Fishery Management Plan For Arctic Grayling In The Goodpaster River 2001 2004

Author : Andrew D. Gryska
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (115 download)

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Download or read book Seasonal Distributions and Migrations of Arctic Grayling in the Goodpaster River written by Andrew D. Gryska and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC cooperated on a radiotelemetry project that investigated the seasonal distributions and migrations of Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus inhabiting the Middle and Upper Goodpaster River, relative to the Pogo Mine. Radio tags were surgically implanted into 178 Arctic grayling of adult size (281-460 mm fork length [FL]) during August 2014, and locations were periodically determined through 12 aerial surveys occurring between September 2014 and December 2015. Before winter arrived, Arctic grayling vacated all small tributaries and most fish (95%) overwintered throughout the mainstem Goodpaster River, while a few individuals resided in the Tanana River. The largest concentration of radiotagged fish (57%; SE = 4.3%) was located in the 32.5 km Upper Goodpaster River section, between Glacier Creek and the Eisenmenger Fork (), and the smallest concentration (8%; SE = 2.4%) was located adjacent to the mine in the Middle Goodpaster River section, between Glacier and Central creeks (32.5 km). The Lower Goodpaster River section, from Central Creek to the mouth (104 km), held 30% (SE = 4.0%) of fish during winter, half of which were in the lower 25 km. Most grayling spawned near their overwintering area. After spawning, the tagged fish quickly vacated the Lower Goodpaster River and dispersed throughout the Middle and Upper Goodpaster River mainstem and tributaries. Fidelity to their summer feeding areas was observed but varied among individuals, including one fish that left the Goodpaster River and migrated to the Delta Clearwater River. These results indicate that impacts to the Arctic grayling population by a disturbance are lessened because the population is widely distributed and has an ability to disperse and recolonize. Nonetheless, the water quality and quantity of the migration corridor are key to the resilience of the population. Finally, these seasonal locations and the timing to and from all seasonal habitats can be used to avoid or greatly reduce impacts due to ongoing and future development.