INSTALLATION AND OPERATION OF A RESISTANCE BOARD WEIR IN DUFFINS CREEK, LAKE ONTARIO TO SUPPORT ATLANTIC SALMON RESTORATION

RATIONALE: Atlantic salmon were endemic to Lake Ontario before the extirpation in the late 19th century. Since 2006, over 2 million fish have been stocked as part of an enhanced restoration effort. All stocked fish were genetically tagged so that recaptured fish can be assigned to specific stocking events (year, life-stage, and strain) or conversely identified as wild recruits. Despite considerable effort and techniques, failure to recapture sufficient returning adults is limiting observations from experimental stockings. Also, barriers on many Lake Ontario tributaries prevent access to quality spawning and nursery habitat. Increased ability to efficiently capture and enumerate returning adults would substantially improve stocking experiments, optimize stocking strategies, allow transfer of fish to quality spawning and nursery habitat, and increase access to adult fish for additional research or management.
OBJECTIVES:
1) Install and operate a resistance board weir in an selected Atlantic salmon tributary to capture returning adult Atlantic salmon
2) Determine the best life-stage (fry, fall fingerlings, and yearlings) to stock Atlantic salmon
3) Evaluate the comparative performance of three contrasting strains of Atlantic salmon (LaHave (NS), Lac St-Jean (QC), and Sebago (ME)) currently being cultured and stocked in Ontario
4) Estimate survival of Atlantic salmon during residence in Lake Ontario and adult return rates
5) Provide access to live adult Atlantic salmon to other restoration partners for research and management
METHODS: Resistance board weirs are proven technology, pioneered on the west coast of North America to capture returning salmon in rivers (www.fishsciences.net). They are site-adaptable, temporary, portable, safe, inexpensive, and capable of handling extreme flow variation and debris. We would contract design and installation supervision and training with Cramer Fish Sciences; the only company with design and installation experience, and hire staff to operate the weir. The weir will be sited during the spring and summer of 2011, installed in June-July and removed and the end of October. In subsequent years, the weir will run from May to through October. The weir is designed to trap or allow passage of fish and will be lifted daily during peak spawning runs or otherwise as needed. We will use weir-captured returning adults to evaluate stocking strategies, strains, and estimate lake survival for three years (2011-2013). All captured Atlantic salmon will be measured and will have a fin punch removed for genetic identification and released. Adult fish will be made available to other self-funded research or management partners (e.g. fish behavioural studies, transfer to spawning areas, and evaluation of thiamine status).