA 2.aS 6/19 99.0 0.6
(RM 125 .3)
TOTA L -All SITES 14 .532 5/22 -6/22 97 .1 1.3
a Mortal ity due to hand ling.t hermal .and anestheti c stresses.
DRAFT /PAGE 35
4/22 /85,5/6 /85,5/21 /85
NUMI /Roth,5/15/85
1984. In addition.15 sockeye fry with clipped adipose fins but no
coded wire tags were recovered in the traps.When compared to the total
tagged sockeye salmon fry recovered.this provides a tag retention rate
at the traps of 96 .1 %.
Trap recoveries of coded wire tagged sockeye fry were made from 0 to 109
days (mean =35 days)following their release at the tagging sites
(Fig.33). In addition,one tagged sockeye fry which was released from
Slough 21 on May 28 was recaptured at Flathorn Station on July 7.Seven
coded wire tagged sockeye fry were recovered during th e cold branding
study in early August (Table 4).Six of these fish were recovered at
~1oose Slough (RM 123.2)and one tagged sockeye fry was recovered at a
side channel below Slou9h II (RM 135.2 ).
A sing1e coded wire tagged sockeye sal non marked and released during
1983 was recovered during the 1984 sampling season.This fish was
released June 8,1983 at Slough 11 and was recovered at Talkeetna
Stat ion on July 21, 1984.
The ratio of coded wire tagged sockeye fry to total sockeye f ry was the
same (0. 05: 1.00) in both traps at Talkeetna Station.This indicates
that the coded wire tagged fish were uniformly mixed in the total
populati on by the time they migrated past the traps .
C O DED WIR E TAGG ED SO CI<Eye:
8 0
70
~
Ic 6 0"-c
U
I
'"5 0;;:
"w 40oo-c
~
~3 0o
'"w
'"20~
"z
10
0
5 2 0 35 5 0 6 5 e o 95 11 0
N UMBER O F DAYS AFTER R ELEASE
(Grouped b y 5 D ay P er iod)
Figur e 33.l ength of t i me between th e ma rk and recapt ure o f coded
wire ta gged sockeye s al mo n j uveniles i n the mi dd le reach
of tn e Susitna Ri ver.19 84 .
Table 4.
DRAFT /P AGE 1
5/1 3/85,5/21/85
NUMIB/Ta ble 8
Recoveri e s of coded wi re tagged s ockeye sa1mo n f ry a t
matnstem r i ver sites between Talkeetn a and Devil Canyon,
198'.
Co llecti on Coll ection Relea se Release
Site Date Site Date
Moose SloU9h l 8/8 Slou9 h 21 5/28
Moose Slough .8/8 Slou9h 21 5/28
Moose Slo ugh 8/8 S'louqh II 6/22
Moose Slough 8/8 Slough g 6/9
Moo se Slough 8/8 Slough 8A 6/19
Hoo se Sloug h 8/8 Slough 8A 6/19
Slough II Si de Ch annel 2 8/3 Slough 21 5/28
I Ri ver Mi le 123.2
2 Ri ver Mil e 13 4.9
,...
DRAFT /PAGE 36
4/22/85 ,5/6/85 , 5/21/8 5
IIUMI /Roth, 5/15 /85
3.3.4 Popu lati on e st imates and s urviva l rates of out rni grants
Fe male s com prised 38.5%of the p o ~ula tio n of 1.900 adult s ock eye s al mo n
e st im ated pa st Cu rry Stati on i n 1983 (C.l.- 1,6 00 to 2,300 adul ts )and
the fec undity o f Sus itna Ri ver s ockeye a veraged 3.350 egg s pe r fersel e
(Ba rret t e t a1.1984).Hilli ng a ct iv ity was e st imated at 30%(Ba rre tt
1984 ).These data provided a calcul ation of total po tent ial egg
deposit ion fo r s ockeye salmon of 1 ,7 15,000 eggs during 1983 .
Us i ng t he method out lined by Schaefe r (1951),a popula ti on o f 299.0 00
sockeye salmon fry wa s e s ti mat ~d t o have outm igrated past t he Talke etna
St ation t raps during 1984 (App endi x Table 8-1 and 8-2).A comparison of
the popu lati on e s ti ma te to t he cal culat ed po tent i a l egg depo si t i on
(divid ing the e st imated number o f fry by t he numb er o f eggs)gave a n
egg -toeoutmigrant survival rate of 17.4%.The s urv i val ra tes ranged
f r om 14 .4 t o 20 .7'1:using the conr to ence i ntervals from th e a du lt
populat ion e st imate a t Curry St at ion.
3.4 Chum Sa1ma n
3 .4. 1 Cat ch per un it effort
Ch um sa lmo n we re co ll ec ted during the co ded wi re t ag ging s tudy in Ma y
an d J une a nd dur ing beach s ei ne sam pl ing o f Indian Rive r in J uly.Cat ch
r ate s were not gene rally r ec orded during t hese s tudies e xcept fo r 24
hour f yke net sets at Slough 21 (Appendi x Tabl e A-I 0 ).
DRAFT /PAGE 37
4/22/85 .5/6/85,5/21 /85
NUMI /Roth,5/15/85
Peak.catches of chum fry collected at the Talkeetna Station outmigrant
traps were recorded during late May and mid June.with the highest
daily catch rate of 8.0 fish per hour occurring on June 14 (Fig.34).
Ninety-five percent of the 3,590 chum fry captured at Talkeetna Station
were recorded by July 15.The major Qutmigration had occurred by the end
of June (50%by June 13),although the migration continued until
September 11.
Chum salmon fry catches at Flathorn Station were greatest du rf nq June
with a peak catch rate of 10 .9 fish per hour recorded on June 14 by
which time 50%of the season catch had occurred (Fig.35).Of the 783
chum fry collected at this site,97%were captured by Jul y 1 and the
last chum fry was captured at Flathorn Station on July 22 .
Beach seining and electrofish1ng at side channel,slough,and tributary
sites in the lower river reach collected chum salmon fry during June and
Jul y (see Part 2 of this report).Chum fry were abundant in this rea ch
during early June but catches steadily decreased through Jul y (Fig.36 ).
3 .4.2 Growth
Chum fry in the middle river reach averaged 40 ITITI during r~ay I 45 nm
during J une,and 46 mm during Jul y (Table ~}.During June, Indian Ri ver
chum fry averaged the smallest at 40 lTITI while Slough 8B fish had the
largest mean length of 49 mm .Indian River chum fry had increased t o a
mean length of 48 rnm by early Jul y.
"
OM 'j I)~i I'l _,-------I
.I 1 ./I·.}'-'1 :~I
r-,j !1/.~.:c'-"J",r..[i
".n I 1\"."HI(."'l j T .:p ·, E I
r c 1 :~~\i
I I I I
~-;I \'\tIIII \I
J \l \---'I I
'"I'.f',\,J \1\\;
...,\j\I t ",I'
·' 11 ',I \1\/'\,I
I ~'I ..\I
ICI 'j \)u '\('I I
;)~""""III1 'l~"i III III m",r,,"'",", lII iI ii l"'lItl ~iili lI';;';j j'i,f,ll,i'ii i 11I111111 '"ii i """ "II.Ill."oi,lII'Ii '"II ,f •i ii ,.~
~.V'.:,.1 ·1.J l l 1 ,H I 1e J ','1 J 't 1 ~.a..:..1 E ~1 s :'=,~.,::-
[JATE
Figure 34.Chum salmon fry s mo othed daily catch per unit effort and
ad justed cumul ative catch recorded at tpe Talkeetna
s tati onarj outmigrant traps,May 14 through October 6,1984 ,
·
FLAT HOR N STATION C HUM F R Y
1 ')()
90
d oO
7 0
-r.C U MULAn v'E
1:'0
~-%o r H IGHEST C PUEzwo50<>wc,
""'1 ,V I
II
30 -l
20 I
I
"'\~I,y I
)Imn
~1AY 2 0 J r~1 Jtl 15 .J'(,JY 1~A 1 A 15 5 1
0 ••O CT ,","
CATE
Figure 35.Chu m salmon fry smoothed da ily catch per un it effort and
adjusted cumulative catch recorded at the Flathorn
stationary outmig rant tra p,May 20 t hrough October I,1984 .
C HUM C P U E 1 9 8 4
100 ."...,.-,,.,--- - ------------------- --,
0 0
80
70
60
5 0
10
E JU N L JU N E J UL
Ii :71
l JU L E Au e L AUG E S EP l S (P E .>:~
SAMPLING P ERIOD
Figure 36 .Chum salmon fry catch per unit effort by sampl ing period
recorded at JAHS s ites In the l owe r reach of the Susftna
River,1984.
DRAFT/PAG E 38
4/22/85,5/6/85,5/21/85
NUMI/R oth ,5/15/85
Chum s a lmo n fry col lected at Talkee tna Station s howed a n i ncrease of si x
mi ll ime ters in mea n len gth between May (40 ll1TJ)and ea rl y J une (46 ll1TJl
and averaged 43 to 45 mm after th is period.Ta lkeetna Stati on out mig rant
trap recove ries of coded wire t agged ch um fry s howed a two millimeter
increase i n mean length between release and recovery (mean time i nterval
of e ight days).Tagged chum fry which were ca ptured 11 or more days
after rel ease av e rage d 48 rnn,a n i ncrease of five millimeters betwee n
re lease and re covery .
l imited sampling of the Tal keetna River dur i ng June and J uly indicated a
mean length of 43 mm for chum fry Dutmigrating f rom this tribu tary .
Below t he Chulitna River conf luence , growth wa s l ess apparent as c hum
f ry averaged 40 to 43 mm at t he s ite s sam pled in t his r each th rougho ut
t he period of outmigration .The mean length and r ange of le ngths for
chum fry by sampl ing period for each of the a reas surv eyed a re presented
i n Appendi x Table A-13.
3 .4 .3 Co ded wire taggi ng a nd re covery
A total of 31,396 tagged chum f r y ave raging 43 rrrn tota l l e ngt h were
released between Ma y 22 and June 22,1984 (Table 5 ).Tag retention
rates range d f rom 93 .0 to 100%an d averaged 96.4 ~.Mortality rates
between ta ggi ng an d r elea se averaged 0 .9%a nd r anged f rom 0 .0 to 2 .7 ~.
Table 5.
DRAFT/PAG E 1
5 /13/85 .5121/85
~IUM1BlTable )
Coded wi re tag r el eas e data for c hlMll ulmon fr y on the Sus ltna Rlver by
taggi ng stte and rel ea s e date,198~.
•
Ta9gin9 S ite Number of Date o f Percent y,,9 Pe rcent
(Ri ver Mile)Fish Tagglld Releue Retentio n ~ortall t y
S lo ugh 22 2,3 83 6/7 98 .0 0 .5
(RM '''4 .3)
Slough 21 2 ,201 6/3 96.6 1.'
(RM H Z.O)
S lo ugh 20 1,255 6/11 96 .9 0 .6
(RM 140.1)
Slough 15 l51 6/11l 100 .0 0 .0
(RM 137.3)
I ndf e n Rf ver 1t,6 12 6/1 <;l1t .S 0.7
(RM 13 8 .6)3%'6/1 9 3 .0 0.0
4 ,59 2 6 /21 93.8 2 .7 111
2.5 11 6/22 95.0 0 .'
S lough 11 2,031 5/22 9 7.7 0 .1
(RK 135 .3)2 ,203 5/24 93.9 o.s
572 5/24 99 .0 0 .2
'.916 6/16 98.0 0 .'
Sl ough 9 5.122 6/6 99 .4 0.7
(RH 128.31
Slough 86 '. 306
6 /13 98 .0 0 .8
(RH 122 .4)
TOTAL -ALL SI TES 31 .396 5/22-6/22 96 .4 0.'
a High mortal ity due to Injur y f rom i mproper headmold.
DRAFT /PA GE 39
4/22/8 5,5/6/85,5/2 1/85
NU MI/Rot h, 5/15 /85
Fifty-one tagged chum salmo n f ry (0 .2 %of t he total t agg ed chum
rel eas ed)were recovered f rom the 3 .590 c hum sa lmo n f ry captured a nd
examined f or ta gs at the Talkeetn!Station outm igrant tr aps dur ing 1984.
In add ;t i ont two chum fry wi th c 1i pped ad;pose fi ns but no coded wi re
tags wer-e recovered in the traps.Whe n co mpared to the total t agged
chum s a lmo n fr y recovered.t his provides a tag retent ion rate at t he
t raps o f 96. 2'.:..
Tr ap recoveries of t agged c hu mfr y were mad e f rom 0 to 29 da ys (mean =8
days)foll ow ing their relea se at the ta gging sites (Fig. 37).
The rat t 0 of cod ed wi re tagged c hum fry t o the tota 1 numb er of f 1sh
caught at e ach t rap at Talk eetna Stat ion was 0 .0 16: 1 at Trap 1 and
0 .013 :1 a t Trap 2 ,i ndica ti ng that t he t agged c hum fry were randoml y
distributed wit h th e unt agged popula t ion by the t ime th ey migra ted past
t he t raps.
3 .4.4 Popula t ion e stima te s a nd survi val rate s o f outmig rants
.Ad ult populat ion e st imates a t Cu rry St a tion during 1983 were 2 1,100 chum
s a lmo n wi th conf iden ce in t erval s of 19,200 to 23 ,500 adults and females
comp r-tsed 34.5%of th ese fi s h (B ar rett e t ej •1984 ). Fecundit I e s of
sus i tn a River c hum sa 1mon were detenn i ned duri ng 1983 to be 2.850 eggs
per femal e.Chum s a lmo n mi lli ng was e st imated at 40~(Barre tt 1984).
These data provi ded an e st ima te o f t ota l potential e gg depo si t ion of
12,448,000 eggs.
C O DED W I RE T AG GE D C H UM
S A LM O I'J-
15,.
13
~12'"o
"11-c
0
'"10
'""'•
c 8..,
oo 7-c
~
~6
0
'"5..,
'"•:>
"3z
2,
'j fJ fJ m:'J
0
0 3
6 9 .,15 18 2 1 2 '~7'-
N lJM8 ER O F"DAY S AITER R ELEASE
Figure 37.Leng th of t ime between the ma rk and recapture of cod ed
wire t agged chu m salmon j uveniles ~n t he middle reach of
the SU5ftn. River,198 4 .
DRAFT /PAGE 40
4/22/85.5/6/85.5/21/85
IlU M1/Roth.5/1 5/85
The populati on estimated using the Sc ha efer (19 51)meth od was 2 ,039,000
chum sa l mo n f ry outmigrating past Talkeet na St at ion dur ing 1984
(Appendi x rable B-3 and B-4).
Using the above data,an egg -to-outmigrant s urv tva l rate of 16.4 ~was
Cd 1cul e ted for chun s a 1man with a ccnf t dence i nterva 1 (f rom the adu1t
population estimate )of 14 .7 to la .Q t.
3 .5 Piok Sa1mon
Sixty-eight pink salmon fry were captured between Ma y 15 and Jul y 18 at
the Talkeetna Stat ion outm ig rant traps during 198 4,with the peak catch
rate of 0 .8 f ish per hour being recorded on J une 18 (Fig .38).Pink fry
migrating past Talkeetna Stati on averaged 36 lTITl total length with a
r ange from 29 to 53 mm.
A total of 405 pink salmon fry ~ere collected i n the stationary outmi-
grant trap at Flathorn Station.Catches occurred from May 21 through
July 6 and the peak catch rate of 4.0 fi sh per hour was recorded on June
5 (Fig.39).Fifty percent of the Cdtches at this site were recorded by
Ji..ne 11. Pink fry collected at flat horn St at ion averaged 34 IIITI and
ranged in length from 25 to 46 mm .
no pink sal men fry were collected during the cold brand ing studies in
the middle river 9 during sampling of the Deshka River ,or at J AHS s ites
in the l ower river during 1984 .
c ,'·\-i ',(..
i).AT E
Figure 38.Pink salmon fry smoothed daily catch per unit effort and
adjusted cumulative catch recorded at the Talkeetna
stationary outmlgrant traps,May 14 through October 6,1984.
•
FLAT HO Rf,.j S TAT I C'!'!P I I'I f<SA L!v10 !'!F F ' ,
I V ')
11 T I,,
;0 i ,
i
~~(
,
eo j ,,
1
I
7"I
eo J I
::.(.1.)M \..'LA.i I'.I:..
,,-~0 r H I (,....EST (F-'....£1.z I~~v ,-1"--"Iw
c,I i
4 0 ]1
I30
f!tr\
1
00 '\i
I1(,1
o ·J '\...I
•..t,.:.,.",1 4 J r ~,J"'6 ,ff 1 J Y 1 6 A 1 A 16 S 1 s I '·,..,-...,..~,•
D;..TE
Figure 39 ,Pink salmon fry smoothed daily catch per untt effort and
adjusted cumulattve catch recorded at the Flathorn
stati onary outmigra nt traps ,May 20 t hrough October I ,19 84 .
DRAFT/PAGE 41
4/22/85,5/6/85,5/21/85
NUMI/Roth,5/15/85
3 .6 Descriptive Statistics for Catch and Environ~ental Variables
Summary statistics for Talkeetna Station catch are given in Table 6 and
for environmental variable;in Table 7.Flathorn data are svrmra rt zed in
Table 8.The influence of discharge peaks on the level of Qutmigration
can be seen by comparing the seasonal discharge level (Fig.39A;Fig.
39B)with the Qutmigration plots presented earlier.
Table 6 .
D RAF T/PACE 2
5 /1 3/85 .5 /21 /85
NU MIB/Tab le 9
Surrmary sta tistics for j uvenile sa lmo n catch per hour by
species and age class recorded at t he Tal keetna Station
outmigra nt t raps,May 14 t hrough Octobe r 6,1984.
Catch Per Hour, Both Tr apsa
M~n ~1 ax Me an Std .Dev .
Chinook 0+0 .0 17.2 2 .2 3 .2
Chinook 1+0.0 3.5 0.3 0 .6
Co ho 0+0 .0 2.9 0.3 0.4
Coho I+b 0.0 1.7 0 .3 0.3
Sockeye 0+0.0 13.0 1.2 1.8
Sock.eye 1+0.0 0.3 0.0 0 .0
Chum 0.0 8 .0 0.7 1.2
a N =146
b i ncludes a l l juveni le co ho age 1+ or o lder.
Table 7.
DRAFT /P AGE 1
5/13/85,5/21/85
NUM 1B/Table 9
Surrmary statist ics f or habitat variables re corded o n t he
Susftna River be tween t he Chul itna Ri ver conflu en ce ane
Devil Cany on,May 14 thro u9h Octobe r 6, 1984.
Min uex Mean Std.Oev.n
Discha rge (ft'/sec)a 6,780 52,000 19 ,405 B16C.0 146
Water Temper ature (Od 2.0 13.5 8 .8 3.0 145
Turbidity (NTU)b 13 400 ll5 92 .0 145
a USGS provisional data at Gold Creek,1984.
b AOF &G data at Talkeetna Station outmigrant traps,1984.
rable 8 .
DRAFT/PAGE 3
5/13/85 ,5/21/85
NUMIB/Table 9
SUlJIMry statistics for juve nile sa lmon catch pe r hour by
spec ies and age class recorded at the Fl athorn Station
Qutmfgrant traps,May 20 through Octobe r 1,1984 .
Catch Per Hour a Min ~1ax Mean Std.Dev.
Chinook 0+0.0 7.8 0.7 1.1
Chif:ook 1+0.0 6 .5 0.1 0.6
Coho 0+0.0 1.5 0.1 0.3
Coho I +b 0 .0 0.8 0.1 0.1
Sockeye 0+0.0 4.6 0 .8 0 .8
Sockeye 1+0.0 0.4 0 .0 0 .1
Chum 0.0 10.9 0.3 1.1
Pink 0.0 4.0 0 .2 0 .5
Discharge (ft'/sec)c 40,800 166 ,000 93,122 28 ,887.5
a n =134 .
b Inc ludes al l j uve ni le coho age 1+ or older .
c US GS provisional data at 5u5ftna Station,1984.
'5~
0•-
W '0O!
::::>
I-
<{
O!5Wa..
:l:w
I-0
eeese
-seeee..-u_4eeee
Turbkltly
50.
~
<498 ~
Z-3 00
>-....
2 13 0 H
Cl
H
10 13 ~
::::>
o ....
1017204317
MA Y JUN
1421285 1219282 9
JUL AUG
1984
162330 6
SEP
1320 2 7.
OCT
Fi gur e 39A.Ma i ns tem disc ha rge.wat er t emp erature.an d t urb id ity 1 ~the mi ddl e
reach of the Sus1t na River.198 4.Di scha rge wa s measu red at t he
USGS gaging stat ion at Gold Cre e~.Water tem per ature and tu rbidi ty
wer e meas ured at Ta l keetna Stati on .
--
.-
";lue.-c-w·-e
II:
C:z:o
~o -
.."..I t ,,.II • •I I "• • •'I • • •II •..,..
HA Y JU NE JULy AUGUST S EPT E~BER OC tOBER
1994
Figure 39B .Ma1nstem di scharge in the lower reach of the Susi tna River
measured at the USGS gaging station at Susitna Station,19 84.
DRA FT /PAG E 1
5/ 3/85,5/2 5/85,5/21/85
NU Ml/Dl s c ussl on
4.0 DI SC USSION
4.1 Ch inook Salmon
4.1.1 Outm igrat ion
Fifty percent of the outmigration of age 0+chinook sa l u-m past
Talkeetna Station during both 1983 and 1984 had occurred by mid Jul y,
but the rates and tiMing were different between the two years (Fig. 40).
During 1983,two pulses o f chinoo k fry move ment we re recorde d,o ne i n
l ate June and the second i n mid Augu s t.Conversely . the 1984
outmigrat ion did not start unt il mid J une and wa s th en relati vely s teady
through la te Augu st.
l ow tributary flow s during J uly of 1983 t rapped chinoo k fry i n pools and
s ide channels i n Ind ian River unt il hi gh t ri butary fl ows from hea vy
rainfall in mid August allowed access or flushed f ry to the Sus itna
River (Roth et al.1984).I n 1984 ,minnow trap catches of marked and
unmarked ch inook in Indian Rive r during the cold b randing study showed
the movement of chinook fry out of this tributary c ontinued from Jul y
through earl y Oc to be r.
I n 1 9 ~4,ag e 0 +c hi nook sal mo n i n the mi dd l e r ive r t hat had o utmig rated
from the t ribut ar i es were f ound p redo mi na te l y i n sh al low, t urb id,r oc ky
bot tom areas i n breached s lo ughs and s ide c hannels du ring J uly an d
August .No t until mid Au gust,when mai ns t em fl ow s ha d dec reased an d
1983 &198 4 T AU<:EE TN A C H lf'lOO K 0 +
I/){)
~O
80
w 7 0
"~
5 80
"""v 5 0
~z
"40o
'"W
0-3 0
2 0
10
0
M AY '8 IN 1 IN 15 JY 'JY 15 AUG 1 A UG 1 5 AUG .:!1
DATE
Fi gur e 40.Chinook sal mo n (age O+)adj usted cumulati ve catch r ecorded
at th e Tal keetna stationary outmigrant traps,1983 and 1984.
----
DRAFT / PAGE 2
5/ 3/85,5/25/85,5/21/85
NUMI /Oi scus s i on
nnn y of t hese s lou9hS and side channel s were no Ic nq er brea ched ,d id
cetcbe :of j uvenil e chinook.increa s e a t c l e ar water sloughs and s i de
channels .In early Septe mber.j uvenile ch i noo k were c on c~ntra ted at t he
mo ut hs of clearwater sloughs and side channels ,but as water temp era-
tures and stage continued dropping through Septemb er and early October .
these f ish slowly dispersed throughout these site s with the ma j or
concent ra ti ons be ing found in areas with non-imbedded substra te and a
groundwater source.
The rates of outmfgrat ion of age 1+chinook salmon past TaTlt eet"a
Station were similar i n 1983 and 1984 (Fi9. 41).but the date by which
t..lJ1f of th e total seasonal outmigration occurred was ten days ear l ier i n
1983 than i n 1984,primarily because of the late start of outmigration
1n 1984.
The chinook fry appear t o associate with the banks of the r iver during
their downstream movement.Although juvenile chinook were captured
across the entire river at Flathorn Station,60%of the total mobile
trap captures were recorded at bank transect sites .
4.1.2 Freshwater l ife history
Chinook sal mon j uven il es in the mtddl e -t ver a ppear t o group i nto a t
leas t two separate categorie s.Th e first group are t hose juve nil es
which rear and ovenrtinter in their natal tributaries a nd outmigra te to
the ocean as age 1+ f i sh duri 09 t he sp ri og of thei r s econd ye ar .Th e
second group of c h i nook juveniles sp end a portion of their f i rst s ummer
19 83 &1984 T A L K EE TNA CH INOOf<1 +
1984
)
80
20 -
9 0
roo ,----------;;;=~--__::::7-"------1
'"70z
~
:l ~O
""B 50
~z
~4(,-
'"'"c,3 0 -
AUG 1 Aue 1 5 AUG 31JY1S
DAT E
N 1IN 15
10 Vo~mmrrrmTTmmrrmrrmmrrrmTTmmrrmmrrrmrrrmmrrmmmmmm"1Tmmrrmm~
tM Y 18 J~l 1
Figure 41.Ch inoo k salmon (age 1+)adjusted cumul at ive catch r ecorded
at the Tal keetna stat ionary outmig rant traps,19 83 and 19 84.
DRAFT /PAGE 3
5/ 3/85,5/ 25/85,5/21 / 85
NUMI /Discuss;on
in their natal tributaries and then ,probabl y because of density
dependent i nteract ion of flush ing by high flows ,enter the maf nstem
rive r.These fish act ive ly search out suitable habitats as the y mo ve
downstream .Many of the f ish enter sloughs and side channel s in the
middle river to overwinter while other s continue downst ream to the lower
riv er.
Since 80%of the Talkeetna Station trap catch had occurred by Augus t I ,
and high catches were recorded at Indian Ri ver and sele cted s loughs
above Talkeetna Station in August,September,and October,it appear ed
that a significant percentage of 1983 brood y ear c hinook salmon were
going to overw inter in the middle river .Pr evious winter sampling has
not been succes sful in l ocating l arge concentrations of juvenile
ch inooks in this reach (A DF&G 1982 ).Possible re asons are :1 )the mu ch
hi9her adult ch inoo k escapement i n 1983 than in 1980,2 )the winte r
sampling dur ing 1981 wa s conducted in January ,February,and March whe n
water temperatures approach DoC,and the be ha vior of the f ish ma y cha nge
i n t ha t they go into the sub strate and are l~s s suscept ible to capture,
and 3 )the samp ling methods and intensity at selected s ites were limited
dur ing the 1981 sampling . (Ed .Note :Sam pl ing during the winte r of
19 84-1985 has con fi rmed the presence of la rge number s of chinook fr y i n
th is reach ).
A third group of chinook salmon j uv eniles ma y be present in the Susitna
River.Data collected at the Flathorn Station outmig rant t rap s ho wed
that a porti on of the age 0+chi noo k we re movi ng downstre am past t his
s ite .Although it i s possible that these fi sh ma y overwinter in
DRAFT/PA GE 4
5/3/85,5/25/85, 5/21 /85
NU HI/Di scus s io n
freshwa t er habitats below Flathorn Stat ion.it appears t hat many o f
these f ish would enter the ocean as age 0+fish.Scale samples c ol -
lected from returning adults indicated that this age class of out-
migrants represented less than 3%of the middle r iver return ing chinook
dur ing 1983 (8arrett et al.1984 )and less th an I ~i n 1984 (8arre tt e t
a1. 19851.
Intermittent operation of an outmfgrant weir on the Deshka River during
1984 showed that a large number of chinook fry were outmfgrat1ng f rom
this tributary during July and August.Simil ar data were c ollected i n
198D by Delaney et a 1. (1 981) , who post ulated t ha t t he ohs erved
outmigration was a size related response as the f ish reached a pproxi -
mately 80 nm and that the chinook fry were able to reach this critical
size during even numbered years of high p ink salmon escapement and
related abundant f ood supplies.It is not known whether t hese f ish
rema in i n hab itats assoc iated with t he mainst em river o r if they
conti nue to the ocean as age 0 +f ish,but data collected at J AHS s i tes
below the Desh ka River during 1984 indicated that very few chinoo k fry
were rearing in th is area.
If i t i s assume d th at a l a rge perce ntage o f Susitna Ri ver chi noo k s a l mo n
do mig rate to t he ocean as age 0+ f ish,then either (I )t he ma rine
survi val of this age cl ass i s very l ow or (2)the adult scale s were not
interpreted correctly.Age 0+outmigrants may possibl y form a
transition check or other similar tightening of the circu li on thei r
scales dur ing the ir entry i nto t he oc ean in the sUll1'l'le r of th ei r f i rst
y ea r,and th is chec k ma y be i nterpr eted as a fres hwater a nnulus on th e
DRAFT/PAGE 5
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21/85
NUMI/Discussion
scales of returning adults.This could reduce the percentage of adults
determined to have outrnfgrated as 1ge 0+fish and would result in
underestimation of the importance of this age class to the total
population of returning adults.
Richards (1979) showed that a major portion (72 %)of the adult scales
analyzed from the Deshka River durin9 1978 showed that the f ish had
migrated to the ocean during their first summer as age 0+fish.Scale
analysis from creel census samples collected in the Deshka River have
classed these fish as predominantly age 1+Qutmfgrants (Kubik 1967;
Kubik and Wadman 1978; Kubik and Delaney 198D).
These data indicate that a reevaluation of the criteria used to deter-
mine the period of freshwater residence from adult salmon scales is
needed.Additional tests would be helpful in verifying the age of
chinook Qutmfgrants from the Susitna River and in determining the
contribution of each age class to the population of returning adults.A
comparison of freshwater growth recorded on juvenile scales collected at
the mouth of the Susitna River to the scales of returning adults would
be beneficial.Also,the collection of chinook juveniles in the Cook
Inlet estuary would allow the comparisons of circuli formation during
the period of transition from freshwater to ocean growth.Additionally,
a comparison of ages detennined from scales and otoliths may prov ide
insight into the freshwater histories of chinook salmon in the Susitna
River.
DRAFT/PAGE 6
5/3/85,5/25 /85,5/21 /85
NUMI /Discussion
4.1.3 Estimates of population and survival
Population estimates for Indian River chinook salmon juveniles
(3,211,000 i n 1984) and the estimated survival rate of 30.2 %are much
higher than what we believe to be the true values.This is due to the
late start of sampling (mid July),intermittent sampling throughout the
season,and the presence of two sepa rate populations;those fish which
overwinter in the middle river and those fish whic~mi grate to habitats
in the lower river.More valid population estimates would be obtained
if sampling was conducted throughout the open-water season at these
sites and if a method of distinguishing the sub-populations was
developed.
Attempts were made during July and early August to estimate the juvenile
chtnook populations and residence times in selected sloughs and s ide
channel s of the middle river using the Jolly-Seber model :Ricker 1975).
Both population estimates and residence timing varied so greatl y day to
day and site to site,due mostly to differences in individual site
habitat,fluctuating flow conditions,and the resultant changes in gear
effectiveness,that these estimates were deemed invalid.Studies of
residence time did show, however,that at the ma jority of the sites
sampled,large breaching flows had a flushing effect in that branded
fish were displaced out of the site but,at the same time,new fish
migrated in to replace these outmigrants.
DRAFT/PAGE)
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21/85
NUMI/Discussion
4.1.4 Growth
The increase in mean length of age 0+chinook by sampling period for the
combined data collected at the Talkeetna Station outmigrant traps during
1982,1983 and 1984 is presented in Fig. 42.Chinook fry which emerge
from the gravel at an average length of approximately 37 ITI1l have,by
early June,increased to an average of 44 mm.By the end of the
open-water season, chinook fry in the middle river had a mean length of
63 mm.Chinook fry collected in the lower river in 1984 averaged from
two to ten mm larger than their counterparts in the middle river through
the season (Fig.14).
Outmfgrating age 1+fish,after overwintering in the middle reach,
increased 10 mm in length during June and July and averaged 90 mm during
the peaks of Qutmigration.
Examination of the downstream redistribution of juvenile chinook salmon
in the Susitna River by age class during 1984 as the percent cumulative
of the total catches recorded at Talkeetna and Flathorn Stations
compared to the calculated percent cumulative biomass moving past these
sites shows that chinook fry in the middle river averaged approximately
the same length (50 to 55 mrn)throughout the period of peak outmigration
(late June through early August).resulting in very little separation
between cumulative movements recorded for catch and biomass at Talkeetna
Station (Fig.43).The outmigration of chtnook fry in the middle river
appears to be triggered.in part.by the fish reaching a critical size.
C H INOOK 0 +MEAN LE f'I GTH
6 0 -,-----------------------,
<)Maxlmum
7 5 -
'i'7 0
"~
:J:65
~
'"zw
~60
~
~
b~5 5
z
;:.\
"5 0 -•
45 -
+
E J ULY L JU LY E Au e
SAMP LIN G PE R IOD
L AUG E S EP L S EP
OC 1
Figure 42 .Chinook salmon (age 0+)mean l ength and range of me an len gths
by sampl ing period rec orded at the Talkeetna s tationary
outmigrant traps during 19 82,19 83,and 1984.
1984 TAL KEETNA C HINO OK 0 +1 984 T,A LKEETNA C H IN OO K 1 +
".....1 ~I •
100 I ~•
~
iu
~
~
~
"
"
"....
'",.
",~?,,, , , , ,I
~""'Y [JUNe ~JU ti [[JUlY L J ULY t AUC L AUC [St P L S£P [OCt
S-U"IC PE RlCO
I•~
~
"
ee
,...
,...
sc
'/
::l~-..--,-.I 0 ,
•I A~'"[.I'JII t L JOl li e ["h "~J L'LY [,,"ve l"'r.r ~r "I ':O f"r ~.:T
~,"MH II .~f'[Fl o;:.O
"."01 , , , ,,,,,I
L ....."r J UN[L JU N[[J UlY l JUlY [AUC L AUC [UP l U P [OCT
SoOoMP L',,",C P ERIOD
1984 FLATHO RN C H I NOO K 1 +
,.
'"
'"
,.
..
..
..'001 .,I-=-..-.-....~
..-•~
~
Iu
r
...t --- --/---r-----r --~-~----~--.__-
L I A ~'.-J '~"I .~'".(J"l'L .'''l ~["'."'::'I ..lOr. I <·r f>L :.,"[.:-:1
,,"AI·,'w ;,of ",,I '
1 9 8 4 FLAT H ORN C HI N OOK 0 +
,~
ec..
I '.ee,
u ,.·•t ..
•~'",.
Figure 43.Chinook salmon adjusted cumulative catch and bi oma ss by age c lass r ecorded at Talkeetna and
Flathorn statfons ,1984.
DRAFT /PAGE 8
5/3/85,5/25 /85,5/21/85
NUMI /Discussion
As they reach this critical size,chinook fry which have not found
suitable habitat conditions,redistribute downstream to other rearing
areas.
In the lower river.total biomass movements were delayed in comparison
to the total number of chinook fry moving past Flathorn Station (Fig.
44) • Thi 5 was due to the growth occurri n9 in the lower ri ver and
because of the mixed stocks present in this reach.
4.2 Coho Salmon
4.2.1 Dutmigration
The downstream movement of coho salmon fry past Talkeetna Station is
compared for 1983 and 1984 in Fig.44.Although the outmtqrat tcn from
May through early July was slower during 1984.50%of the total season
outmtqrat ton was recorded ten days earl ier in 1984 than 1n 1983.The
delay in downstream movement observed during July of 1983 was due in
part to low tributary water levels during this period.and the high
rates of downstream movement recorded in mid August corresponded to a
period of heavy rainfall and high tributary discharges.
The ~ownstream movement of age 1+ coho salmon past Talkeetna Stat ion was
approximately two weeks later in 1984 than in 1983 while the rates of
movement were fairly stable throughout both seasons (Fig.45 ).
-,
1983 &1984 TAL KEETNA CO HO 0+
'00
90
8 0
...70z
~
:l 00=>:>=>50..,
~z...40o
'"...
0.30
20
'0
0
tvtAY 18 IN 1 IN 15 .Nl JY15
DATE
AUG 1 AUG 15 A UG 3 1
Figure 44.Coho salmon (age 0+)adjusted cumulative catch recorded at
the Talkeetna stationary outmlgrant traos.1983 and 1984 .
1 98 3 &1984 T AL KEET NA CO HO 1 +
'00 /
90
80
70 1983..,
"3 60=>1984
"=>50o
~z..,40c
'"..,
a.30
20
10 V
0
MAY 18 IN 1 IN 15 JY 1 JY 15 AUG 1 Aue 15 AUG 3 1
DATE
Figure 45.Coho salmon (age 1+)adjusted cumulative catch recorded a t
the Talkeetna stationary outmigrant traps ,1983 and 19 84 .
DRAFT IPA GE 9
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21/85
Nu m /Dis cu ~sion
4.2.2 Freshwater l ife hi story
Host coho sa lmo n j uvenil es spend on e or mor e years i n t he Susi tna Ri ver
before mi grat ing to th e ocean.Ana lys i s of sc ales from re turning adult s
indicate that most juven ile coho ou t m i ~r d t e as either age 1+ or age 2+
but the proportion of each age cl a ss has varied between y ears (AO F&G
1382;ADF&G 1983;Sarrett et .i.1984;Sarrett et a1. 1985).
Coho salmon in the middle Susit"a River spawn almost exclusivel y in the
tributaries and the fry.after emergen ce.rear in th e ir natal
tributaries or enter the mai nstem river in search of su itable hab itats .
Outmigrant trap data co llected at Talkeetna Station have show n a
downstream red istribution of j uve nil e coho occurring throughout t he
open-water season.These coho t hen mov e i nto t ri butarie s,sl oughs ,
beaver pond s,or other hab itats to overwinter.Sim il ar r edis t rib ut ions
of juvenile coho were observed by Delaney and Wad man (1979) and by
Tschap1inski and Hartman (1983 ).
Trap catches recorded at Talkeetna Station during 19 82 and 1984 showed
that high pulses of juvenile coho catches occurred during September o r
ear l y October.It wa s pres umed these f ish were re d istribut ing t o
habitats in the lower river t o overwinter,but the data coll ected at
Flathom Station 1n 19 84 in dicate th at a po r ti on of these fi sh ma y be
mi9rating to t he ocean dur in9 t he fall (Fi9.18).This fall
out migratio n of juv enil e coho may be an adapt iv e resp onse to
deteriora ti ng fre shwater habitat cond it ions.Consider ing the high
DRAFT/PAGE 10
5/3/85 .5/25/85. 5/21/85
NUMI/O i scus s t on
mo rtal it ies wh i ch would be ex~e cted if th e fis h o.erwin tered in
freshwate r,ocea n c o n d i t f or ~(t hough l ess t han opt imum)may pr ovide mere
favorab l e and abunda nt h ~b l tat t hr ou gh t he winter r esul ti ng i n a~
f ncree sed su rvival f or th e se f i sh.
4.2.3 Growth
The c hange i n mean l en gth f or a ge 0+ co ho by s ampl fng pe riod fo r t he
comb i ned data co ll e c ted at the Ta lkeet na Sta tion ou tmtqrant t raps d uring
1982.1983.and 1984 is prese nted in Fig. 46.Coho salmon in the middle
r iver emerge from the gravel a t a ppro x i ma tel y 35 nm and ha ve I ncreased
t o 45 1M!by e arly J u ly.By the en d of t he open-water season.coho fry
have o bta ined a mea n leng t h of a p ~r'o xi mat el y 68 rrm.Thr oughout the
season. age 0+coho i n the l ower ri ver ave raged at least fi ve
e tt t t ee ters larger than f ish c oll ected i n the mi ddle river (Fi g .22 ).
Age 1+co ho sal mon in the middle r i ver also sh owed a s t eady g rowt h
t hrough the season (Fi g.47 )inc redsing a pp ro~i ma t e ly 45 mm bttween l at e
Ma y a nd ear ly October .Simi lar to age 0+co ho .age 1+c oho co llected in
the l ower river averaged larger than fish captured in the middl e r i ver
rea ch (Fig . 23).
The doens t rea m redistribut ion (as sh own by t he c umu l at ive bioee s s )o f
j uvenil e c oho sa lmon i n the Susitna River by age class d ur in g 198 4
avera ged one t o two week.s la ter than the re di s tribut ion of the t o':a l
number o f ind iv idua ls r ec o rd~J a t bot h t he Tal ke e tna a nd F 1 3 t h c r ~
St at ion eu t mtq ra nt t raps (Fi g .48 ).The dif f e rence between t he
C O HO 0 +MEAI'J LE N GTH
7 0
6 8
6 6
6 4 -
62 .
~
'"60
'"58 -~
"5 6 -~oz 54...-'"'._.
-'d 5 0~
0 48~
z 4 6·
i5 .....'"42
40
38 -
36
3 4
L MAY
••
E JUNE L JU NE E J ULY L J ULY E Aue LAue
SAMPLING PER IOD
E S EP L S E P
OC l
Figure 46.
Coh o salmon (age 0+)mean length and range of mean lengths
by sa mpling period recorded at t ile Talkeetna stationary
out mfgrant traps durIng 198 2.1983.and 1984.
C OHO 1 +M ~A~I L EI 'IG T ~
.,,
1•I
I
..._~~mb ined.e-
c ///i::Unl mu m
.0"/...
",~'...
"
I .J r ',------------------------ ---,"0 ~
:::~
I
10 0.1
I
'iIJ 1 ,)
I
i ~~--~,'0,e ~-
I ~.......L-----•7 .)-,:
0 0 Jt--,---,--------,-.---,---.-~--
~
~.,-c-
L t,tA '(E J U fl E L JUNE E J :...·LY L .JU L'!E /l•.l)(;L .~'J (.E 'S F 't,-trc,
,.,',
Figure 47.Coho salmon (age 1+)mean length and range of mean lengths
by sampling period recorded at the Talkeetna stationary
outmlgrant traps during 1982,1983,and 1984.
»-:
//.//-:e."7/,.,1/
~jc:.
• 1
,oo r--~
o I ",I
l .....V [ J UN[l JllJN[[JUlY l J ULY [I"JC l NJC E S £P L SO>[OCT
SNM'UNC PCRIOD
CO HO 1 +
_u
r-/
/.....---
e••~/
/
19 8 4 TAL KEETNA
9 0 ·,
se
00
ee
'"
,.
..
..
..
!a,
~w•
C OHO 0+1 9 8 4 TALK EET NA
ac
'0
00
ec
'"
00
00
~
..
~
1•a,
~•
1 9 8 4 FLATH OR N CO HO 0+1 9 8 4 F LATH O RN CO H O 1 +
100,,,100 .p'
I.-/"---.~--·---·-----:::-:·-;~~l ..l -:1~--.---,r ....."l .-o ~---......--"'i I .11:1 ~,.•••_l .,\.'>r J ''',I ,J ,.
_..
~
so
00
'"..
....
..
'0
I,
~•
[':~~
/.
---..._to .~-
------ju1V".--,d ~;..-- -~'----'
l I.""I Jl ~.1 I ....',,[I J'II .l .".'lY ['-',,;l .....'1.[~;(f 'I S (I'
'"
ao
00
00
00
,.
'0
..
..
~
1•,
o,
~•
"."J.'nUIG p u •..:.":;."...""~I I r••.·r'
Figure 48 .Coho salmon adjusted cumulative catch and bi omass by age clas s r ecorded at Talkeetna and
Flathorn s tattons,1984 .
DRAFT/PA GE 11
5/3/85,5/25 /85,5/2 1/85
NU MI/O iscussio n
cumulative bt orsa ss movement and the movement of total numbers o f fis h
results from the growth of juvenile coho occurring during th e open-water
season.It if t s presumed that larger fish have a greater chance of
s urvivi ng due to their comparatively larger size and i ncreased
IT'O rt ali ty ,then f ish which have spent mo re time i n the river (and a re
thus larger)are of more value than those fis h which outmigrated
earl f er.Any determinations made concerning mitigation activities f or
these fish should then consider the timing of movement of total biomass
in the river rather than formulating actions only from the catch data.
4.3 Sockeye Sal mon
4.3.1 Outmigration
The migrati on of soc keye sal mon fry past Ta lkeetna Stat ion dur ing 1984
was si mil ar to t he ti ming r ecorded dur ing 1983 (Fig.49 ).Fifty percent
of the total outmigrati on was recorded by the e nd of June during both
seasons.Sockeye fry were steadily redistributing to areas bel ow the
sampling site from break-up through late August .Sampl ing of sl oughs
and side channels in the middle river during the cold br and ing s tudy
showed th at so ck eye fry were not act ivel y o utmigrating but were ente ri ng
habitat s along the marg ins o f the river as they mo ved downstream .Th e
fry probably remain at these sites until (1) they are displaced by fl ows
or density interactions,(2)adequate fo od s uppl ies are no longer
ava ilable,or (3)the habitats become otherwise unsu itable.
19 8 3 &1984 TA LK EETNA SOCK EYE 0+
100
gO //
80 '/r
70"';<
3 60":>
"50o
~z
"'40o
'""'a.30
20 1983
'0 1984
0
~MY 18 IN ,J~~15 JY ,JY 1 5 Aue 1 Aue 1 5 A UG 31
DATE
Fi9ure 49.
Soc keye sa lmon (age 0+)ad justed cumu lat ive catc h recorded
at the Talkeetna stationary outm i9rant traps,1983 and 19 84 .
DRAFT/PAGE 12
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21/85
NUM1/Discussion
The tendency of sockeye fry to orient along the banks of the river
during their downstream migration is shown by the outmigrant trap
recoveries of sockeye at Talkeetna Station.The Susitna River at this
site is approximately 600 feet wide during mean surrmer flows (USGS
provisional data).The two bank traps combined sampled approximately
1.5 %of the total river width at thfs site but captured 2.5 %of the
total sockeye fry estimated (from coded wire tag recoveries )to be
migrating past the traps during 1984,indicating that these f ish orient
near the banks during their dcvns tream migration.This was also
observed at Flathorn Station where 59%of the total sockeye fry
collected in the mobile trap were captured at bank transect points.
The rates of downstream movement for coded wi re tagged sockeye fry
during 1984 showed that fry in the middle rfver,after tagging,spent an
average of 35 days (range from 0 to 109 days )in the middle river before
migrating past Talkeetna Station.
4.3.2 Freshwater life history
Outmigrant trap data collected at Talkeetna Station during the past
three seasons (l982-1984)show that a large number of sockeye fry
mi grate out of thi s reach as age 0+fi sh,but see 1e ana lys is of adult
sockeye collected at Curry Station showed that this age class repre-
sented only 6.4%of the returning adults during 1984 (Barrett et e l .
1985).The largest percentage of returning adults were comprised of
fish which had spent one winter in freshwater before going to the ocean,
------- ---
DRAFT/PAGE 13
5/3 /85,5/25/85,5/21/85
NUM1 /Discussion
The apparent discrepancy in these data leads to confusion about the
early life history of sockeye salmon in the middle reach of the Susitna
River.
Bernard et a1.(l983)analyzed scale patterns from samples of adult
sockeye salmon collected from four different sites in the Susftna River
watershed in an attempt to delineate the differences in scale patterns
for the period of freshwater growth for each of the sites.Samples were
collected from escapements of s ockeye sallTlOn at Curry and Talkeetna
stations on the Susitna River,from the outlet of larson lake on the
Talkeetna River,and from the Tokositna River which i s a tributary to
the Chulitna River. This study found that sockeye salmon samples
collected from the Susitna River sites could not be distinguished from
those of Tokositna or larson lake fish.
Six hypotheses were suggested by Bernard et a1. (1983)for the lack of
unique differences in the scale patterns between Susitna River fish and
those collected from the other sites.In general,these hy )otheses can
be separated into two groups:1)The Susitna River fish are a unique
stock but the fry rear in environments similar to those found in larson
lake and the Tokositna River,or 2}the sockeye salmon spawning in the
Susitna River are strays from either the Talkeetna or Chulitna water-
sheds and their fry move into these watersheds to rear or are displaced
downstream and enter the ocean as age 0+fish.If these fish enter the
ocean as age 0+fish.scale analysis of returning adults indicates that
survival rf these fish is very low.
,
DRAFT /PAGE 14
5/3/85,5/25 /85,5/21/85
NUMI /Di scuss i on
The study conducted by Bernard et a1.(1983)was based on the assumption
that sockeye fry did not rear in the middle Susitna River,but the data
collected at the Talkeetna Station Qutmigrant traps during the past
three years has shown that substantial sockeye rearing oc curs in this
reach.
Three prob1ems ex i st wi th the stud;es conducted by Bernard et a 1.
(1983).First,they analyzed scales from only 1.3 age fish (European
formula).Barrett et al.(1984)has shown that multiple age classes are
present in the middle Susitna River escapements.Juvenile sockeye
salmon Dutmigrating from larson Lake predominantly spend tw~winters in
freshwater before Qutmigrating from the lake as smolts (Marcuson 1985 )
so this factor alone would make it possible to accurately separate most
of the Susitna River fish from the Larson Lake stocks.
Secondly,a small sample size was used in the study.Only 43 of the 104
scale samples collected at Curry Station met the age criteria for the
study which is an insufficient sample size for this type of analysis.
The third and probably most significant item is that the Susitna River
samples were collected at the fishwheel sites rather than at the
spawning grounds.Barrett (1984) has po inted out that a high percentage
of these fish (30%estimated in 1983)are milling fish which eventuall y
spawned in areas other than the middle Susitna Ri ver.Compa risons of
the s cales of fish collected at the spawning grounds in these rivers ma y
provide more accurate differentiation of Susitna River fish from tho se
observed in the Tal keetna and Chul itna rivers •
.,
DRAFT/PAGE 15
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21/85
NUM1/Dfscusslon
Although it ·is possible that sockeye salmon which spawn in the middle
reach of the Susitna River are strays from the stocks originating from
the Talkeetna and Chulitna rivers,it is IOOre li1eely that the Susitna
sockeye are a separate and viable stock.The age 0+fish which
outmigrate from the middle reach of the Susitna probably imprint to
their natal areas in the early stages after hatching and then later
distribute to suitable habitats throughout the expanse of the lower
river to overwinter.These fish then enter the ocean during their
second year of lffe and ffnally return to their natal areas as adults to
spawn.
More definitive information on the viability of middle Susitna River
sockeye may be obtained through the continued roonitoring of returning
adults at the fishwheel sites and during spawning ground surveys to
collect returning fish which were marked with coded wire tags as fry
Outmigrant data collected for the Susftna River suggest that juvenile
sockeye salmon life histories in the middle Susitna River can be grouped
into three categories.The first group are those fish which spend their
entire freshwater period rearing in the middle r-tver ,overwintering in
this reach and then migrating to the ocean during the spring of their
second year (age 1+).The second group includes those fish which rear
for a portion (one to four months)of their first summer in the middle
river and then migra ::e to areas below the Chulitna River confluence to
overwinter and then enter the ocean during the spring of their second
year.The third group of juvenile sockeye spend a portion of their
DRAFT/PAGE 16
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21 /85
NUMl /Df scuss i on
fir st surrrner rear ing in the middle river and then begin a downs tream
migra tion,e ventually entering the marine environmen t dur ing the ir first
s ummer or fa ll as age 0+fish.
Presently,it is not known what contribution each group provides to the
total Qutm igratfon of juvenile sockeye from the middle Susitna River.
Outmigrant trap data collected at Flathorn Station during 1984 collected
a large number of age 0+sockeye and most of these fish were probably
destined for the ocean as 0+fish (group 3).
Although trap catches of age 1+sockeye at Talkeetna Station nave been
low (only 19 fish during 1984),it i s possible that this age class
(group 1)migrates out of the middl e river prior to the i nitiation of
spring sampling or that they differ from the ir age 0+counterparts i n
that t hey migrate further from shore and are n o ~i ntercepted by t he ban k
traps in prop ort ion to their relative abundance.,6,lso,dat a collected
in 1983 (Roth et a1.1984)showed that the ban k traps were less
effective at capturi~g these larger fish.
Data collected at the Tal keetna Station outmigrant traps indicate that
the larg e st percentage of j uvenile sockeye in the middle reach belong to
the se cond group.These fish spend a portion of their first s umme r in
the middle river and then redistr ibute to habitats i n the lower river to
cverw1nter.Data collected dur1ng tne JA HS sampl ing 1n the lo wer rive r
dur ing 1984 showed rearing soc keye at lower river sites i nc1 udi n;the
mo uth of Rolly Creek (RM 39.0)and at Beaver Oam Sl ough (RM 86.3).
DRAFT /PAGE 17
5/3 /85,5/25 /85, 5/21 /85
NUM1 /o i scussi on
Numerous other rearing sites such as Sunshine Creek (RM 85.7)and
Whitsol lake (RM 35.2)ex ist in the l ower river and the large amount of
available habitat in th1s reach probably provides the overwintering
sites for a large percentage of the middle river sockeye j uveni les.
4.3.3 Estimate of population and survival
An estimated 299,000 sockeye fry were produced during 1984 from the
approximately 1,900 adults which migrated past Curry Station in 19 83 f or
an egg-to-outmigrant survival rate of 17 .4 %.Compa ratively,the 1,300
adult sockeye which passed Curry Station during 1983 pr oduced an
estimated 575,000 fry for a survival rate during 1983 of 42.0 %.
The substantial differences between the estimates of survi val i n 1983
and 1984 a~~due in part to the data used in the calculations.During
both years.survival rates were calculated by dividing the number of fry
produced by the estimated number of eggs carried by adults past Curry
Stat ion during the previous season.Barrett et al.(1984) poi nted out
that the estimates provided at Curry Station repre sent only the fish
which passed this site but -do not necessarily reflect the number of fish
which actually spawned in the middle river reach.As sockeye salmon in
this reach are almost strictly slough spawners.more reasonable esti-
mates were calculated by Barrett et el ,(1984)by comparing slough
esca~ement counts to observation life data to estimate the t ota l slough
escapement in the middle river.During 1983.thi s comparison provided
an estimate that 1.060 adult sockeye had spawned in sloughs in the
DRAFT /PAGE 18
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21 /85
NUMl/Df scussi on
middle river.The observation life data were then used to provide
co mparable estima tes for 1982 showing approximately 1,500 sockeye had
spawned i n the s loughs that year.These data were then used to recalcu-
late the sockeye egg-to-outmigrant survival rates.A survival rate of
21.9':wa s estimated for 1984 and a rate of 35.3%wa s cal culated for
1983.These rates are probably representative of th e sur vival of
sockeye in the middle river during the past tw o years .
Many factors ma y have caused the reduced survival of sockeye between
1983 and 1984:
1) Natural variations in the habitat conditions present at the
spawning sites during the incubation periods caused the
between year differences in surviva l.
2)Mainstem discharges (and thus slough water levels )were lower
during the 1982 spawning season result ing in less eggs depos-
ited in areas which would later dewater and freeze during the
winter.Conversely, the higher f lows during the 198 3 s pawning
period may have resulted in many of the eggs being deposited
in areas which later dewaterea and froze.Vining et al.
(1985)reported that dewatering and freezing were the primary
factors contribut i n9 to the hi gh embryoni c morta 1iti es for
incubating chum salmon in the Susitna Rive r.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
DRAFT/PAGE 19
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21 /85
NUMI/Oi scuss i on
3)As Slough 11 is the primary sockeye salmon spawning s ite 1n
the middle river (average of 66%from 1981-1983)(Barret t et
e l ,1984),a detrimental change in incubating conditions at
this sHe such as decreased intragravel flows or silting may
have increased egg mortality.
4)The calculation of survival rates is based on the estimated
number of parent spawners and are dependent on the precision
of this estimate.
4.3.4 Growth
The weekly growth rate for sockeye f ry which were coded wire tagged in
1983 and 1984 (Fig.50) most accurately represent the growth rates for
sockeye salmon fry in the middle river because the dates of release and
recovery and the mean lengths for the for each period were known.
The coded wi re tagged sockeye fry grew approximately three mi l11meters
each week.until they reached a critical size and then the growth rates
stagnated (Fig.50).Schmidt (l984)povtul a ted that the cessation of
sock.eye growth after reaching a certain size was associated with e vol ved
behavioral patterns and morphological changes.Schmidt (1984)suggested
tha t the sockeye fry were able to rear in the middle river habitats for
part of the SUn M1!er but began a downstream migration in search of
plankton rich environments after reaching a critical size.The small
number of habitats which provide this type of environment i n area s
CWT SOCKEYE MEAN LENGTH
••
••.>:••-.2 ./::E
::E .0-:z:
l-••e
Z ••.-/w
oJ
oJ ••<I-.20
I-
'0Z<••w
::E ••
••
• 2
1 2 a •••7 ••10
WEEKS BETWEEN RELEASE AND RECOVERY
Figure 50.Mea n len gth of coded wire tagged sockeye sa l mo n fry at
recovery s ites in the mid dle reach of the Su s1tna Ri ver
by week. 1984.
DRAFT /PA GE :0
5/3/85, 5/25/85,5/21/85
NUMI/Discussion
as soc iated with t he Sus itna River is d ma jor factor in c ontro lli ng the
produ ct ion of sockeye i n the middle river.
A comparison of the length data collected at Talkeetna Station dur ing
1982,1983,and 1984 and during the previous winter stud ies show that
Susitna River soc keye average appro ximately 32 mm total length at
eme rge nce,35 nm by early J une,and have increased to approxi mat e ly 50
~by la te J uly (Fig.51 ).From late J uly through Aug ust,no
si gn if icant growth wa s observed for sockeye fry collected at Ta lkeetna
St at ion,indicating that the cr itical s ize postulated by Schm idt (19 84)
ma y be 50 to 55 mm in the middle river.The apparent growth of soc keye
fry after late August (Fig. 51)is due to the collection of fish which
had continued rear ing in the small number of s Hes in the mid dle river
which p,.ovi de t he nece ssary fo od a nd habitat requireme nt s.Th ese fi sh
were probably f orced t o mig rate out of these a reas as wa t er level s and
avail able habitat decreased.The number o f s ockeye c ol le{ted after l ate
August represent less than 21 of the total out migration of age 0+fish
from this reac h.
A c ompari son of the downs tream redistribution o f socke ye salmon i n the
Susitna River by a ge cla ss during 1984 as the percen t cumu la tive of th e
t otal ca tches recorded at Ta lkeetna and Flathorn sta ti ons com pared to
the ca lcu lated perc ent cumu l at ive biomass mov ing pas t th ese s i te s.
indicated that the redistribution by weight o f sockeye in the Susitna
River was up to two weeks later than the red istribution observed when
comparing only total numbers of fish (Fig.52).
S OC KEYE 0+M EAN L~f'J GT H
70 -r-----------------------~
65
i'130 -
.~
5 0 -~45czs
"40 -
:r ••o --
z
~
e
3 5 L __--"
30 -!----,,----,---.,---,---,---.,----,---1
l MAY E J Uf'..C L JUNE E JULY L JULY E AUG L AUG E S EP L S EP
SAMPLINC P ERIOD OCT
Figure 51.Sockeye sa l mon (age 0+)mean length and range of me an len gths
by sampling period recorded at the Tal keetna stationary
outmlgrant traps during 1982. 1983,and 1984.
19 8 4 TALKEE T NA SO CK EYE 0 +19 8 4 TALKEE TN A S OC KEY E 1 +
•r-==:, , ,
L .....,.[J","C l JU N[[J Ul.Y l JUU'r <OJC l "UC [SO'L SO'[OCT
SAMPu N'"',.£AIOO
-1
"
"
"
..I ,, , , ,, , , I
l,"","[JUN[L JU N[[J IJlY l J ULY [,o,uc l AlJC [SO"l U P [OCT
~UNC P [ RIOO
,.
..
..
100 I •
..
~
i>u•~r
---,--
71 '"
"11
~
,.,.
......
..
,~
~
~•tl•r
--ee
1 9 84 FLATHORN S OCK EYE 1 +
'00..
"1 "~H -M,.......
,.
'"
.•~r
iu
v
~
,.
1 9 84 FLATH ORN SOCK EYE 0 +
"
..
..
,.
..
..
'00 ,:;:::::::::v •I
~
i•~r
10 f-.-., ,I , ,•I!,I f I ---~'--,•I f'
I ...."r JVt .r I ....,,'i r J'."I J lIl Y r ...,.;•a'Jr,[$o r,.I ,>(P (r oC'
YoI _'~:'''~I-[k....c:I MO 'r .".....1 .M"'!I J I "V I 'V"r ....'r;1,",1(;['.;[O'
~11 'L'''':;~L I<.:.o
!o r<'(,'..::1
Figure 52.So ckeye salmon adjusted cumulative catch and biomas s by age cla ss re corded at Talk eetna and
Flathorn stations ,1984.
DRAFT /PAGE 21
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21/85
NUMI/Di scussi on
Age 1+sockeye salmon collected during 1984 averaged approximately
75 mm.This is approximately 10 mm smaller than the average length of
sockeye fry collected at the end of the open-water season indicating
that the fry are growing through the winter and early spring prior to
outmigratfng as smelts.The average length of age 1+sockeye migrating
out of the Susitna River was approximately 10 mm smaller than the same
age fish Qutmigrating during 1984 from larson Lake. a major spawning
site in the Talkeetna River (Marcuson 1985).
4.4 Chum Salmon
4.4.1 Dutmigration
The migration of chum salmon fry past Talkeetna Stat ion during 1984 was
similar to the timing recorded during 1983 (Fig.53).Fifty percent of
the total Qutmigration past this site hdd occurred by mid June and over
95 %of the chum fry had migrated out of the middle river by mid July.
At Flathorn Station.the peak chum fry outmigration also occurred in mid
June during 1984.
Outmigrant trap re coveries of chum fry at Talkeetna St at ion indicate
that these fish migrate primarily in areas associated with the center
channel and higher velocities.The two bank traps combined sampled
approximatel y 1.5%of the total river s urface area at this s ite (US GS
provisional data )but captured only 0.2%of the total chum fry est i mat ed
to be migrating past the traps during 1984.No comparable data were
-.
1 9 8 3 &1 9 8 4 T AL KEET NA C HUM F R Y
'0<)T---------:::::;2::7'~----,
90
"'"3:::>
~
:::>o
~z
"'u
'""'Q.
8 0
70
60
50
40
3 0
2 0
10
AU G 1 A U C'-1 5 AUe.31JY15
DATE
JY 1IN 15
o -1'furmrrmmmmcmmmmrmrrrmrrmmmmrnTTTmmmmmmTrnl1TT11Tmmrrmml
MAY 1 8 .IN 1
Figure 53 .Chu m salmon fry adjusted cu mulative catch r ecorded at th e
Talk eetna stationary outmigrant traps.19 83 and 19 84 .
DRAFT/PAGE 22
5/3/85,5/25 /85,5/21/85
NUMI/Discuss;on
collected at Flathorn Station during 1984 due to the late startup of the
mobile trap.The earlier sampling at Flathorn Station expected during
1984 coupled with the addition of a mobile trap at Talkeetna Stat ion
will provide more definition information on the horizontal distribution
of chum salmon fry during their outmigration from the Susitna River.
Coded wire tagged chum fry during 1984 spent an average of 8 days (range
from 0 to 29 days) in the middle river before migrating past Talkeetna
Station.
4.4 .2 Freshwater life history
Chum salmon fry spend from one to eight weeks in the Susitna River
before outmigrating to the ocean.A portion of the population of chum
fry probably migrates out of the Susitna River shortly after hatching
while the remaining group of fish stay in the river to rear for a period
of time before outmtqrat inq,It is not possible to determine the
percentage which each group provtdr«due to the difficulty in sampl ing
outmigrant fishes prior to or during breakup.
4.4.3 Estimates of population and survival
An estimated 2,039,000 chum salmon fry were produced during 1984 from
the approximately 21,100 adults past Curry Station i~1983 for an
egg-to-outmigrant survival rate of 16.4 %.Comparatively,the 17,600
adult chum which passed Curry Station during 1982 produced an estiw~ted
3,322,000 fr y for a survival rate of 14.1 %.
~.
DR AFT /PAG E 23
5/3/85. 5/25 /85 . 5/21 /85
NU MI/Oiscussion
The ca l cul at ion of s urvi val r ates i s based upon the e stimated num ber of
parent sp awners whic h is di ffi cu lt t o obtai n because o f th e exte nt of
t r ibute r y s pawni ng by c hum s a lmo n.Al so a s ubsta nt ial per c enta ge o f
c hum s almon pass ing Cur ry St at ion a n>mi lling fish whi ch e ventuall y
s pawn bel ow t h is si te,a nd alth ough e sti mat es ha ve be en provided f or
1982 a nd 198 3 (Ba r ret t 1984),these percenta ges a re ,at best .o nly
i ndi cat ors of t he a mount o f c hum s almon mil l i og occu rr ing.As t hese
es t im ates have a la rge i nfl uence on th e ca lcu la ted rate s of s urv i val ,
the r at es pr esented f or 1983 and 1984 s hould be used t o comp are
differences between yea rs r at her t han abs o lute val ues of mi dd le r iv e r
c hum sa lmon s urviva l .
4 .4.4 Gr owth
The mea n len gth by one week per iods of recovery a fte r r elease f o r coded
wi re tagged c hum fry which were t agged and rec apt u red du ri ng 1983 and
1984 (Fi g .54)mos t ac cu ra tel y repres ent t he g ro wth rates of c hum f r y i n
th e mi dd le r i ver be cause the da tes of r el ease and re covery an d the
leng t hs f or t he f ish f or e ach peri od were known .
These data i ndicate tha t th e ch um f ry i n t he midd le ri ver are a ct ive l y
r e arin g a ft er e mergence .Ch um fry r e ar ing was als o s hown from the
ane l y st s of stom ach s a mpl es f rom t agged f is h r eco vered at Ta lkeetna
Station duri ng 1983.Th e s a mp le s a nal yzed s howed t hat these f i sh had
been e ati ng va r io us l i fe stages of ma yf ly , d ipt era.stor.efl y,b la ckf ly ,
midges .an d da ncef ly .
--,
L E NG TH O F C WT C H UM SALM O f'.!F P (M EAN
52
51
~50::!
::!-4 9
:t
I-e 48
Z
W
-'4 7
-'<I-4 60
I-
z 4 5
<w
::!44
4 3
4 2
o TO 5
/
6 T0 1Q 1 1 T0 1S 1 6 T0 2 0 2 1 T025
DAYS BETWEEN RELEASE AND RECCVERY
(Gro uped by 5 Day P. rlod)
~6 TO 2 J
Fi gu re 54.Mean l ength of coded wlre t agged c ~u m s almon f ry at reco v~ry s ites
1n t he mi ddle rea ch of th e Sus ftn a River by 5 day per iod , 1984 .
DRAFT/PAGE 24
5/3/85.5/25/85,5/21/85
NUMI /Discuss;on
4.5 Pink Salmon
4.5.1 Outmigration
The rates of downstream mtq eat ton of pink salmon fry past Talkeetna
Station for 1983 and 1984 were very similar between t :e two years but
the timing was approximately two weeks later in 1984 than in 1983.(Fi C).
55).Differences in spawn;"9 t fmes t wi nter temperatures,and sprf nq
breakup account for the differences in timing between the two years.
The low catches of juveni le pinK salmon recorded at Talkeetna Station
during the past three seasons is due to the pat tern and timing of
outmigraticn.Pink salmon fry outm fgrate shortly after emergence and
most of the fry probably have migrated past the traps prior to the
initiation of sampling.Those fi sh which are still in the middle river
after breakup appear to outmigrate in association with center channels
and high velocities.The inclusion of mobile outmigrant trap s ampl i ng
at Talkeetna Station during 1984 will assist in def ining the hor izcntal
distribution of outmigrating pink fry past this site during the
open-water season.
4 .5.2 Freshwater life history
Pink salmon fry in the Sus itna River outmigrate to the ocean s hort ly
after emer gence during a relatively short timing wind ow who se boundaries
Figure 55.Pink sa~mon fry adjusted cu mulative catch re corded at the Talkeetna
s tationary outmigrant traps ,19 83 and 1984.
DRAFT/PAGE 25
5/3/85,5/25/85,5/21 /85
NUMI/Df scussi on
are det ermined by the t im ing of spawn ing the prev ious season,th e
incubati on tempera tures.and the availab ility of acc ess t o t he Susitna
River after eme rgence.Ch anges in any of these factors would s ubse-
quently change the tim ing of Qutmigration for this spec ies.
4.5.3 Growth
Pink salmon in the Susitna River spend little or no time rearing in the
system before outm fgrating .The pink fry collected dur ing 1984 averaged
approximately 35 mm which 1s s im i lar to th e ir mean len gth a t eme rgence.
A f ew pin k fry wh ich ranged in length f r om 40 to 50 mm were colle cted.
i ndic ati ng that a sma ll percenta ge of f ry may be fe eding for a s hort
period of ~f me in fr eshwater before Qutm i grating to th e ocean•
...,;.."
DRAFT/PAGE 1
5/16/85.5/21/85
NUMI/Contributors
5.0 CONTRI8UTORS
Fisheries Technicians Chuck Blaney (crew leader - Talkeetna Station),
Albert Badgley.Patricia Harris.Diana Roche.James Gruber and Fishery
Biologists larry Dugan (Task Manager)Roger Harding (crew leader -
Flathorn Station)Linda Soquet.Jeff Bigler.Tom Crowe,and Jim Anderson
operated the outmigrant traps~
Fishery Biologists Dan Sharp and linda Soquet and Fishery Technicians
Doug Patrick and Anne Wiseman assisted in the coded wire tagging
efforts.
Dan Gray (Fishery Biologist)helped with the cold branding study.
John McDonald and David Sterrit collected the data at the Deshka River
weir.
Stephen Hale assisted with the statistical analyses of the habitat
variables.
Allen Bingham and staff I and especially Kathrin Zosel,did the data
processing;Skeer-s Word Processing typed the report;and Carol Hepler
and Drew Crawford drafted the figures.
Tim Hansen and Craig Richards analyzed stomach samp le s of chum s al mo n
fry.
Paul Suchanek,Drew Crawford,and Stephen Hale reviewed this draft.
DRAFT /PAGE 2
5/16 /85,5/21 /85
NUMI /Contribut ors
6.0 "CK NO WLEDGEMENTS
Funding fo,'this study was provided by the Ala ska Power Author ity.
DRAFT /PAGE I
5/16 /85,5/2 1/85
NUMI /Literatu re Ci ted
7.0 LITERATU RE CITED
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (A DF&G).1981a. Phase I fin al draft
repo rt.Subtask 7.10. Adult anadromou s fisherie s project (J un e·
September 1981 ). Alaska Department of Fish and Game 5usftna Hydro
Aquat ic Studies .Anchorage ~Alaska.
1981b.Ph ase I f inal draft report . Subtask 7.10.J uven il e
anadro mo U5 fish stud y on the lower Susitna Ri ver {Novemb er 1980 -
October 19B !}. Ala ska Department of Fish and Game Susit na Hydro
Aquatic Studies.An ch orage,Ala ska.
1983a. Sus itna Hydro aquatic studies phase II fin al rep or t.
Vo l ume 2. Adult enadromo us f i sh studies ,1982.Alaska Department
of Fish and Game Susftna Hydro Aquati c StUd ie s.An chorage,Al aska.
1983b .Sus itna Hydro aquatic s tudies phas e II basi c dat a
repor t.Volume 3 .Re sident and j uvenil e anadromous f is h stud ies
on the Susi tna Rher bel ow Devil Ca nyon, 1982.Ala ska Department
of Fi sh and Game Susi tna Hydro Aquatic Studies ,An chorage,Alaska.
Barrett,B.M .1984.SUl1111d ry of abundan ce and di stributi on of adult
s a lmo n in Sus it na r iver sub-basins ,Presented a t:Aquatic Habitat
Workshop No.1.Sus itna Hydroe 1ec tri c Proje ct,An chorage.Alaska,
Febru ary 15,1984.
DRAFT /PAGE 2
5/16/85,5/21/85
NUMI /literature Cited
___'r.M.Thompson,and S.N. Wick (ed s .}.1984.Adult anadromous
fish investigations:May -October 1983.Alaska Department of
Fish and Game Susitna Hydro Aquatic St udtes,Report No.l.
Anchorage,Ala ska.
Bernard,D.R q G.Oliver,W.Goshert,and B. Cros s.1983. Compa rison
Of scale patterns from sockeye salmon sampled from different rivers
within the Susitna River watershed in 1982.Alaska De partment of
Fish and Game,Division of COrmlerc ial Fisherie s,Statewide Stock
Biology group.Ancho rage.Alaska.
Chapma n,O.G.1951. Some properties of the hypergeomtrf c distributi on
wi th app l I c at ions to zoo 1091 ca 1 sample censuses.Unive rs ity of
California Publication Statistics 1:1 31-160.
Delaney,K.,K.Hepler.and K.Roth .1981.Deshka Ri ver chinook a nd
coho salmon s tudy.Alaska Department of Fish a nd Game.Di vision of
Sport Fi sh.Federal Aid in Fish Restora ti on.Pro ject AFS-4 9.Vo l .
22.
___•K•• and R.Wadman .1979.Little Sus itna Ri ver j uvenile c hinook
and coho salmon study .Alaska Department of Fi sh and Game,ntv t -
sian of Sport Fish .Anchorage.Ala ska.
DRA FT /PAGE 3
5/16/8 5,5/2 1/85
NUM1 /L iterat ure Cited
Dixon.W.J.,M.B.Brown .l.Engelman, J .W .Fran e,M.A.Hi l"R.I.
J ennri ch,a nd J.D .To porek (eds .).1981.8MD P Stat isti cal
Software 1981. Univer si ty o f Califo rnia .Berkle y.Califo rnia.
Healy.M.C..and W.R.Heard .1984.Int er-and i ntra-po pulat ion
val"'i at f on in the fecundity of chi nook sal mon {Oncorhynch us
tshawytscha }and its re1e vance to the 1 f fe hi 5 tory the ory.
Canadian Journal of Fisher ies and Aquatic Sciences 41 :476-483 .
Koerner ,J . F. 1977.Th e us e of t he coded wire t ag in jector un der
remot e fi eld condit i on s.Alas ka De partme nt of Fish and Game,
I nfo rma t ional Lea fl et No .172.
Kubi k, S . 1967.Pop ula tion st udies of ana dromous s pecies with e mpha s i s
on uppe r Coo k Inlet drai na ge.Alaska Dep art men t of Fish and Game .
Div is ion of Sport Fish .Federal Aid in Fish Restorati on,196 6-
1967,Pr oj ect Report 8 :117-128.
___and K. Delane y.198D.In vento ry and ca ta l09i n9 of s port fi sh
waters o f the l ower Susitna Ri ver and ce ntral Cook Inlet drain ages.
Alaska Departme nt of Fish an d Gam e.Federal Ai d i n Fish
Restoration ,Annual Re port of Progres s.1979 -1980.Project F·9-12.
21(G-I -H).
OtlAFT /PAGE 4
5/16/85. 5/2 1/85
tlUMl/lt terature Cited
___and R.O.Wad man .1978.I nventory and cat alo9in9 of s po rt f ish
waters of the l ower Sus;tna Riv er an d centra l Cook In l et drainages.
Alas ka Depa rtment of Fi sh and Game .Federal Aid 1n Fis h Re sto ra-
ti on,Annual Report of Progress. 1978-1979 ,Proj ect F-9-11,
20 (G-I-H).
Marcuson, P.1985.Larson la ke pro ject progress report.Cook Inlet
Aquacultur e Association,Anchorage,Alaska.
HcConnel'.R.J. ,and G.R.Snyder.197 2. Key to field identif icati on of
anadromous j uven il e sal mon ids i n the Pacific Northwest .Nat ional
Oceanic and Atmo spheric Ad ministrat ion Technical Repo rt .ne t to ne l
Kar ine Fisheries Servi ce CI RC -366.
Moberly.S.A••R.Hil ler.K.Crandall.and S.Bates.19 77. Har k-tag
manual fo r sal mon.Alaska Depa rtment of Fis h and Game.Fisher ies
Rehabilitation and Enha ncement Div is ion.
Morrow,J.E.19 80.The freshwater f ishes of Alaska.Alaska Northwe st
PUbl ish 1ng Compan y,Anch orag e,Al aska.
Ra lei gh .R.F .•J.B.McLaren.and O.R.Graff .1973.Effects of t opica l
l ocation,bra ndin g tec hniques an d changes i n hue on recognit ion of
cold brands in Centrarchid and Sal moni d f ish.Transa cti cns of the
Ameri can Fi sheries So ciety 102:637 -641 .
DRAFT/PAGE 5
5/i6/85,512 1185
NUH1/L iterature Cited
Richards,K.1979.Aspects of the juvenile life history of spring
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)in Deshka River.Alaska
determined from adult scale analysis and migrant trapping.M.S.
Thes is.Oregon State University.Corval lis,Oregon.
Ricker,W.E.1975.Computation and interpretation of biological
statistics of fish populations.Bulletin of the Fisheries Research
Board of Canada.191.
Roth,K.J.,D.C.Gray,and D.C.Schmidt.1984. The outmigration of
juvenile salmon from the Susitna River above the cbut itna Ri ver
confluence. Part 1 ifr Schmidt.D.C.,5.S.Hale.D.l.Crawford,and
P. H. Suchanek (eds ,l .1984.Resident and juvenile a nadramaus
fish tnvest tqat tons (Hay -October 1983).Susitna Hydro Aquat ic
Studies.Report No.2.Alaska Department of Fi sh and Game.
Anchorage,Alaska.
Schaefer.M.B.1951.Estimation of the size of animal population s by
marking experiments.United States Fish and Wildlife Service .
Fisheries Bulletin 52:189-203.
Schmidt,D.C.1984.River ine rearing of slough spawned sockeye sal mon
in the Susttna River.Paper presented at annual meeting of the
American Fisheries Society,Alaska Chapter.
Juneau, Alaska.
November.1984.
DRAFT/PAGE 6
5/16/85,5/21/85
NUMI /l iterature Cited
___'5.5.Hale,D.L.Crawford,and P.M.Suchanek (eds.).1984.
Resident and juvenile anadromous fish investigations (May -October
1983).Alaska Depa rtment of Fi sh and Game Susitna Hydro Aquati c
Studies.Report No.2.Anchorage.Alaska.
Trautman,M.B.1973.A guide to the collection and identif i cat ion of
pre-smolt Pacific salmon in Alaska with an illustrated ke y.
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Technical
Memorandum.NMFS ABFl-2.
Tschaplinski,P.J.,and G.F.Hartman.1983. Winter distribution of
juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch )before and after
logging in Carnati on Creek,British Columbia,and some impli cations
for overwinter survival.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquati c
Sciences 40:452-461.
Vin ing,l.J.,J.S.Blakely,and G.M.Freeman.1985.An evaluation of
the i ncubation life-phase of c hum salmon i n th e middle Su sitna
River,Alaska. Winter Aquatic Investigations:September, 1983 -
flay 1984.Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Report No. 5.Alaska
Department of Fish and Game,An chorage,Alaska.
•
nRAFT /PAGE I
S/ 21/AS
tlUMlB /Appe ndi x B
APPEND IXA
JUVENILE SALMON CATCH AND LENGTH DAT A,19 84
•
ORA n/PACE 1
5/10 /85
NlJ'Il BITe e I e t'-I
A pp ~nd ia r,ble A-1 .We ir c a tche s of j uveni l e c hi nook and c oho s al mon o n t he Deshka Ri ver .
!oIay 10 t hrough Se ptefllbe r 1'3.1'J84 .
Chinook CO""
Tdbutary Hoo"f otal Fatch Tot .l titch
Dat e
River Hile Fished Catch Pe r Hour Catch Per Hour
"",.2.'21 .5 2 o,,••••12 2.'15.0 ••••,C.,
tl 2 .'2 1 .0 3 o,,o •••27 •••12.0 ••'.2 ,e.,
28 •••U .S 7 •••••••,.•••12 .5 3 '.2 ••••"5.'U .O •'.3 ••••
J une 1 5.'12 .5 21 1.7 ••••21 5.'11 .5 ,e.,••••22 5 .'21.5 3 o,,••••
Ju l y "2 .5 1'.5 209 a ."5 '.3
12 2 .5 2••0 ,..•••2 e.,
tl 2 .5 24.0 2••11.2 3 O.,
14 2.5 23 .5 ".7.'•'.2
15 2 .5 2 ••0 27 1.1 ••••16 2.5 ~1lo.O tl.5.',•••2S 2 .5 15 .0 318 21.2 21 1.'
26 2. 5 2-\.0 14'~.2 •'.3
31 2 .5 20 .0 ,..'.'•'.2
Augus.t tl 2 .5 '''.0 45 3 .2 15 ,•1
14 2 .5 23.0 •'.2 2 e.,
15 2 .5 23.0 5 '.2 5 '.2
16 2.5 23 .0 27 , .2 12 a.5
31 2 .'21.5 5 c.z 22 ,.e
Sep teaaber ",.5 13 .5 ,e.,o •••12 1.5 23.0 •'.3 •e.o
tl 1.5 23.0 •'.3 1 •••14 1. 5 23.0 2 ..,•e.e
15 2. 5 18.0 ,..,2 e.,
16 2 .5 211.0 •••••'.3
17 2 .5 211 .0 ,•••••••"2 .5 23 .0 ,•••2 o.,
s..son Tot.l s 6 21 .0 1 .808 2••117 '.2
I
I
I
ORAFT IPAGE 1
5/1 0/8 5,5 /21 /85
NU M1BITabl e B-2
Appendix Table A-2 .Re~u lt~of inc fdent~1 minnow trapping in the Oeshka River .1984 .
Tributary Nu tnber Catch Catch
River Hours ,f Ch inook PO'Co "~PO'
Date Mile FI~hed Trap~Catch Trap Ca tch Trap
June 21 5 .5 16 •s.'.3 14 2.3
Augu~t ,.2.5 • •
15 2 .5 4...0
2.2.2 2 7 23 3.3 SO 7.1
September 17 5 .5 "4 20 '.0 4 1.0
October 10 2.2 "2 1 0.'2 1•a
10 ••0 "•30 7 .5 •1.0
11 5.0 27 7 23 3.3 21 3 .0
13 2.0 to 6.0 50 5 2
0.4 10 2.0
"2.0 t o 6.0 2.5 ,0.2 •a.•
15 '.0 "5 "••2 •1 ••
Sea~on Totals 51 212 4.2 ,..3.3
Appendl~Tabl e A-3.
DRAFT /PACE I
5/10/85 ,5/11 /85
NUH IBlTab1e 8 ·3
NUlrlb er o f fh h.mean l e ngth,and range of lengths f or age 0+c hinook u lmon by urnpllnQ perl olJ on t he Su.lt ~a
Rlyer betwee n Cook Inl et a nd i ~l~eet na .198~.
Fl athorn St at ion Deshka Rlyer Malnst em SU l l tna Rlyer a
Samp li ng
Pert ad •Rean Range •Run Range •Rean Ran-ge
Ho,0 -.77 lI2.7 36-1t 9 •
J une 1-1 5
,.56 .6 1t 0 ·67 21 1t2.1t 1t0-46 "48 .5 )4-63
J une 16 · 30 '"58 .5 39-7 1t ,.55 .7 ~6 -69 .J 52.0 36-70
Jul y 1-15 m 6 2.0 lIO-8~".66 .8 52 -83 ..51t .5 39-710
Ju l y 16-31 ".61t .3 1t3-88 20'69 .7 52-93 171 58.1 39-80
Au91nt 1-15 '89 66 .6 1t7-89 53 71t .1t 6 0-91 llO 5 8. 9
1t 0-82
Augu st 16 -31 m 72 .7 116-9/0 .,71,7 5 5 -89 230 61 .5 1t 2-9 1t
September 1-15 •77 .3 68 -81t i s 77 .9 69 -88 "66.8 5 2-95
September 16 -OCt ober 15 '0 78 . 7
68-95 102 7 6. 0
6 8 -85 53 73 .2 5 1-92
•Mot sall'lj)le d •
•Inc l udes a l l matnlt e m.s lough a nd st de ch annel Ittes sa mp led durtng the JAHS study I n the tower r each of t he SUlt t na Rl yer .
•~e •~~••~~iii 0 iii ~"~~~~m -e-~e e ,,, ,•,-e-~,••~~~~~0,.~•~~~~~~•.~-+~~•..•c ••s:~.~.•~~~-~~•-~,e e ·-' 0 e • •
0 ~0 :;;~~<.0_0 ~~~~~~:::~~
~e eO~•
•e •••0 0 0 0 0 0 ~•~~0 0 0 0 ,
0 ~••
~~<<
i-•;;•<••~~~~N 0 0 ••+~•~~~~0 ~•e <,•,••• •
~
~•~~N 0 ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~•<0e•0
i 0 0 N ~-:~0e ~,0 ~N N ~~:;;e•~•~~~~~•e
I ~•e
0 •0 •~
e e 51 • •
0 0 0 0 0 g ~<0 ~~0 0 •~•N •0 ~•+•0 ..
•~~•••0 ~0 ~0 0 ~;;;0 ~~~~~~~~~~•e e •,,•,• • • •
000•~~~~~0 ~~:;;~~~~~~•~•••~e ••~••~~
~~~0 N ~~~~m <
<~•<·-.~<•~~~~~~~N 0 •-~•~•~~~~~~~,-•-e••o ••~<•.0 •i-~~•N •~~-~N ~~e ~~~~•:;;--~~•~-~-•-e
~-e
<-•.+•.!e••0 ••~~~~~~~0 ~..•<e ,•,,,go .••~•0 •:;;e•••••<••+•-<..~
<.0•••N 0 -~N •I ~e ·.··~•N ~~51 ~..••~~~~'.•~•~e <..<-.••r ••·•0 ~~~~~0-.e N ~~~-~o •--N -~
~,.•O ·••-.~.e +
~~~.~
Z~I ••.<
.8 e •<-
0 -e
~•Z~,Il-e ·-.•~~-~..-•••;;;•~i-•~~-e.•;~0 ;;;-•• 0
~~~•~•••V•-•-•--• •
e ,~
t~•~•~~~0
~---•••I •u •e .,e e •0 <••~!•~~,,••Z •0 ~<--;~~0 0
0 ~,,,s ~•J ••C ~~~~~
--------~-
Ap pendl_'able A-5.
DRAFT/PACE 5
5/10/85 ,5/2 1/85
NUH 1B/hblo B-3
Num ber o f f ish.me an l ength .an d range Gf lengths f or .g.0+coho s .l~n by s amp ling period on the SUltt n.River
b e t ~en Cook In l et a nd Tal ke etn.,198ft.
Fl.thorn St ation Dn to ka River M.ln st em Sus ltn.Ri ver'
Samp li ng
Per iod 0 'jean Rang.0 He lo Ral19f:0 R.,n Range
"'y 0 - -
0 - -•
Ju ne 1 -1 5
10 "2.7 )2-60 0 --18 1t0.9 ))-50
J u ne 16-10 \.48.7 32-6'+0 .-•11 6 .2 n-Gl
J uly '- IS "49.1 36-65 0 .-"50 .7 )5-65
J uly 16-31 38 58.6 /t4 -71 21 5 7 .3 1t7-65 II 5 0 .2 ]7 -65
Aug ust 1 -1 5
30 62.1 1t 9-79 "61.6 53 -7 2 "49 .6 '+1 -68
Augu st 16-31 18\66.8 1t0-89 ,.71,2 51- 89 71 59 . 1 "0-85
Se ptem ber 1-1 5 8'75 .0 5 5·9ft 2 68. 0
67 -69 ,.62.2 li9-86
September 1t;•Oct ober 15 67
75.1 57'"2.77.0 GO-9 5 10'66 .7 49 -95
..Not lamp l. d •
•Includes .11 maln,tam.s l ough, and sf de c hannel si tes sa mpled dur ing the JAHS s tudy I n th e lower r each o f th e $usi tna Rive r.
DRAFT/PACE ..
5/10/85,5 /21 /85
NUM1 B/Tabl e B-3
Ap pen dix Table "~6.N~ber of f ish.mean l engt h.and r ange o f l e ngt h s f or a ge 0+c o ho u llOlOn by ump ll ng per i od on t he Susl t na Riv er
between Talkeetna an d Devi l Canyon.1 98~.
Heln 'te-5u" t na Ri vera
Mean Range
Indian Rfver
Hean Range
]/0-51
"2-49
39-58
4 2-61
4"-64
4"-73
38. 0
50 .9
55. 1
lilt.I
"8 .0
49.0
•
n
•
•
80
'0
.,
..
90
'66
39-62
ltO-70
"8 ~76
5 0 .8
56.8
59.4
•
•
•
o
o
o
38
",
n
Tal ke et na St at ion
n Rea n Range
35 39.7 35-lt6
.0 39.6 3D-51
156 ~3 .9 31-58
'".7.8 ]2-63.,.51.8 33-69
221 54 . 1
1I1 ~7 11
'98 61.5 112 -80
212 60.5 112 -85
39 69. 1 51-90
SalOlp llng
Period
Jul y 1 -15
Ju l y 16-31
August 1 -15
August 16-)1
September 1-15
Se pt ember 16 -Oc t ober 15
""Jun e 1-15
June 16 -30
• Not sampled •
•Inc lude,ell ~a ln$l _M .,I oug h.and side c~annel ,tte,,a mp led during the co ded wi re tagging an d co ld br anding ,t udle,i n th e Mi ddle
r each o f t he Su.t t na Ri ver .
,
I
1-
•••~
>••-s ~~~0 0•~-~0 ~--~~>C 0 -,•-~~~•~•,~, ,~,
"•~~~~0 0 ~
-~C ~~~~~
~~~•.:'.-C
~~-•~•U D ,>•••~•~~~0 ~~0
~~~,C ..;,.;..;,.;~
,~,•~•0 ~:;;~
~,~~•~~~0 0 0 -•.0-~t -C
~.:::~~
C ~
O~Z •••C ,
~-~•C •-~~~-~~-Z --2••~••~•C-~•~••••••~•D •~~~~~~~&~~0 ~-~~~
C C ,•-----2 •~•~•,...-•~~~~-~2~~~~~••~••>C•~~•C ~~0 ~~~0 ~~•• •,,;.;,,;·· ·
.;-e
~•s ~~-,
•~~~~~~--~-•--•
•!~
~~•,
•~0 ~~~~~-••-C -~~~
~•~~C~-~•C ,•~-~••..;i~~•c~•0 ~-0 ~~~~•~-~-~-~-~~~
C -,------•~.;•,~,,• •
,,•C ~~0 ~0 -~~~C c •~~~~~~~-.~-••~•••..~~~~-~C~.~~~~~~~C~~C ".;,·••~~~~~~~
-~s ~~~~~0 0 -•d -~•••-eI~~-•-'C ~~-c 0 ~~~~~~~~e•~~~~•-~:8 ~
~•,
e •••-.U •
B ·ZD t
~•c·~••~••C~-.•'i~~l-~•D -•~-•~.~~-~•~0 --,••~~~~•~•~~•~•-•-•--i •,
•~•~p-e -~~~•c • ••e~!•~~,,~~8 Z~C 0 ~••~l s ,,,,~~•,,,,•~••
•
r
••>0 :<~
~~~-e~•• •
~~~•~~~.."••~~~-~0 >''''~CI ""'•~11&l .., _•"u ~,0<".~•0 ~-0~~-~..;-'~'•~~~_'0 s:0 ~0 ~•,10.0 _"•'t:!::::~-0 -eo~z e ,
"~•e •• •
N ~~0 0 0
1:-~
0•~-e
0
~•0 •-~
i--e
•e••
~•~••~~0•~~0 0 ~•0 •0 •'--~a >•N •••~
"'~N ~0 0-0 0 ~•~••~
0 •e ""~•0 ~N ~•••,·•~~~~~
+~0 ~~•-i -e•"•
~•••0 e-•••e z 0 ••0 0 0
N 0 ~•-0 -s:
"•~~0"-~•0 ,•~--e•••~0..~~~,•0-•~N ~0 ~0 ;;;~~••"~0 0 --N N N ~
•0 0 ---------•~.0 ••• • •••••••
e ~•N ~~0 ~:;;~~"-~~~~~~0 ~:.:1 "••"..~-~"-0
~>•~0 -:0 N ~~~~0
~<!0 0 ·,;•"•~~~N ~s •~••~~~~~~~-•-e •-00 ••..-er.••-0 -e""~.0 ~N 0 N N ~~•-0••~~~~~N ~-N •-.-~~-N--"•~--~e ,
0 ••••-.••..
~.-~t ~'~i •Z~•"0•."~0_•-.
~"lJl•~;;<O~-.,;-.•~-~
0.~~-•."-•~•.~~~-e,.--~0 -..•,••~~~~~•••~•-•-••••'~•~•~~~-.•---""i "••0 • ••~o ••• •
~~,,""•e,~0 0 ~~~~
~~,,,,,~• •~~~~<~~••
DRA FT/PAG E 1
5/1 3/85. 5/21/85
NUM l8/Table 4
Appendi x Table A-9 . Number of fish ,me an len gth,and ran ge of len gt hs
for age 2+coho sal mon by s ampl f ng per iod on the
Susft na Ri ver betwee n Coo k Inlet and Dev il Canyo n,
1984.
Samp li ng Nu mber of Me an Ran ge o f
Period Fi sh len gth l engths
May .5 133.2 120 -160
E.Ju ne 7 135 .6 114 15 7
l.June 1 136.0 136
E.J uly 2 130.0 130
l.J uly 0
E.August 1 126.0 126
l.August 13 138 .0 125 -176
E.September 2 134 .0 134
l.Sep tembe r -
E.Oct ober 13 141 .0 135 - I SO
All Season 44 137 .1 114 -176
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DRA FT/PAC E 1
5/11/85.S/21 /8S
NUM TBlTable 7
Ap~nd l .T.ble A-l0.Da lly c.tches o f ouUl gr.n t c hUlll and sockeye sal mo n fr ,to •f yke
net 10c .ted at the nouth o f Slough 21.Ma y 21 t o June 12,19810.
Che ek Date Sockeye "'~Che ck Da te Sockeye "'~
...,23 1.005 ,.June ,1S5 a
"i""•".a
25 81.i.S '60 ,.
26 2 .150 m i ...12
27 1,10 79 ...7 1 .0 210 82
",.."a 57.8S,.1 ,777 '98 s 761 :;9,.m ..,."34
June "i ..11 .23 a
2 ,..n 12 ,.a
,,'2
Slough bre.ched .llowtng f tsh p.ss.ge .round net .Net pul led.
Appendl _T.ble A-ll .
DRAFT/PAC E 1
5/1 0/85 .5/2 1/85
NUM1B IT.b le a-It
NlJII ber of fllh.eeen l ength,.nd r.nge of leng t h:!>fo r .g.0+,ockeye :!>alrnon by "'mp llng pe riod on th~Su,l tn.
Rive r betwe en Cook Inl et .nd Devi l Canyon,1984.
M.ln ,tem Su:!>1tn.R.....r·M.lnltem SU:loltn.Rlver b
f l ethorn Stet lon BelOw Te1keetnft Ta lkeetn.Stetl on Abo ve Talk e etn.
S' lIpllng
...rl od "Hean R'I\9 '"Re.n R. nge "Re.n R. nge ~'.ng e
Hoy '"32 .8 27-1t5 •. .213 32 .0 26-.1 100 10.5 25-37
J un. 1-15
,..40.1t 29-60 15 36 .0 26-52 '0S 36.5 28-60
100 35.1 29-49
Jul y 16 -)0 '"1t 2.1 25-70 BO 1t 0 .l 26-66 50.Itl .9 25'11 50 31t.1 28-1t ""
July 1-1 5 m 1t9 .2 25-80 '0 1t3 .6 30-65 570 1t 8.8 30-75 °
July 16-3 1 m 52.2 30-85 "1t 3 .5 28-76 ,..53.")5-87 B 53.1 '47-68
Augu lt 1-1 5 m 53 .0 19-85 38 "7 .9 30-76 5'0'51.8 ))-88 ••51 .4 ")-62
Au gult 16-31 185 52 .8 )0 -9)'0'53 .0 28-86 .0 58.6 "2 -79 50 56 .2 36-69
Septemb.r 1-15 "55 .6 1t 2-75 '0 61,2 1t5-71 ss 59 .8 1t0-9 1 °
September 16 -October lS "57 .2 38-8 1 6l 60.3 35-79 15 60."1t8 -90 °
•No t U lIlp led •
•Incl ude :!>.11 maln'tem,,lough,.nd ,I d.ch.nn.1 I i te l I . mpl .d du ring t h.JAH S Itudy tn the low.r r ••ch o f the SU lltne Rive r.
b Inc lude,.11 m.ln,tem I)ough ,.nd I ide c h.nnel l it. ,l amp l. d du r t~g t he coded wlr.t.ggi ng end rold br.ndlng Itudle,I n the middle
r e.ch o f the Su:!>ltn.River .
DRAFT /PAGE 2
5/13 /85,5/21 /85
rlUMl8 /Tab le 4
Appendi x Table A-12.Nu mber of fish.mean len gth,and ran ge of len gths
for age 1+sockeye sa1mo n by sa mp 1i n9 period on
t he Susitna Ri ver between Cook In le t a nd Devil
Canyon, 1984.
Samp ling Numb er of Mean Rang e of
Per iod Fish leng th l engths
May 32 71.3 56 - gg
June I-IS 40 71.3 61 -100
JlJn e 16-30 IS 77 .8 71 - gl
J uly 3 91.7 81 -102
Season gO 73.1 56 -102
•••~•>•m~>~•~0 m ~-;;,.~.~~~~~~-_m ~c c •• ••,0 ~
N N .~•~~~~0,.•CO ~~~~~~•~~-C ~.U
0 ~~-~•••••0 -•~
~~-0 O .~~N N ~•~,m '0 ~-c ·_,0 ~•~•0 m ~•c_0_••~~•~•-~-.•.>~
~Z -e 0o;;:;i ~..•~CO ;;C C 0 0 0 0
0
0 •~0 ~~•0•~~~
~0
'J c ~-c••0 ~~•c•N m N ~~-•~C ~~~~~~~•C 0 C •,,••0 ~--•N ~~~~~
~~~~~~~0 ~•~~0•~C U•-~~0 ~;;•,;.·~
~C ~N • •
C C
~~•••••• •••
~•~~•~C--e•~
C -~~~~N 0 ~
it c ~~N ~~U •~~•~-~
~•C •0 ••
!~ic•~~•~•u >•m 0 ~~~'J-~~~~•••~.c ,,••~u0c•;;;;;;~~-.~~~•1c.•0 ~.~
~-~•~0 -I!'~o .N •~•~c ~-·••~~N 0 'J •U •~•~0u~-~-
0:~.lI ~-e• •.~••0 ~~-~~~-c •c ~0 ~N ••••N ••••0 0
~~0 0
c c • •."~~
·•..
~-•N ~~~N
~-C ~~~~~~..~>0 c ,,,••••.!I -•~0 N 0 -C C
~~~~~~c c•• •-~~a ~
c C ~u u• •c ~~~~~• •r ~•.~-e
0 N -N N -.<s:•••••••~~-•-e 1•c
-~-• •-8 ~0 is ~-.._u c -~-~~0 N ~~C g g~••• •
-.~.•o >
!~-..~
Z ~I i •
~~c
0 ~O~
C c -~•-0-;~.0•.~•~-.•~-.-~•.c .~
~~•~~0 -o .-'='J 0 ;;;.0
• 0
~-~•~o ~•'i1i -•-,0 O ~a•~,~'U ._u
~---~u •c .~0 c ~c ••~!•~~z -~•~~c -~!1.0 0 0 0,,,,••~
DRAFT /PAGE 2
5121/85
NU Ml8/Ap pendix 8
APPEN DI X 8
TH E SC HAEFE R ESTIMATE OF PDPU LATlDrI SI ZE
I
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DRAFT /PAGE 3
5/21/85
NUMIB/Append i x B
One of the assumpt ions of a mark-recapture program which mu st be met t o
provide a valid populat ion estimate is that,dur ing tagg ing and recov-
ery,the mar ked i ndividuals are randomly distr ibuted with in the unmar ked
po~ula tion .A biased Petersen estimate would result i f the mark ing and
recapture efforts were selective.Schaefer (1951)pointed out that when
generating a population estimate for migrating fishes,the fact that
some f ish do not always migrate as a single population should be
considered,so that the mixing of marked and unmar K~d fish between the
time of tagging and recovery may be lnco~~lete.
Schaefer (1951)provided a method for estimatin~the populati on,when
using numbered tags,by estimat ing the relat ion between t f~of ta gg ing
and recovery when migrat ion e xtends over a cons iderable per iod of time.
By using numbered tags.both the date of tagging and date of recovery is
known for each fish recovered and the population can be div ided into a
series of distinct units.
Specific to the coded wire tag mark-recapture program conducted on the
Susitna River during 1983 and 1984 there may be a tendency for fish
which emerge earliest to outmigrate earl iest.resulting in a positive
correlation between time of tagging at the emergence sites a nd the t ime
of migrat ion past the recovery s ite.When such a correlat ion exists.
the recovery during any si ngle period would not be a ra ndom sa mp le of
t he whole popu lat ion.
The method proposed by Schaefer uses the sUllTI'Iat ion of populati ons for
individu al periods of tagging and recovery to estimate t he total popu-
lation.A table is first generated which shows the number of fish
DRAFT/PAGE 4
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NUMl8 /Appendix B
tagged and recovered during each time interval.Using these data,a
second table can be fanned which estimates the population for each
period;the sum of these being the total population estimate.
The population estimate (N) was determined from the formula from
Ricker's (1975)modification of Schaefer's (1951)equation:
tagging
a recovery
MR...i.
lJ R.
i
=c.
~
::the number of fish which were marked during a
period (i)and subsequently recaptured during
period (j).
where:
::the number of fish marked durinfj a single tagging period.
::the total markeo fish recaptured f ~o m a single tagging
period.
::the number of fish captured and examir.ed for marks during
a recovery period.
::the number of marked fish which were ··ecapt ured during a
recovery period.
::the estimate of the number of fish available for marking
during a period (i)and the number available for recovery
in a period (j).
Tagging and recovery periods for the Susitna River study were grouped by
eight day intervals.The data collected for the estimate of the popu-
lation of sockeye salmon outmigrants is tabulated by the Schaefer method
in Appendix Table B-1.The computation of these data and the resulting
population estimate are presented in Appendix Table B-2.
The mark-recovery data for chum salmon are presented in Appendix Table
B-3, and the computations and final population estimate are provided in
Appendix Table B-4.
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NUMIB /Appendix B
With the use of distinct marks,succes sive groups of tagged fish main-
tain a separate identify and can be treated as separate populations .
Using the methods provided by Schaefer (1951),it is po ssible to gener-
ate population estimates for each t ime interval both at tagging and
rec overy .This allows the comparison of population estimates not onl y
betwe en years,but between given time periods of the outmigration during
a single year .
Appendix Table 8 -1.
DRAFT /PACE 1
5171/85
Nt.I't1 8/Tabl e 2
Data c o l l ec ted o n t he coded wi re t.g .mark-recapture ."pe riment tor lockeye ,.111IO(\f ry to prev t de ill popu l.tlor>
n thnillte usi ng t he methods outltned by Schaefer (1 9 51).1.99 '"9 and r e covery periods Ire by eight da y
Interv,ls .May 22 t hrough Septem~r 18 .198.,
,
Period of Pe riod of T. gging (t l Tagged Fhh Tot.l Fhh
Recove ry Recoyered Recovered
lJl ,2 3 •!Rj I (eJI CJ/ RJ
1 27 -·-27 319 12.6
2 •-·-•21 17 .8,7 ---7 '"5 9.1
•2.-s 5 "1.293 l 1t .9
5 21 ·5 "50 0"18 ~6
s 70 -"15 I.'1,627 16 .1
7 32 -0 7 ..0,.20 .3•"-1 ,2..,.21 .lt
0 20 -5 I...'0'15.8
I.•-2 •17 ,..30 .0
11 •··-7 m 21t . 7
12 ·-1 ·1 2.20.0
"1 --·1 ••46 .0,.2 -··2 so 30.0
15 1 -·-1 "31.0
Tot. l ra gged
Fish Recovered
(RI),..•.,.0 362 7 .%62
Total Fhh
T.gged
(Mil 8,795 •2.052 3,685 1',.532
Hl/RI 35.5 -1t5.6 53 .1t
DRA FT/PAC E 1
5/10/85,5/21 /85
MJK1BIT .ble 1
Appe "dla T.ble B·2 .Comput.tlon of the socke y.s.l ~n lor out~tgr.nt popul.t lo n from the
d.t.presented i n A p ~n dfa T. bl. B-1.
Period of Peri od o f Tagging III
Re c overy
(JI ,,•To t. 1
,12.:J77 12.077,2,528 2 .528,l'.686 l'.686
•32,213 ,.51t,'.318 51.0BO
5 13.866 It.2ltl 23,838 "1.'''5
6 ItO.OO'J 11,7"7 12.896 64.652
7 23,06 1 8.l!~7 ,588 38,980
•12.'55 .76 3 ,lt28 16.559
•16,266 3.602 8.lt37 28,305,.6 .390 2,736 6.lt08 15.53"
11 5 .261 1.319 6.580
"912 ."
"1.633 '.633..2 .130 2.13 0
"1.101 1.101
TO TAL 183,376 It2.09It 73.::U 298.702
App endi.Tabl e B-3.
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5/21 /85
NUM1B IT abi e 2
Data c ollected on the coded wire tag,ma rk -recapture e.pe rime nt f or c hum u lmon fr y t o prov ide a popul ati on
e s ti ma te us ing the met hods o ut li ned by Sc hae fe r (1951).Tagg ing and r ecov ery per iods are by ei ght d ay
i n terva ls,Hay 22 t hro ugh Jul y 2~,1 9 8 ~.
Pe ri od o f Pe r iod o f Ta gg ing ("Tagge d Fi sh Total Fish
Recovery Reco vered Recovered
(JI ,,3 •(RJ)(eJ)Cj/Rj
1 11 ···11 932 8~.7
2 ·1 ··,,0-10".0
3 3 4 2 ·•.6.95 .6
4 ·3 3 6 12 "6 ~3.8
5 ,3 ·•12 36 '30 .1
6 ···, ,m 3 3".9
7 ···4 4 154 3 8.5•···,,132 132 .0
Total Tagge d
Fi eh Reco vered
(Rl)15 11 5 2.51
To tal Fish
Ta gged
(Hi)",806 12 ,2 76 5 ,295 9.019 31,396
Hi /Rf 320.'+1,116.0 1 .059 .0 451 .0
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ttJl'41 BITable 1
Appendix Table 8 -4 .Compu tation of t he c h um sa l~on f or outml gunt popula t i on f rom t he
dat a presented in Append lk Table B-3.
Period of Peri od o f Tagg ing (I)
Recover)'
01 2 3 •To UI
1 298.5 17 29B,511
2 11 6 .0"116,064,9 1 .891 1lo26.758 202.1181 72 1,130
•a6.642 139.153 1 18.523 4O't,318
S 9 ,6Ilo4 100.775 108 ,601 2 19 .020
6 150,634 150,6311
7 69 ,454 69 ,454
8 59.532 59.532
TOTAL 400.052 790. 239
341.634 506.744 2.038,669