Research Document - 2002/088

Status of Sakinaw Lake Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

By C. Murray and C. Wood

Abstract

This report summarizes our current knowledge of Sakinaw Lake sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Sakinaw Lake is located on the Sechelt Peninsula in Fisheries and Oceans Canad (DFO) management Area 16. Data were collected between 1939-2001. Quantity of data available for each year varied, ranging from intensive total fishway counts in some years to one-time escapement surveys in others. Catch information, smolt production estimates, and basic biological characteristics for Sakinaw sockeye are very limited. Sakinaw Lake sockeye salmon have shown recent dramatic declines in total abundance. All available data indicate that the critically low sockeye returns to Sakinaw Lake in 1999, 2000, and 2001 are correlated with the compounding effect of poor marine survival and low brood year escapements. If marine survival continues to be poor and escapement levels continue to decrease for Sakinaw sockeye, drastic measures are required to prevent the downward spiral to extirpation.

Major concerns that have lead to the conclusion that if present conditions continue, Sakinaw Lake sockeye salmon are likely to become extirpated in the foreseeable future, include: loss of spawning habitat in the lake; low summer water levels and high temperatures that periodically block migration into the lake; past logging effects and present effects of residential development around the lake; and fishing effort in Johnstone and Georgia straits. All these factors have contributed to the overall downward trend in abundance.

Opportunities exist for enhancement and restoration of the lake's sockeye stock, which include increasing escapements, fry outplants, improvement of spawning grounds, and control of competitors or predators. However, a comprehensive recovery plan should be developed for Sakinaw sockeye salmon to explore all the options, to ensure that the proposed measures address the recovery of Sakinaw sockeye, address local and regional concerns, and do not contribute to further harm.

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