SEHAB Meeting – June 14-15

JUNE, 2008 SEHAB ROUNDTABLE REPORT

By Eric Carlisle

My report will begin with a summary of 2007’s and early 2008’s activities on North Shore rivers.On the Seymour, for the second year in a row 60 hatchery summer and winter steelhead smolts were surgically implanted with POST sonic tags and released.For the first time, 60 hatchery coho smolts were also given POST sonic tags and released.Extra receivers were placed in Seymour River, Indian Arm, Seymour Estuary, Burrard Inlet and English Bay.A listening line was established from Point Atkinson to Spanish Banks.Health index studies were performed on Seymour coho and steelhead.75% of the steelhead smolts reached the rivermouth (release was on the lower river rather than from Seymour Hatchery).Eleven were detected in Burrard Inlet, 6 at the northern end of Georgia Strait listening line and one at the Queen Charlotte line.Four were heard in Indian Arm, and two of these fish went out from there.Fish died at a constant and fairly rapid rate.Results were comparable to what was seen in 2006.About half of the coho smolts reached the rivermouth following their release from the hatchery.Two were detected in Indian Arm, only two or three in Burrard Inlet, and one in Georgia Strait.In May, 2008, a further 60 steelhead smolts were POST tagged and released.Thirty of these POST tagged steelhead were transported in a container on a DFO boat and released off Point Atkinson.The adult steelhead radio tagging program completed its second year.Sixteen tagged SSH were in the river, and slightly more WSH had been tagged.At present, the third year of adult steelhead radio tagging is underway, and four SSH adults have been caught and tagged on the lower Seymour.In June, 2007, the Seymour received another fertilizer application.This time, solid fertilizer was applied near the hatchery and in the vicinity of the Spur 4 Bridge.Like everywhere else, the WSH fishery in the Seymour had been hampered by long periods of low flows.Many of the fish appeared to be the larger, 3 ocean steelhead, but some 2 ocean steelhead appeared in April.A pleasant change occurred in the Capilano in 2007—for the first time in many years, a fishable return of summer steelhead appeared.All of these fish were 2 ocean hatchery fish.While the winter steelhead run did not reach the numbers seen in the mid-1980s, the return was good.Many were 3 ocean steelhead but a fair number of 2 ocean steelhead arrived, too.This pattern—many 3 ocean steelhead but fewer 2 ocean steelhead--indicates that the smolts which went to sea in 2005 fared fairly well (unlike salmon smolts), but smolts which went to sea in 2006 did not fare as well.Again, low flows hampered the steelhead migration and fishery, and many steelhead bore seal marks.One new development on the Capilano is the resumption of the capture and transport of coho and steelhead smolts from the upper river and Capilano Lake to the river downstream from Cleveland Dam.This program is using rotary screw traps in the river and set nets in the lake.Captured smolts will not have to drop over the spillway and fall onto rocks which have built up at the base of the spillway on the west side.A third rotary screw trap was set in the river outside Capilano Hatchery in order to see how smolts which dropped over the spillway fared.On one occasion, 280 smolts were found in this trap, but 240 were dead.The other new development on the Capilano involves the transport of adult hatchery WSH to the upper river upstream from Capilano Lake.For the first time since 1970, adult steelhead have spawned in the upper Capilano.

On several occasions, I have reported that the DFO prediction for 2008 is for poor coho returns to South Coast rivers.So far, that prediction appears to be coming true on the Capilano.Coho have been scarce and anglers have found very difficult and generally unproductive fishing.As of Tuesday, June 17, only 36 coho were being held at the hatchery.In the past five years, the average number of coho held at the hatchery by mid-June was 200.However, previous to the past five years, fewer than 200 coho had reached the hatchery by mid-June (in 1989, for example, only 22 coho were present).If the poor returns continue, the hatchery may ask that the coho fishery be changed to a non-retention fishery.This morning (June 22), I looked in the holding pond and estimated that about 50 coho were present.The hatchery wants to hold 500 coho as its early brood.Anglers will have to wait and see if the current retention fishery will continue or if DFO will commence a non-retention coho fishery and will ask the Squamish Indian Band to allow coho to move upstream without impediment.