Chinook and Coho Tagging 2020

[Research]

The University of British Columbia is tagging and tracking adult Chinook and Coho salmon examining the effects of catch and release on salmon behavior and survival. They are being tracked from underwater acoustic telemetry receivers situated throughout coastal BC. The external transmitters are easily identifiable and resemble a small double A battery, and are tied onto the back of the fish behind the dorsal fin using a plastic cord. (see photo below).

If you catch one of these fish, can you record the tag number found on the transmitter and release the fish. The phone number is on the plastic cord to report the catch and release. If you keep the fish, can you call the phone number (604 822-1969) and provide your contact information, date/location of capture. We can re-use the tag if its returned.

A total of 180 tags were deployed onto Chinook in the Discovery Island region in early June 2020. The plan is to apply a further 200 tags onto Chinook and Coho near Port Renfrew in mid-August to mid-September.

There are also other research initiatives underway that focus on marine survival of juvenile Chinook and Coho using PIT tags. They are the size of a large grain of rice and can be found in the body cavity while cleaning your catch (see second photo). If you come across a PIT tag please retain it in a bag or safe place and PM me so it can be read with an RFID scanner. The tags contain a unique ID that can be traced back to a specific fish and assist our understanding of which fish are surviving to contribute to fisheries as well as adult returns. This work has been ongoing since 2014 and is scheduled to ramp up significantly starting in fall 2020.

Feel free to contact me for more information or if you have any tag recoveries you wish to track down.

Kevin

 

[Rockfish]

Research -- I am curious for the purpose of the study what constitutes an ADULT Chinook or Coho. I am also curious how the fish were collected to tag them around Discovery. Was it hook and line? Did you take samples to identify which rivers and runs they were from when you tagged them? What was the estimate of loses from the collection and tagging process? Of all those collected what was the # and percentage of salmon already Hatchery marked? How many tagged were already hatchery marked?

 

[ryanb]

If the idea is to track catch and release behavior and survival, aren't the results completely skewed by having intrusive and damaging tags attached to the fish?

 

[ryanb]

Not to mention the catch and kill net (not catch and release fine mesh/rubber) depicted above... How many of those fish were released with scales missing?

 

[PacificSalmonEcolConsLab]

Hi all,


I'd like to provide a further update / introduction on some work happening through UBC in the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory (http://www.pacificsalmonecologyconservationlab.ca/), led by Dr. Scott Hinch, that is examining the health, behaviour and survival of Chinook and Coho after a catch and release event. The research is funded through the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/initiatives/fish-fund-bc-fonds-peche-cb/index-eng.html).http://kintama.com/animator/dep/AdultChinook2019/


We are tracking the movements of Chinook and Coho over the next 3 summers to better estimate post-release survival. This is a key concern of fisheries managers and other stakeholders in shifting the public fishery towards a Mark-Selective scenario. The salmon are caught using standard public angling methods, brought on-board into an aerated sling, then sampled for DNA to identify population, RNA to examine health and stress, and a physical assessment, then tags are applied just prior to release. We are using Acoustic tags that emit signals every 1-2 minutes and are detectable in our system up to 800m from a receiver. Receivers are stationed to ensure any fish passage is detected when individuals are passing one of the receiver arrays (see link below).


From June 14th to August 9th, 2019, we were tagging Chinook in Port Renfrew. One hundred Chinook were caught and released, primarily as part of a study looking to understand how Chinook behaviour changes in the presence of SRKWs. We also piggy-backed a 'pilot' C&R study on top of this. However, we were limited in the fish we could tag being that our initial goal was to tag large-bodied and healthy fish that were hopefully "prime-targets" for the SRKWs. So the results from this early attempt at C&R provide insight into the survival when individuals are healthy and handled optimally.


This animation produced by our partners at Kintama Research Services shows the migrations of these fish after release and up until their last known detections. http://kintama.com/animator/dep/AdultChinook2019/ Some pretty incredible movements and surprising stocks caught - notably, watch the bright green icon from the Klinaklini river and one Puget Sound fish move north to Grassy Point, where it was captured by another angler.


We were fortunate to get out this June 2020 in the Discovery Islands, with focused fishery occurring in the eastern half of the islands and Desolation Sound. We expect these fish to be migrating both north and primarily south into the Strait of Georgia. We have already had 5 tags recaptured and reported. Our hope is to spread the word about the presence of these tags in the Strait of Georgia and to suggest that they are released, even when retention is open. Of course, if you'd prefer to keep the fish that’s great, it provides important recapture data as well, and we don’t want to hinder your ability to retain fish in this already reduced season.


We plan on tagging an additional sixty-five Chinook and one hundred Coho salmon in the JDF from August 17th until mid-September. We will be based out of Port Renfrew, as this provides an opportunity to intercept Chinook and Coho bound for rivers located beyond our receivers stationed near Sooke (see link provided).


If you or anyone in your angling community have seen these tags, or have any of these tags, please reach out to the number on the tag - (604) 822-1969. If possible, please take note of the tag ID located on the tags during capture, the time and general location of capture, and if time permits, a quick picture of the tag is always appreciated.


We have also partnered with the SFI to help create a metric of handling practices generally used in the public fishery. Along with the Catch Log found in the FishingBC App, you’ll now notice a UBC Questionnaire – where we are hoping to garner an understanding of the ‘typical’ handling of anglers in BC. These data will be used in modelling the impacts of catch and release – without these data, values used in models will simply be assumptions. Some of these metrics are known to be important for survival in laboratory-based studies on mortality. Understanding the overall handling or fight times, size and location of hook, and type of gear used all have known impacts on survival. We are hoping to use the information you provide to develop an accurate picture of how anglers at large are handling their Chinook and Coho. We need to do our best to avoid assumptions.


Our desired outcomes for the project are two-fold – 1) to develop accurate estimates of post-release mortality used in escapement modeling and 2) to create a best-practices guide on how to handle Chinook and Coho to maximize survival post-release for both new and long-time anglers.


If you have any questions, ideas, or practices that you currently use and believe are effective in reducing handling stress, please reach out. Direct messages here, or to my email – stephen.johnston@ubc.ca – Always excited to hear from other anglers.


Thanks all and I look forward to sharing more info as we learn more about these fish!


Steve, and the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory

 

[Plug”N”away]

This seems like too small of a sample size to be making a decision on a marked fish retention plan in my opinion.
My question would be would the government actually fund a fish marking program that would be sufficient to allow such a fishery? Because as it stands it is horribly under funded . My understanding is two marking trailers would be required on the island alone correct me if I’m wrong to the tune of a couple million dollars each?. The killer whale argument is nothing more than politics. When I run out of hamburgers I eat hot dogs . Plenty of other whales eat seal and thrive.

 

[PacificSalmonEcolConsLab]

And as a response to the questions.

@Rockfish

We've stated "Adult" Chinook, however, we assume we have tagged some younger fish that will have another year at sea as well. Tagged fish ranged from 59 to 99cm in length or 4 to 29lbs (using the Length x Girth squared/800 calculation) - I think it's safe to say that some of the smaller individuals may in fact be 'juveniles'. These will provide some very interesting information if they survive as long as the tags, which is up to 17 months. We've not begun tagging Coho yet, and this will be occurring in the JDF, where large body size will make the maturation state an almost certainty.

Fish were captured with standard rec fishing methods for the region. Downriggers, plugs, hoochies, spoons, and chovies - a broad range of hook sizes, fight times, handling times, and depth of capture were recorded.

DNA samples were taken and are being processed, so we should have stock ID soon.

Hatchery fish were 11% of those tagged - but the total number was unknown as we did not personally handle all of the fish.

@ryanb and @Rockfish The collection process is rec angling, which, the estimated losses from this, are exactly what we are trying to answer.

The tagging process is a method generally known as 'backpack' tagging. Determining the relative impact of this type of handling is very difficult to do and is one of the inherent unknowns in any of the tagging work we complete. A few comments on this - 1) tagging of juvenile salmon that requires surgical implantation, which is far more invasive, has been shown to have a limited impact on their survival in holding experiments. Methods used in this work are far less invasive and are completed on much larger individuals - 2) we completed a pilot study in 2019, where 100 Chinook, that were minimally handled and appeared in pristine condition, ie. no blood, injuries and in a vigorous, healthy appearance, were released and tracked in the JDF - we see very high re-detection of those individuals that were expected to be detected, based on their stock of origin and expected route of travel. All this is to say that, yes, some mortality will occur from this tagging method, however, it is likely very minimal in its overall impact as a small puncture wound is nothing compared to the damage we've all observed these Chinook sustain naturally, and survive. We will investigate this more formally moving forward but are confident it is minimal.

As for the net, @ryanb this was a photo from an angler that recaptured one of our tags and called it in. We used the Gibbs release net with rubber-coated mesh material. Currently working on a different model that is less impactful as the fine gauge mesh actually tears some fins.

Keep the comments coming guys. We need to make this work as accurate as possible. All the criticisms are necessary.

Cheers,
Steve + PSEC

 

[PacificSalmonEcolConsLab]

@Plug”N”away Working on getting more tags (they aren't cheap). We are now up to 280 Chinook released so far, and at minimum will have 545 Chinook tagged and released and 300 Coho at the end of the project.

 

[wildmanyeah]

There is a huge debate about taking a fish out of the water for a photo. I’m not sure how you would replicate this vs not doing it.

 

[searun]

I applaud this research. What we learn from this research will shape improvements to both our knowledge base regarding fishery related mortalities, and better inform ongoing efforts to develop best release practices.

 

[Spring Time in Vienna]

Want to applaud you guys on this program. Rec anglers (myself included) often tout ourselves as being driven by science when it comes to conservation. Well, here is some hard science being done to actually quantify our impact. Keep up the good work!

 

[PacificSalmonEcolConsLab]

@wildmanyeah Yes, we are looking at air exposure as a component of the research. We are also looking to develop our control component to ensure absolute minimum handling can occur. We are hopeful we can address these types of questions in due time.

Thank you @searun and @Spring Time in Vienna for the show of support!