Klamath River Fall Chinook Spawner Escapement Surveys

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This project is a cooperative effort between the U. S. Forest Service, Klamath National Forest, Six River National Forest; the Salmon River Restoration Council; the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation; the Northern California Resource Center; the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council; and the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District. The Karuk and Yurok Tribes and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) will direct this survey, and are also contributors to this effort. The CDFG has been charged with determining Chinook spawner escapement in the Klamath River upstream of Weitchpec since 1978. The data generated by CDFG has been and continues to be valuable for the determination of harvest levels for the management of Klamath River fish stocks. CDFG uses a combination of counting weirs, spawner carcass surveys, redd surveys, and hatchery returns to develop these important estimates. This one year survey will determine in-river run size (escapement) of Chinook salmon within the Shasta, Scott, and Salmon River basins and other major tributaries to the Middle Klamath River during the 2010 season (October through December, 2010). Information will be collected on run timing, spawning distribution, length frequency, and sex ratio for fall Chinook salmon. The survey provides for the recovery of coded wire tag information and scales for age class determination. Additionally, information on coho salmon and steelhead observed during the course of the survey will be documented. The benefits from this work will be: 1) accounting of naturally spawning Chinook salmon above the Trinity River confluence; 2) improved accuracy of ocean stock abundance estimates; 3) improved accuracy of pre-season projections for the 2011 harvest allocations; 4) systematic recovery of coded wire tag information on Chinook salmon; 5) scale sample information for age composition determination; and 6) maintenance of long term trend data sets for Chinook salmon spawning in Klamath river tributaries.The program objectives include the following:A. Determine in-river run size (escapement) of Chinook salmon within the Shasta, Scott, and Salmon River basins, and other major tributaries to the Middle Klamath River during the 2010 season (October through December, 2010).B. Determine run timing, spawning distribution, length frequency, and sex ratio for fall Chinook salmon.C. Collect fish scale samples and recover heads from adipose fin clipped (presumably coded wire tagged) salmon.D. Collect incidental information on coho salmon and steelhead observed during the course of the study.E. Continue to provide training and education to volunteers and local communities.Provide training for survey crews March 1, 2011Provide survey crews for conducting spawning surveys - March 1, 2011Gather data on spawner abundance, distribution and sample salmonid carcasses - March 2011Mark all sampled carcasses and collect scale samples from salmonid carcasses March 2011Collect snouts from adipose-clipped Chinook -March 2010Submit survey data sheets and scale samples-On weekly basis

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