Salmon Escapement and Fishery Monitoring in Quillayute Basin

This project funded escapement surveys for summer and fall Chinook, summer and fall coho, steelhead, and sockeye in all tributaries of the Quillayute Basin including the Dickey, Sol Duc, Calawah, Bogachiel Rivers and Lake Pleasant for sockeye. Surveys occured in pre-selected index streams (except sockeye in said lake). Supplemental streams were added on a rotational basis. The Chief of Fisheries and crew of 5-7 surveyed adult escapement according to known return times. Crew accessed areas by walking, bicycle, drift boat, raft, ATV or truck. For all but Lake Pleasant sockeye, redds were counted. The sockeye mass-spawn and individual redds are not discernable, so each fish was counted. As fish runs returned at the Quillayute mouth, staff sampled adults in the gillnet fishery, taking scales, checking for and recovering coded wire tags, assessing fish health, and collecting other biological information.

This project will provide the necessary information for tribal harvest manager to develop escapement and subsequent productivity estimates for all salmonids that are of vital importance to the tribe. These estimates are used to develop adult forecasts, which are essential in developing annual fishing plans. A key aspect of these plans is an attempt to allow for a meaningful exercise of treaty fishing rights, while still allowing adequate escapement to promote the continued existence of populations being actively managed.
An ancillary benefit of doing the redd surveys is that it allows the field crew to observe potential future restoration projects and evaluate the successes of existing habitat projects. Observations might include the encroachment of noxious weeds, bank collapse from mass wasting, or log jams that may be failing. These issues can then be brought to the attention lead entities in the region for consideration in developing future habitat restoration projects.

Escapement data is also shared with the staff attorney/environmental lead/grant writer, who represents the tribe at WRIA 20 Watershed Council and North Pacific Coast Lead Entity (salmon restoration lead entities), under RCW 90.82 and RCW 77.85, respectively. These groups develop plans and strategies for water quantity and water quality grants, and salmon habitat restoration grants to be written by any participating government or stakeholder, including Quileute.