Activities
Adult Salmonid Monitoring
Arcata Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Program has conducted adult salmonid population surveys on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers since 1993. Our work is in cooperation and coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Hoopa Valley, Yurok and Karuk Tribes. Information collected will help managers with the Klamath basin fall Chinook salmon run size estimates and predictions for out year run size projections. This information is critical for future Tribal subsistence and commercial and recreational fisheries allocations. Surveys consist of conducting adult carcass mark-recapture estimations and redd counts. Typically, surveys begin in late September and continue through the end of November or mid December.
The Klamath River fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) redd survey is conducted by the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Service and the Karuk Tribal Fisheries Department. The survey covers a distance of 135.9 river kilometers from Iron Gate Dam to the confluence of Indian Creek in Happy Camp.
In cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program, Chinook salmon carcass surveys have been conducted on the mainstem Klamath River from Iron Gate Dam to the Shasta River confluence since 2001. The purpose of these surveys is to estimate escapement of fall-run Chinook salmon using carcass mark-recapture methods and to characterize the run, in terms of age and sex composition and spawning success.
- Trinity River Redd and Carcass Surveys:
The Trinity River carcass and redd survey is a collaborative effort to monitor Chinook salmon reproduction and includes participants from California Department of Fish and Game, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, and many volunteers. Surveys are conducted every fall, covering over 103 rkms downstream of Lewiston Dam to monitor adult Chinook salmon escapement. The surveys are designed to collect information on the temporal and spatial distribution of spawning activity. This information will be used to evaluate changes in spawning distribution due to Trinity River Restoration Program actions. Surveys typically begin in mid-September and extend through mid-December.
Juvenile Salmonid Monitoring
Juvenile salmonid investigations have been conducted by the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office since 1988. The monitoring efforts utilize frame nets, rotary screw traps, seine nets, electrofishing, and telemetry equipment. The purpose of these projects is to monitor the health, survival, abundance, timing, hatchery contribution, and biological parameters of emigrating anadromous salmonids in the mainstem Klamath and Trinity Rivers. It is intended that this information will provide basic biological information that can be used by freshwater habitat managers and potentially fishery harvest managers. The monitoring of emigrating juvenile salmonid populations in conjunction with habitat availability data and suitability studies may permit for the evaluation of restoration efforts because these studies focus on the juvenile phase of life which is most affected by instream conditions.
Special Studies
The Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office often undertakes special studies that enhance the knowledge base for management of aquatic species. These studies often don't fall neatly into any prescribed category, and often employ cutting edge technology. These special studies often are pilot studies, studies to test a concept, or are short term studies that answer a specific management question. Special studies usually involve other federal, state, local, and tribal agencies and are developed cooperatively with these agencies. The AFWO often conducts the field work as an independent third-party providing data and results to the cooperators.
- Investigation of Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) Migration and Habitat Use in the Klamath and Trinity Rivers
In 2002 and 2003, the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Program, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Karuk Tribe of California, and Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program conducted a study to monitor the migration and habitats utilized by green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) in the Klamath and Trinity Rivers. Sturgeon were tagged using Advanced Telemetry Systems radio transmitters, Vemco ultrasonic transmitters and Floy disc tags. Each agency manually tracked and retrieved data from fixed stations on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers (radio and sonic).
- Fish communities in Eelgrass, Oyster Culture, and Mudflat Habitats of North Humboldt Bay, California
The Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office has conducted fish community studies on Humboldt Bay since July of 2003. This project addresses Fish community use of Eel grass versus non-eel grass habitats, as well as mariculture sites versus non-mariculture sites.
Water Quality Monitoring Program
The Water Quality Monitoring Program is one of many efforts of the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office to provide scientific information about area river ecosystems. The need for water quality data stems from a variety of goals that improve our understanding of the connectivity of water quality to the aquatic habitat, fish health and flow management of river systems. Water quality monitoring provides empirical data to support modeling efforts, regulatory needs and natural resource decisions.
