Lake Roosevelt White Sturgeon Recovery Project : Annual Progress Report, January 2003 – March 2004.
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
This report summarizes catch data collected from white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in Lake Roosevelt during limited setlining and gill netting activities in the fall of 2003, and documents progress toward development of a U.S. white sturgeon conservation aquaculture program for Lake Roosevelt. From 27-30 October, 42 overnight small mesh gill net sets were made between Marcus and Northport, WA for a total catch of 15 juvenile white sturgeon (275-488 mm FL). All sturgeon captured were of Canadian hatchery origin. These fish had been previously released as sub-yearlings into the Canadian portion (Keenleyside Reach) of the Transboundary Reach of the Columbia River during 2002 and 2003. Most sturgeon (n=14) were caught in the most upstream area sampled (Northport) in low velocity eddy areas. Five fish exhibited pectoral fin deformities (curled or stunted). Growth rates were less than for juvenile sturgeon captured in the Keenleyside Reach but condition factor was similar. Condition factor was also similar to that observed in juvenile sturgeon (ages 1-8) captured in the unimpounded Columbia River below Bonneville Dam between 1987-92. From 10-14 November, 28 overnight setline sets were made in the Roosevelt Reach between the confluence of the Spokane River and Marcus Island for a total catch of 17 white sturgeon (94-213 cm FL). Catch was greatest in the most upstream areas sampled, a distribution similar to that observed during a WDFW setline survey in Lake Roosevelt in 1998. The mean W{sub r} index of 110% for fish captured this year was higher than the mean W{sub r} of 91% for fish captured in 1998. Excellent fish condition hindered surgical examination of gonads as lipid deposits made the ventral body wall very thick and difficult to penetrate with available otoscope specula. Acoustic tags (Vemco model V16 coded pingers, 69 kHz, 48-month life expectancy) were internally applied to 15 fish for subsequent telemetry investigations of seasonal and reproductively motivated movements. In August 2003, three Vemco VR2 fixed station acoustic receivers, supplied by the UCWSRI Transboundary Telemetry Project, were deployed in the vicinities of Kettle Falls Bridge, Marcus Island, and Northport, WA. Data downloaded from these receivers through December 2003 confirmed the findings of a previous telemetry study that the Marcus area is an important overwintering habitat for white sturgeon. On 18 February 2004, juvenile white sturgeon (n=2,000) were transported from Kootenay Sturgeon Hatchery in British Columbia to WDFW Columbia Basin Hatchery (CBH) in Moses Lake, WA. Fish were reared at CBH to approximately 30 g and individually outfitted with PIT tags and scute marked. On 11 May 2004, fish were released into Lake Roosevelt in the vicinities of Kettle Falls Bridge, North Gorge, and Northport.
- Research Organization:
- Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Portland, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- 42440
- OSTI ID:
- 964262
- Report Number(s):
- P112493; R&D Project: 1995-027-00; TRN: US200919%%193
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: document dated March 2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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