Out-migrant Monitoring of Juvenile Salmonids - Hoopa Reservation

The Hoopa fisheries department has completed a number of restoration projects on reservation tributaries and has others in the process. The goal of these actions is to improve habitat conditions and increase juvenile salmonid abundance and survival. This project enumerated the abundance and size of salmonids as they migrate to the ocean. In 2021, fyke nets were deployed on five Trinity River tributaries and one Klamath River Tributaries located on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation (Reservation): Hostler creek, Mill creek, Pine creek, Soctish creek, Supply creek, and Tish Tang creek. Fyke net trapping has been used to quantify abundance of out-migrating juvenile salmonids (Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, and steelhead) in Reservation tributaries in most years since 1997. This report presents 2021 juvenile salmonid catch, proportional abundance estimates, and assesses trends across years. A total of 8,146 salmonids were trapped in 2021; 5,370 Chinook salmon, 39 coho salmon, and 2,737 steelhead. The estimated expanded annual catch across all tributaries for Chinook salmon was 10,072, 76 Coho, and 5,821 steelhead. Annual expanded catch of Chinook salmon was highest in Supply creek, 44.3% of the expanded catch. Mill creek, Pine creek, and Tish Tang creek had 30.3%, 15.3%, and 10.0% of the Chinook expanded catch, respectively. Hostler and Supply creek combined made up only 0.06% of the Chinook expanded catch. Annual expanded catch of steelhead was highest in Tish Tang creek (50.7%), followed by Mill creek (18.4%), Pine creek (16.3%), Supply creek (10.2%), Soctish creek (2.3%), and Hostler creek (2.2%). Annual expanded catch of coho was highest in Supply creek with 39.5% of the total. This was followed by Hostler creek (34.2%), Mill creek (18.4%), Soctish creek (5.3%) and Pine creek (2.6%). There were no coho salmon caught in Tish Tang creek in 2021.

Project Benefit: SONCC in the lower Trinity River are identified in the Recovery Plan as being at high risk of extinction. Restoration of tributary habitat for both natal and non-natal SONCC is therefore of great importance. This project facilitates the evaluation of spawning and rearing success of anadromous salmonids within Reservation streams, providing managers with necessary data to prioritize potential restoration sites and evaluate restoration success.