Advancing Escapement Estimates: Camera-Based Systems

The Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission will engage with Tribal communities through systems design and management to advance fisheries monitoring. First, per the RFP, the knowledge held by salmon-dependent communities is essential in our understanding of the salmon ecosystem. Our project will work with Tribal communities along different salmon-bearing waterways to better understand historic runs and suitable locations to conduct research and to gain a better general understanding of the tributaries for which work may be conducted. Second, Tribal engagement in salmon management is limited, yet it is these Tribal communities that have relied on salmon for subsistence and culture for time immemorial. This project aims to engage Tribal communities in salmon management by providing the necessary tools and education to allow for data collection that can be used in in-season management. Finally, integrating data collected through Tribal communities expands the number of waterways surveyed, increasing our understanding of migratory patterns and overall population health. Due to limited capacity at the agency level and from limitations of current methods, tributaries of the Kuskokwim River either go unsurveyed or are surveyed infrequently. A community-based monitoring program integrating data collected across Tribal communities will expand the number of tributaries being monitored.

This project will design a camera-based system for Kuskokwim streams and conduct a set of feasibility studies for application in fisheries population monitoring. This project seeks to develop a new monitoring method using advanced technology that produces reliable estimates of salmon abundance for use in in-season management. Camera-based monitoring can provide real-time data for in-season management decisions. Video and camera data can be cross verified by multiple observers, which is not possible with aerial surveys. The verification of data is essential for reliable estimates. In addition, all data collected through camera-based methods are archivable and capture data far beyond the target species, including habitat data to be compared across years.