Bogus Creek Salmon Studies

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Since 1978, the California Department of Fish and Game’s (CDFG) Klamath River Project (KRP) has collected information on fall Chinook salmon spawning in the Salmon, Scott, and Shasta Rivers and a dozen smaller Klamath River tributaries upstream of the Trinity River confluence. Besides tracking population trends, this information is used to estimate the fall Chinook ocean stock abundance, age composition, and spawning run size, which are needed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) for harvest management. Bogus Creek is a major salmon spawning tributary of the Klamath River monitored by the KRP. Without the Bogus Creek spawning information provided by the KRP, the fall Chinook predictions used by managers would be much less accurate.The objective of this agreement is to conduct a study within Bogus Creek during the 2010 spawning season, including:1. Determine the in-river size (escapement) of fall-run Chinook salmon returning to Bogus Creek during the 2010 spawning season.2. Determine run timing, spawning distribution, length frequency, and sex ratio for fall-run Chinook salmon in Bogus Creek.3. Collect scale samples and recover heads from adipose fin-clipped, presumably coded-wire-tagged salmon to determine hatchery contribution rates and assist harvest management of Chinook salmon fisheries.4. Record information on coho salmon and steelhead observed during the course of this work.A. TASKSTask 1 - Landowner Permission Requests:In 1994 the California State Legislature passed SB 779 (Leslie Amendment) which requires Departmental staff to obtain landowner permission prior to accessing private lands to conduct biological investigations. To meet the requirements of SB779 KRP staff will begin contacting private land owners along Bogus Creek during August and September to seek their permission to conduct spawning ground surveys during October and November of 2010. The KRP has experienced good cooperation from the local landowners in previous years. Task 2 - Operation of the Bogus Creek Fish Counting Facility (BCFCF):This task includes installation and operation of the BCFCF during the fall-run Chinook salmon migration period. Installation is anticipated to occur during the week of September 5, and operation of the facility will commence immediately. A time-lapse video recorder and camera will record migration of all fish through the BCFCF during the Chinook salmon migration period. The count of Chinook salmon observed at the BCFCF will be combined with the total number of Chinook salmon carcasses observed in the spawning ground downstream of the BCFCF to estimate the total Chinook salmon run size in Bogus Creek.Task 3 - Spawning Ground Surveys:The spawning ground survey will be conducted to document spawning distribution and collect important biological data necessary to describe the physical characteristics of the Chinook salmon run (see Methods section below). Surveys will occur within four reaches in the lower four miles of the creek. The spawning ground survey will also collect and recover coded wire tags from all adipose-fin-clipped fish to help determine the percentage of hatchery fish in the run and the age composition. Scale samples will also be collected and provided to the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department for the age composition analysis.Task 4 - Data Analysis:Preliminary Chinook salmon run size estimates will be developed by mid-January of 2010. This estimate will be incorporated into the CDFG “Mega-Table” and will be used by the Klamath Ad Hoc Technical Advisory Team to develop the age composition of the Chinook salmon run in 2010. The data will then be used in the Klamath Ocean Harvest Model to assist fishery managers to insure adequate escapement and determine the available harvest rates for the next fishing season. KRP staff will participate in the age composition meeting of the Klamath Ad Hoc Technical Advisory team. Task 5 – ReportingA Progress Report, Draft Final Report, and Final Report on the study will be submitted (along with an extra hardcopy and electronic copy of the Final Report) to the Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office.

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