Research Document - 2001/090
Status of anadromous Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) of the Rat River, Northwest Territories, as assessed through community-based sampling of the subsistence fishery, August-September 1989-2000
By L.A. Harwood
Abstract
One or more stocks of anadromous Dolly Varden, known locally as "charr", inhabit the Rat River and its tributaries. Rat River Dolly Varden represent one of six known stocks of the northern form of Dolly Varden in Canada. The Dolly Varden that inhabit this system show a fair degree of genetic diversity, compared with stocks in neighbouring systems. Fishermen from two adjacent land claim groups, the Gwich'in and the Inuvialuit, harvest Dolly Varden from the Rat River stock(s). Communities of Aklavik and Fort McPherson developed and implemented their "Rat River Charr Fishing Plan" in 1995. The Plan recommends that the total take of Dolly Varden in the food fishery not exceed 2000 per year, and provides net number, size and depth restrictions. Compliance with the Plan has been improving over the past years, with fishing in the 1999 and 2000 seasons being in full compliance with the recommendations of the Plan. The fishery has been monitored through a community-based sampling program since 1989, expanded from one site to five sites in 1995, and continuing to the present day. The average annual harvest between 1990-1999 is equivalent to 13.0% of the 1998 estimate of stock size, and 17.7% of the 1996 estimate of stock size. There have been no detectable changes in the size of the Dolly Varden stock, as estimated over the past decade. There have been no declining trends in the Catch-Per-Unit-Effort, length- and age- frequency distributions, mean age and mean length, sex and maturity ratios of the Dolly Varden during the monitoring program between 1989-2000. The stock appears to be stable, and the outlook favourable, given careful monitoring of the stock, periodic estimation of the size of the stock, and compliance with the community-fishing plan.
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