Diverse and changing use of the Salish Sea by Pacific salmon, trout, and char (original) (raw)
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2016. Initial estimates from an integrated study examining the residence period and migration timing of juvenile sockeye salmon from the Fraser River through coastal waters of British Columbia. N. Abstract: Many stocks of Pacifi c salmon enter into and transit through the Strait of Georgia during their migration to off shore waters. Knowledge of the duration of juvenile sockeye salmon residency in the Strait of Georgia and when they migrate out of the strait is essential to understand both natural and anthropogenic factors that may be regulating their early marine survival. We present results from the fi rst year of a multi-year integrated study that demonstrates stock-specifi c diff erences in the migration timing of juvenile Fraser River sockeye salmon over the fi rst eight to 12 weeks of their marine life. The geography of the study region provides a unique opportunity to sample virtually the entire population as they migrate down the Fraser River and as they leave the Strait of Georgia through the Discovery Islands and lower Johnstone Strait. This analysis indicated that juvenile 1-year-old sockeye salmon were resident in the Strait of Georgia for seven to eight weeks in 2014. The catch rates in the Discovery Islands indicated that, in 2014, the peak migration period for Fraser River sockeye salmon occurred over approximately two weeks, with about 80% of all sockeye salmon caught between June 12 and June 19. The results suggest that the Strait of Georgia and the Discovery Islands/Johnstone Strait regions function in a similar manner as the nursery lakes and main river ways in the Fraser River watershed. The Strait of Georgia provides abundant food in a relatively protected habitat similar to their rearing lakes in the watershed. The Discovery Islands and Johnstone Strait, an area of lower food availability, is similar to the river, where fi sh move in concentrated numbers through high current fl ow areas over a relatively short period of time.
Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science, 2017
While Pacific salmon are known for their extensive marine migrations, some species display much more limited alternative patterns, including residence within interior marine waters. To more clearly define the scale of movement of these residents, we used acoustic telemetry to track subadult Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha caught in and released from discrete areas of the Salish Sea. Their movements were determined from detections at fixed receivers in central Puget Sound, Admiralty Inlet, the San Juan Islands, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Cluster analysis of the detections indicated four groups, with much less commonality of movement than might be inferred from the proximity of the tagging locations, which were only tens of kilometers apart. For example, none of the salmon tagged in central Puget Sound were detected in the San Juan Islands and vice versa. Thus, Chinook Salmon occupying central Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands may exhibit different distributions, extents of movement, and degrees of basin fidelity. These results provide information relevant to the management and conservation of this species, which is listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and whose movements cross the U.S.-Canadian boundary. These findings may also help explain the variation in organic contaminant levels among Puget Sound-origin Chinook Salmon. Migratory behavior is widely distributed among animal taxa, playing a central role in their ecology, evolution (Baker 1978; Dingle 1996), and population dynamics (Morales et al. 2010). Migration plays an important role in ecosystem processes and conservation because it can link habitats with the transfer of nutrients, disease, and contaminants (Bauer and Hoye 2014). Among fishes, Atlantic and Pacific salmon are famous for the great distances that they travel at sea and upriver. However,
Spatio-temporal migration patterns of Pacific salmon smolts in rivers and coastal marine waters
PloS one, 2010
Migrations allow animals to find food resources, rearing habitats, or mates, but often impose considerable predation risk. Several behavioural strategies may reduce this risk, including faster travel speed and taking routes with shorter total distance. Descriptions of the natural range of variation in migration strategies among individuals and populations is necessary before the ecological consequences of such variation can be established. Movements of tagged juvenile coho, steelhead, sockeye, and Chinook salmon were quantified using a large-scale acoustic tracking array in southern British Columbia, Canada. Smolts from 13 watersheds (49 watershed/species/year combinations) were tagged between 2004-2008 and combined into a mixed-effects model analysis of travel speed. During the downstream migration, steelhead were slower on average than other species, possibly related to freshwater residualization. During the migration through the Strait of Georgia, coho were slower than steelhead ...
Transactions of The American Fisheries Society, 2009
The effects of ocean conditions on highly migratory species such as salmon are difficult to assess owing to the diversity of environments they encounter during their marine life. In this study, we reconstructed the initial ocean migration routes of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha originating from Oregon to Southeast Alaska using coded wire tag recovery data from Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans and National Marine Fisheries Service research surveys conducted between 1995 and 2006. Over this 12-year period, 1,862 coded-wire-tagged juvenile Chinook salmon were recovered along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska from March to November. Except for those from the Columbia River, most juvenile Chinook salmon remained within 100–200 km of their natal rivers until their second year at sea, irrespective of their freshwater history and adult run timing. Northward migration of most coastal stocks was initiated during their second or possibly third year at sea, whereas the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound stocks primarily migrated onto the continental shelf after their first year at sea. In contrast, Columbia River Chinook salmon generally undertook a rapid northward migration that varied among life histories and stocks. Columbia River spring Chinook salmon were recovered as far north as Prince William Sound, Alaska, during their first summer at sea, whereas very few Columbia River fall Chinook salmon were recovered north of Vancouver Island. In addition to northern migrants, a fraction of the Columbia River spring and fall Chinook salmon actively migrated south of the Columbia River. The stock-specific initial ocean migration routes described in this study will aid in the identification of the appropriate spatial and temporal scales for assessing the processes regulating Chinook salmon recruitment in the marine environment.
Life History and Seasonal Stock-Specific Ocean Migration of Juvenile Chinook Salmon
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 2011
The ocean feeding grounds of juvenile Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. range over several thousand kilometers in which ocean conditions, prey quality and abundance, and predator assemblages vary greatly. Therefore, the fate of individual stocks may depend on where they migrate and how much time they spend in different regions. Juvenile (n = 6,266) and immature (n = 659) Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha were collected from coastal Washington to Southeast Alaska in coastal trawl surveys from February to November 1998-2008, which allowed us to reconstruct changes in stock composition for seasons and regions by means of DNA stock identification techniques. Individuals were allocated to 12 regional stocks. The genetic stock assignments were directly validated by showing that 96% of the 339 known-origin, coded-wire-tagged fish were accurately allocated to their region of origin. Overall, the analyses performed in this study support the main findings of previous work based on tagging. However, given that the sample sizes for all stocks were larger and additional stocks were analyzed, we can extend those results; coastal residency of local stocks in their first year at sea with differences between smolt classes for southern stocks. Notably, yearling Chinook salmon moved quickly into waters north of the west coast of Vancouver Island, including Southeast Alaska. Furthermore, subyearling salmon were found over shallower bottom depths than yearling fish. Summer catches in all regions were dominated by Columbia River yearling fish, which suggests a rapid northward migration. In contrast, very few Columbia River subyearling fish were recovered north of Vancouver Island. Columbia River fish were a minor component of the catches in fall and winter, as fish originating from other southern stocks dominated catches off the west coast of Vancouver Island while northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska stocks dominated northern regions during these time periods. In addition, we found no effect of hatchery origin on the distribution of fish.
Migrations, abundance, and origins of salmonids in offshore waters of the North Pacific, 1997-99
1995
as seminars, workshops, and exchanges of scientific personnel for high seas research cruises. At the 1993 annual meeting of NPAFC, the Committee on Scientific Research and Statistics (CSRS) identified "the impact of change in the productivity of the North Pacific Ocean on Pacific salmon" as a critical research issue. CSRS scientists agreed that research on this issue should focus on: "(1) the factors affecting current trends in the productivity of the North Pacific Ocean and their impacts on salmonid carrying capacity, and (2) the factors affecting changes in biological characteristics of Pacific salmon. These characteristics include growth, size at maturity, age at maturity, oceanic distribution, survival, and abundance." Since 1995, the CSRS has developed annual Science Plans to address this research. A new and substantially revised NPAFC Science Plan will be developed in FY00. In 1995, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Auke Bay Laboratory (ABL), developed an Ocean Carrying Capacity (0CC) research plan to address the research issues identified by NPAFC. The two principal goals of the plan are "to describe the role and spatial distribution of salmonids in the marine ecosystem, and to test for density dependence in the growth rate of salmonids during various periods of ocean residency." As part of the NPAFC Science Plan, the 1999-2000 U.S. plan incorporates 0CC research on (1) coastal juvenile salmon studies, (2) Gulf of Alaska (GOA) ocean ecology, (3) retrospective analyses, (4) stock identification, and (5) high seas salmon studies. High seas salmon research at FRI is frilly integrated with the 0CC Program at ABL, the research, management, and enforcement activities of NPAFC, and, as needed, other relevant international organizations and bilateral agreements. FRI has a long-term commitment to conservation and management of Pacific salmon and steelhead trout, and is continuing a program of research on migrations, abundance, and origins of salmonids in the North Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. Our principal research goal is to address research issues and associated questions raised in the NPAFC Science Plan through an integrated program of field, laboratory, and computer modeling research. New lines of research may be developed in response to the changing situation of salmonids and fisheries in the North Pacific. The work involves use of FRI's large archive of historical high seas salmon research samples and data (1954-present), as well as new samples and data acquired through our well-established cooperative high seas salmon research programs with Canada, Japan, and Russia (1983-present). This annual report summarizes our international cooperative high seas salmon research results in FY99 (1 October 1998-30 September 1999) under NOAA Contract No. 5OABNF700003, as well as some pertinent results from previous years. The research was conducted in two major areas: (1) salmon stock origin studies for research, management, and enforcement, including high seas tagging (data storage tags, high seas disk tags, coded-wire tags), scale pattern analysis, and other methods (genetic stock identification and thermal otolith marks), and (2) ocean ecology, carrying capacity, and 9 GOA in July) show fish spent most of the time in the top 40 meters, with infrequent excursions to 60-100 m. Although estimated times of sunrise and sunset have not been calculated and fitted to the data, temperature and depth data seem to indicate a diurnal behavior cycle similar to that seen in 1998. 3.1.1.2 High seas disk tags 3.1.1.2.1 Releases With the goal to maximize return of disk tags from coastal areas in North America and Asia, FRI developed a new high seas disk tag in 1997. These tags display in English, Japanese, and Russian the addresses of high seas salmon tag collection centers in Hokkaido, Japan (National Salmon Resources Center), Petropavlovsk, Russia (KamchatNlRO) and the United States (FRI). Salmonids released during cooperative Japanese cruises have been double-tagged with these new tags and FAJ disk tags. Scientists aboard the Great Pac~flc in the GOA and eastern North Pacific conducted tagging operations on viable salmonids caught by trawl in 1998 and 1999 (Fig. 12; Carlson et al. 1998, 1999b). In 1998, seven salmonids were released with disk tags and DSTs. In 1999, tagging experiments were expanded resulting in 62 salmon releases, including 41 sockeye, 18 chum, 1 coho and 2 chinook salmon. Among these tagged fish, 34 also carried DSTs (Table 1, Carison et al. 1 999b). Recoveries of six salmon prove the feasibility of tagging trawl-caught salmon in good condition. Tagging operations on viable salmonids caught by longline were conducted by scientists aboard the Wakatake maru in the central North Pacific and Bering Sea in summer 1998-1999 (Fig. 12; Ueno et al. 1998, Fukuwaka et al. 1999). In 1998, 884 salmonids were disk tagged and released, including 35 salmonids tagged with DSTs. In 1999, tagging experiments resulted in the release of a total of 398 salmonids, including 16 sockeye, 241 chum, 134 pink, 5 coho, and 2 chinook salmon. Among these releases, 36 fish were tagged with DSTs (Fig. 12, Table 1). In 1999 aboard the Oshoro maru, 26 salmonids (41 in 1998) in the central North Pacific Ocean along the 165°W transect, and 63 salmon (28 salmonids in 1998) in the GOA along the 145°W transect were double disk-tagged and released including 45 salmon also tagged with DSTs (Fig. 12; Table 1; Yamaguchi et al. 1999). Along 180°, 10 fish were disk-tagged in 1998. 3.1.1.2.2 Recoveries From 1 September 1997 to 15 September 1998, seventeen Japan-U.S. disk tags were recovered, including five fish that also carried DSTs. Data storage tags were recovered from one each of steelhead, pink and coho salmon that returned to Alaska and from two 10 chum salmon that returned to Hokkaido, Japan. The remaining disk tag recoveries included 12 chum salmon that were recovered in Japan (Myers et al. 1998b). High seas tag recoveries have increased dramatically to a total of 75 Japan-U.S. tags
2009
Abstract Knowledge of the migratory habits of juvenile Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. is required to test the hypothesis that ocean food resources are a limiting factor in their production. Using DNA stock identification techniques, we reconstructed the regional and seasonal changes in the stock composition of juvenile sockeye salmon O. nerka (n= 4,062) collected from coastal Washington to the Alaska Peninsula in coastal trawl surveys from May to February 1996–2007. Individuals were allocated to 14 regional populations.