(continued)

Objectives

1. Establish a community-based research program.

2. Establish the framework for a long term monitoring of salmon abundance, age and size.

3. Examine historic salmon abundance through d¹⁵N analysis.

4. Determine spawning movement patterns and spawning sites.

5. Determine genotypes for Lake Clark sockeye salmon.

These needs were defined in meetings with all stakeholders, subsistence, state, federal, university and villagers all contributed to the final objective definition.

Objective 1. Establish a Community-Based Research Program

A Fisheries Intern Program was started in 2000. Local students receive specialized training for two weeks, then work as USGS employees for 1-2 months assisting with escapement estimates; collecting age, size and genetic samples, and entering and analyzing data. (Native Alaskan Intern Program) Some students have been with the program four years.

Gerald Anelon of Iliamna collects morphological data and genetic samples from radiotagged sockeye salmon.

Kristy Balluta (foreground) and Janell Kakaruk of Nondalton, select a sockeye salmon to radiotag. Tagged fish are later tracked through the glacial system to identify spawning habitats.

Objective 2.  Establish a framework for long term monitoring of salmon abundance, age and size.

Yellow boxes indicate locations of counting towers; in addition we estimate the number of fish into the Tazimina River system.

Estimates of the number of fish that run into Lake Clark are made by capitalizing on their tendency to migrate upstream near riverbanks. Because water flow is reduced along the banks due to friction, fish save energy needed for spawning by swimming near shore. We are able to get good estimates of the daily migration by counting fish from towers (a) as they pass (b). Collection of age and size data (c) give insight into population trends. Hydrologic monitoring has revealed that flows over 27,000 cfs impede fish passage at a falls on the lower river.

Descriptions of pictures above:

a. Shavela Stickman (left) of Nondalton and Crystal Wassillie of Newhalen, count migrating sockeye salmon on the Newhalen River.
b.View of migrating sockeye salmon and one king salmon (large fish) from the tower.
c. Julia Vinciguerra, Shavela Stickman and Kristy Balluta collect otoliths (ear bones) and length data from the annual return of sockeye salmon. The otoliths have annual rings, similar to trees, which indicate how many years the fish spent in freshwater and how many years it spent in the sea.

Sockeye salmon escapement for the Kvichak and Newhalen Rivers with discharge measurements for the Newhalen River.

(continued to page 5 of Overview)