FY 2020 Nisqually Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Monitoring

The project enabled the Nisqually Tribe to conduct watershed scale effectiveness monitoring (priority 2) by collecting critical adult and juvenile Chinook VSP data through in-river trapping activities, spawning grounds surveys, and juvenile sampling throughout the Nisqually River and estuary. Adult live salmon counts occurred through trapping activities from July-October. The spawner surveys (i.e. live counts; and redd and carcass surveys) generally occurred from August to March and were inclusive of all salmon species. These surveys occurred in the mainstem Nisqually River and Mashel (Nisqually Tributary) from the mouth to RM 3.5. Additionally, steelhead and other salmon counts occurred at the Centralia diversion fish ladder via a camera which required oversight to ensure all necessary equipment was operational. Juvenile monitoring consisted of fyke netting and beach seining. This work occurred in the Nisqually nearshore/estuary and from the mouth of the Nisqually River to RM 3 during the months of February and July. The project primarily provided salary support for approximately 1.1 FTE of a tribal biologist’s time. Nisqually biologists conducted over 400 beach seine sets to continue evaluating salmon distribution and abundance in the Nisqually Delta. This work occurred in the Nisqually nearshore/estuary and from the mouth of the Nisqually River to RM 3. The data collected from this project contributed to one of the longest-running juvenile salmon estuary and nearshore databases in Puget Sound.

The Nisqually Tribe has been implementing Nisqually Chinook habitat and stock recovery actions since 2001 with the goal of developing a locally adapted natural population of Chinook salmon. Steelhead recovery actions have been guided by a draft recovery plan since 2014. This project provides critical stock recovery information that assists in estimating changes to Nisqually Chinook VSP parameters as a result of harvest, hatchery, and habitat actions. The watershed scale monitoring components include: hatchery and natural Chinook distribution, abundance, and composition on spawning grounds; hatchery and natural composition in fishery; hatchery and natural composition in hatchery; and adult and juvenile Chinook life history diversity, age, and growth through otolith analysis (note: the analytical work is not funded by this project); juvenile Chinook distribution and abundance in recovering Nisqually Estuary. Additionally, the project will enable the Tribe to track steelhead adult abundance and distribution throughout the watershed.