Old Franks Fishpasses–1998 Monitoring Update1-20-99 
Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska
John Hannon, Craig Ranger District

This report summarizes the results of monitoring the Old Franks Fishpass Project during 1998.Monitoring efforts during 1998 focused on determining coho salmon escapement and colonization in the Old Franks system.

The 1998 monitoring activities included the following:

·Escapement monitoring at the upper fishpass and in selected parts of the stream system

·Coded wire tag collection from the common property fisheries by ADF&G

·Snorkel population surveys in upper Old Franks Creek

·Population estimates in Trail Creek and Toque Creek

·Stream flow and temperature monitoring

Background Information

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game began fisheries investigations in the Old Franks Watershed in 1978.These were augmented with additional fisheries data collected in 1989 (Zadina and Haddix 1993).The Forestry Sciences Lab collected baseline population and habitat data on the system in 1990 to later evaluate the response of the system to the introduction of anadromous salmonids (Bryant 1991).The Craig Ranger District began to monitor population and habitat conditions in the system in 1991 and has continued through 1998 (Craig Ranger District 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997).The Ketchikan Area conducted a watershed analysis in the upper watershed in 1994 (USDA 1994). 

Two fishpasses were constructed over waterfalls on lower Old Franks Creek in 1992.Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) negotiated the fishpasses during the 1992 run.Coho moved into the upper reaches of the accessible habitat during that year while pink salmon did make it to the upper fishpass.Pink numbers have since increased and some pink salmon now make it through the upper fishpass.Chum salmon (O. Keta) have also begun to colonize the habitat between the fishpasses.

Sockeye salmon (O. nerka) fingerlings were stocked in 1992 and coho fingerlings were stocked in 1994, 1995, and 1996 (Table 1).The coho bioenhancement program was a three year project conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Denton 1997).Coho egg takes were conducted above Salmon Lake, in McGilvery Creek, in the Karta system.Egg takes were conducted in late October and November.The fry were stocked into the Old Franks system the following summer.

Sockeye and king salmon were both stocked into the Old Franks system in the past, in the 1950's and 1960's.No sockeye or king salmon runs developed, but there is a kokanee population in the Old Franks Lake system which may have been established from the sockeye stocking.Presently no other stocking is planned.Resident salmonids present above the barrier waterfalls in the system prior to fishpass construction and stocking were cutthroat trout (O. clarki), rainbow trout (O. mykiss), and dolly varden char (Salvelinus malma). 

Table 1.Stocking History of the Old Franks system.

Date	Species	Age	Number	Location Planted	Source
1952	Sockeye	Green Eggs	60,000	Unknown	Buschmann Creek
1952	Sockeye	Eyed Eggs	35,000	Unknown	Buschmann Creek
1953	Sockeye	Green Eggs	165,550	Unknown	Buschmann Creek
1962	King Salmon	Fry	33,750	Lakes	Soos Cr., WA
1963	King Salmon	Fry	46,223	Lakes	Karta (Beaver Falls reared)
5-14-92	Sockeye	Fry	227,200	Lakes	Karta (Klawock H reared)
8-16-94	Coho	Fry	96,632	Upper Lake	Karta (Klawock H reared)
7-21-95	Coho	Fry	78,719	Bridge	Karta (Klawock H reared)
7-26-95	Coho	Fry	139,405*	O.F. Lake	Karta (Klawock H reared)
6-25-96	Coho	Fry	143,416	O.F. Lake	Karta (Beaver Falls reared)

34,735 cohos were coded wire tagged in 1994, 32,728 were tagged in 1995, and 44,431 were tagged in 1996.

*9,223 cohos with the same tag code were accidentally released into the Klawock River in 1995.

Methods

Site Description

The Old Franks watershed on Prince of Wales Island is 32 km east of Craig (Figure 1).It covers 65 km² and flows into Polk Inlet (Figure 2).The lakes in the system cover over 300 ha and there are over 19 km of anadromous streams made accessible by the fishpasses.Monitoring work has beenconducted primarily on the mainstem of Old Franks Creek below the lakes (escapement), above the lakes (juvenile fish) and within the lakes (resident fish).

Escapement Counts

A Smith Root Model 1100 Fish Counter was installed in a horizontal flume at the upper fishpass and has been used to count returning adult salmon since 1993.A picket fish trap was installed in the exit pool of the fishpass, above the fish counter.The trap helped to validate counts made on the fish counter.Adult salmon captured in the picket trap were measured (mid-eye to fork length), examined for adipose clips, and tagged with a numbered 30 cm yellow spaghetti tag.The tag allowed us to identify fish upstream that passed through the fishpass and to identify fish that went back down over the falls.We took scales from coho and sockeye that were captured in the picket trap.A small number (7-16) of the adipose-clipped coho were killed each year at the fishpass to recover the coded-wire tags. The tags identify which stocked group the fish is from.We also conducted periodic snorkel counts from Lake Mary down to saltwater to monitor the upstream migration of the salmon.A Peterson mark-recapture estimate (Chapman modification) was used to estimate escapement through both fishpasses.Confidence intervals were calculated using Appendix II of Ricker (1975).

Trail Creek and Toque Creek Fish Survey

Trail Creek flows through a large beaver pond before emptying into Old Franks Creek from the south, between the upper fishpass and Lake Mary.Toque Creek flows into Old Franks Lake from the north near the lake outlet.We estimated the juvenile coho population in September in Trail Creek, upstream of the pond, and in Toque Creek.Fish were captured in minnow traps baited with salmon eggs.All fish captured (coho, cutthroat, and dolly varden) were measured and dye marked in 1996 and 1997 for mark-recapture population estimates.We used depletion population estimates (White et al. 1982) to estimate populations in 1998.Three trapping sessions were used with each trapping session lasting 75 minutes.Captured fish were measured and removed from the stream until the end of the third trapping session.We used four trapping reaches in Toque Creek and two reaches in Trail Creek.Insufficient numbers of cutthroat or dolly varden were caught to conduct population estimates on those species.

Stream Population and Habitat Surveys

Habitat surveys were conducted in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1994 on upper Old Franks Creek from the upper lake to the top of anadromous fish habitat.Fish densities (all ages and species) were determined annually since 1990 by snorkeling established habitat units.New snorkel units were marked periodically to adjust for natural changes in habitat units.The existing marked habitat units were most recently re-measured in 1997.

Water Temperature and Streamflow Monitoring

Since 1991, water temperature has been monitored above and below the lake system during summer and fall by using Ryan Temp Mentors (1991 - 1996) and Optic Stow Away Temp units (1997 - 1998) recording at one-hour intervals.Water level was recorded daily in lower Old Franks Creek using readings from a staff gauge at the outlet of Lake Mary.

Results

Salmon escapement in Old Franks Creek

Coho Salmon

The 1998 coho escapement estimate was up from the 1997 return.It consisted of returns from coho stocked in 1995 and 1996.It also included returns from coho that spawned upstream of the fishpass in 1994 and 1995.

The pickets were installed for the 1998 season on August 3 and the first coho was captured the same day.The number of fish that used the fishpass prior to August 3 is unknown.We counted 917 coho between saltwater and Lake Mary during a snorkel count on August 4.A total of 348 coho were captured in the picket trap by September 17, the last day the fishpass was staffed (Figure 3).A majority of the coho jump the falls without passing through the fishpass so the fishpass count is a sub-sample of the total escapement.Run timing has been similar each year (1995 - 1998) but the peak escapement period occurred earlier in 1998 than in previously monitored years.The majority of coho pass the upper fishpass between late August and mid-September during rising streamflows.

Figure 3.  Old Franks coho run timing through the upper fishpass, 1994 - 1998.

Upstream snorkel escapement counts were used to obtain an escapement estimate based on the ratio of spaghetti tagged coho observed.The primary count in 1998 was conducted in upper Old Franks Creek on October 9.The escapement estimate for 1998 was 4,991 coho (95% CI = 2,830 - 9,631).This compares to estimates of 4,488 in 1997, 6,664 in 1996, 2,222 in 1995 and 250 in 1993 and 1994 (Figure 4).A potential, untested, error in the escapement estimates lies in the case that spaghetti tagged coho may migrate differently throughout the system than untagged coho.

Figure 4.  Old Franks coho escapement estimates, 1994 - 1998.  Error bars are 95% confidence intervals.

We examined 358 coho at the fishpass for missing adipose fins (indicating the presence of a coded wire tag).Of the 358 coho, 6.4% had adipose clips.The percentage of tagged coho fingerlings released was about 30%.This estimate is based on the tagging ratio from the 1995 brood (33%) and the 1994 brood (15%).More emphasis is placed on the ratio from the 1995 brood because most returns were from the 1995 brood.This indicates that approximately 21% of the return was from bioenhancement (Karta stock) fish and 79% was from Old Franks spawned fish.This is the highest return of Old Franks spawned coho, indicating natural reproduction is on the increase (Table 2).

Table 2.Breakdown of bioenhanced and Old Franks spawned coho returns, 1996 - 1997.

Return Year	fingerlings adipose clipped	adults with clips	% bioenhanced returns	% Old Franks spawned
1996	36% of 96,600	24% of 431	66	34
1997	15% of 218,124	11% of 347	71	29
1998	33% of 143,416	6.4% of 358	21	79

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game collected 238 Old Franks tagged coho from the common property fishery in 1998.The estimated bioenhancement contribution, based on the tagging ratio and number of tagged fish collected, to the fisheries was 2,462 coho in 1998, 1,790 coho in 1997 and 1,914 coho in 1996 (Figure 5).Most coho in the commercial fishery were landed between July 15 and the end of August each year.Five sport caught coho were collected in 1998, three from Sitka and one each from Craig and Ketchikan.The estimated sport contribution in 1998 was 65 coho.Two sport caught coho were collected in 1997 at Sitka.Two sport caught coho were collected in 1996, one each in Sitka and Ketchikan.No sport contribution was estimated in 1996 or 1997.

Figure 5.  Old Franks coho bioenhancement contribution to commercial fisheries, 1996 - 1998.  This does not include the additional contribution of the naturally spawned coho.

The 1998 commercial catch consisted 92% of coho from the 1995 brood and 8% of coho from the 1994 brood (Table 3).Out of the estimated 206 coho from the 1994 brood that returned in 1998 (age 2.1 fish), 188 (91%) were from the group released at the bridge in upper Old Franks Creek.Only 35% of the fish in the 1994 brood were released at the bridge.The remainder were released into Old Franks Lake (plus 4% in an accidental release to the Klawock River).We compared the makeup of the commercial contribution between the lake released and creek released coho in the 1994 brood.There were 0.6% of the lake released coho and 0.8% of the creek released coho captured in the commercial fisheries.This leads to the assumption that survival was slightly higher in the creek released group than in the lake released group.

Table 3.Percentage makeup of Old Franks coho bioenhancement returns by brood year source.

Brood Year	1996 return	1997 return	1998 return
1993	100%	1%
1994		99%	8%
1995			92%

The distribution of coho returns between the gear groups has varied throughout the years (table 4).The coho were harvested relatively equally by trollers, gillnetters, and seiners in 1996 and 1998.Trollers dominated the harvest of Old Franks coho in 1997.

Table 4.Old Franks coho bioenhancement contribution (number of fish) to commercial fisheries by gear type as estimated by coded wire tag recoveries.

Gear Type	1996	1997	1998
Troll	668	1,219	841
Drift Gillnet	699	367	768
Purse Seine	528	204	788
Sport			65
Total	1,914	1,790	2,462

The commercial fisheries captured 29% of the Old Franks coho in the northern part of Clarence Strait (district 106) when contribution for all years is combined (Table 5).High numbers were also captured on the outside of Baranof Island (district 113), the southeast side of Prince of Wales (district 102) and the outside waters west of Prince of Wales (district 104).

The overall coho production from the Old Franks system was estimated using the commercial contribution, escapement estimate, and the ratio of enhanced to wild coho in the escapement.Production estimates ranged from 7,009 in 1997 to 16,714 in 1998 (Table 6).Further refinement of the enhanced:wild ratio may occur after all coho scales have been read.

Pink and Chum Salmon

An escapement count for pink and chum salmon was not obtained in 1998 because flows were too high when counts were attempted.Pink and chum salmon densities appeared similar to 1997 when 16,681 pinks and 30 chums were counted.Four pink salmon went through the upper fishpass in 1998.This compares to 12 pinks in 1997 and 27 in 1996.

Sockeye Salmon

Only one sockeye was captured at the fishpass in 1998.Three were captured in 1997 and 32 were captured in1996.Counts have not targeted sockeye; the fishpass was unstaffed until after the peak of sockeye immigration in 1997 and 1998.

Table 5.Coho bioenhancement contribution (number of fish) to fisheries by area harvested (ADF&G statistical areas) and percentage of total harvest from all years by area.

Harvest Area (District)	1996	1997	1998	Overall %
Ketchikan Area (101)	129	32	303	8%
southeast Prince of Wales (102)	278	84	399	12%
west Prince of Wales, inside waters (103)	40	36	55	2%
west Prince of Wales, outside (104)	257	219	154	10%
Sumner Strait (105)	103	61	199	6%
northern Clarence Strait (106)	693	374	730	29%
Ernest Sound (107)			14	.2%
Wrangell (108)			2	0%
Chatham Strait / Frederick Sound (109)	79	155