Tatsamenie Sockeye

This study investigated predation directed at stocked fry on Tatsamenie Lake, changes in proportion of stocked fry in the lake over the summer, premature migration of stocked fry, and water quality to see whether any of these causes were responsible for the poor returns of stocked sockeye salmon.

One of the key provisions in Annex IV of the Pacific Salmon Treaty was that the U.S. and Canada agreed to continue existing enhancement programs on the Stikine and Taku rivers with a goal of producing 100,000 sockeye salmon annually. Results of Taku River enhancement to-date have fallen far below this objective. This project will fund additional research to better understand factors influencing the survival of wild sockeye fry and enhanced sockeye fry stocked in Tatsamenie Lake. The program will include expanded efforts to study the initial period after stocking and fry movement from limnetic to pelagic rearing environments. Hydroacoustic sampling and townetting will be performed at regular intervals to document fry distribution and to estimate abundance. Full spectrum water quality analysis will be performed on samples from Tatsamenie Lake and Snettisham Hatchery. A detailed operational plan will be developed by May 31, 2001.