The long road to recovery of an endangered salmon stock that is facing a multiple, unconnected but compounding threats.
Presentation Abstract
The Sakinaw Lake sockeye salmon population is endemic to one lake located at the northern edge of the Sunshine coast and due to its unique biology has been classified as a Designatable Unit (DU) by COSEWIC. Beginning in the late 1980s the population underwent a significant decline in abundance, and in 2002 the stock was listed as endangered by COSEWIC. During 2006-2009 spawner counts ranged 0-1 fish and the stock was essentially extirpated in the wild. There were multiple, anthropogenic and natural compounding factors that drove the stock to its depleted state. Hence recovery efforts, which commenced prior to extirpation, have attempted to mitigate or address threats from multiple sources. The single greatest contributor to persistence of the population has been a captive breeding program. The captive program involved hatchery rearing to adult stage, spawning and release of juveniles to Sakinaw Lake along with re-cycling of fish through captive rearing. A simple breeding design to avoid fullsib matings and optimize outbreeding levels was employed. In 2011, significant adult returns to Sakinaw Lake from released captive juveniles were observed, and adult sockeye of captive origin have returned in variable numbers every year since. Sakinaw lake habitat has been substantially modified during the last century. Restoration to a state that is more amenable for wild spawning and rearing of this anadromous species has required a careful consideration of land owner preferences. These two priorities sometimes include conflicting requirements. By-catch of the stock in salmon fisheries has varied greatly during the last several decades. Finally, the single greatest obstruction to recovery may be poor marine survival conditions, and it may be that reduced levels captive breeding will sustain the stock during this period. This represents the first re-establishment of a successfully reproducing sockeye salmon population in Canada from captively-bred individuals.
Session Title
From Conversation to Conservation Action: Balancing Endangered Species Protection and Growth on BC's South Coast
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Sockeye salmon--Conservation--British Columbia; Sockeye salmon--Breeding--British Columbia; Wildlife recovery--British Columbia
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); British Columbia
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
The long road to recovery of an endangered salmon stock that is facing a multiple, unconnected but compounding threats.
2016SSEC
The Sakinaw Lake sockeye salmon population is endemic to one lake located at the northern edge of the Sunshine coast and due to its unique biology has been classified as a Designatable Unit (DU) by COSEWIC. Beginning in the late 1980s the population underwent a significant decline in abundance, and in 2002 the stock was listed as endangered by COSEWIC. During 2006-2009 spawner counts ranged 0-1 fish and the stock was essentially extirpated in the wild. There were multiple, anthropogenic and natural compounding factors that drove the stock to its depleted state. Hence recovery efforts, which commenced prior to extirpation, have attempted to mitigate or address threats from multiple sources. The single greatest contributor to persistence of the population has been a captive breeding program. The captive program involved hatchery rearing to adult stage, spawning and release of juveniles to Sakinaw Lake along with re-cycling of fish through captive rearing. A simple breeding design to avoid fullsib matings and optimize outbreeding levels was employed. In 2011, significant adult returns to Sakinaw Lake from released captive juveniles were observed, and adult sockeye of captive origin have returned in variable numbers every year since. Sakinaw lake habitat has been substantially modified during the last century. Restoration to a state that is more amenable for wild spawning and rearing of this anadromous species has required a careful consideration of land owner preferences. These two priorities sometimes include conflicting requirements. By-catch of the stock in salmon fisheries has varied greatly during the last several decades. Finally, the single greatest obstruction to recovery may be poor marine survival conditions, and it may be that reduced levels captive breeding will sustain the stock during this period. This represents the first re-establishment of a successfully reproducing sockeye salmon population in Canada from captively-bred individuals.
