Citation | Lydersen, H et al. 2010. Salmon River fishway assessment study. Prepared for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. |
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Organization | DFO |
URL | http://kintama.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/KRS-SALMON_2009_Final_Report.pdf |
Abstract/Description or Keywords | Executive Summary The study reported here was done with the assistance of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Mainstream Biological Consulting Inc. and on-site BC Hydro personnel. The Salmon River diversion structure potentially poses a physical barrier to upstream migrating adult coho and the functionality of the installed fishway has been questioned. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavior of coho upon reaching the BC Hydro diversion dam. This report is a continuation of the study started in 2008 to examine the migration route of acoustically tagged adult coho salmon reaching the BC Hydro diversion structure located on the Salmon River, Vancouver Island (Lydersen et al. 2009). In the fall 2009, 12 acoustic receivers were installed in the Salmon River, the fishway, Paterson Creek and the BC Hydro diversion canal. Thirty adult coho were gastrically implanted with VEMCO V13 tags, released, and their individual travel patterns from the release site identified using these receivers. During the ~two month study 2,348 detections were heard and 26 (of 30) tags were detected. The last detection was on 30 Nov 2009, approximately 763 hours after release. Maintenance of the diversion canal prevented diversion of the main river during the study period, eliminating the possibility of adult coho migrating down the canal. Of the thirty coho tagged, none were detected above the fishway. Nine fish were last detected in the fishway, sixteen were last detected on the receivers downstream from the dam, and one fish was last detected on the Paterson Creek receiver. Fourteen of the thirty tagged fish (47%) were detected in the fishway (compared to 7% in 2008); however, since none were detected above the fishway it is unlikely that upstream passage success was high. Extreme flows during the study period resulted in the burial of two (of three) receivers sited in the main river above the dam, adding a degree of uncertainty to the data interpretation as the exact time of burial cannot be established. |
Information Type | report |
Regional Watershed | Vancouver Island North |
Sub-watershed if known | Salmon River |
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Comments | |
Project status | complete |
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