Contributor: Kirsten Aichberger, Troy Nelson and Sara Muir Owen
Location: Lower Mainland, British Columbia
Land Use: Fisheries
Habitat Type: Watercourse/Riparian
Project Timeline: 1995-1999
Highlights
The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, with partnership efforts from the BC Fisheries, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (formerly Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks), Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, and Fisheries Renewal BC, and the Vancouver Foundation has coordinated over 100 volunteer anglers to tag and recapture the necessary number of White Sturgeon needed to determine the population and distribution of this unique, prehistoric species in the lower reaches of the Fraser River.
The significant volunteer-driven sturgeon tagging program has coordinated activities and in-kind contributions from true stewards of the resource: sport fishing guides, recreational, commercial, and aboriginal fishermen, test fishery and enforcement personnel, and various fishery monitors.
“They have outlived the dinosaurs and survived two ice ages, but the Fraser River White sturgeon has almost been wiped out by mankind in the last 100 years.”
-Rick Hansen, Chair of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation SocietyLying deep in the murky waters of the Fraser River lives Canada’s largest freshwater fish, the White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmonatnus). This unique and ancient fish is distributed throughout western North America and in British Columbia. The lower Fraser River holds some of the largest known populations in North America. Yet, over the last 100 years there has been a significant decline in the Fraser River White Sturgeon population due to over harvesting and habitat loss.
During the summers of 1993 and 1994, a mysterious die-off of at least 34 adult White Sturgeon (mostly older females) along the Fraser River alerted biologists and many concerned citizens to the precarious state of the White Sturgeon. The cause of the die-off was not specifically identified; however, it is believed to be associated with the effects of human land use on the environment of the Fraser River watershed. In 1994, through the combined action of the Provincial fisheries program, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Fraser First Nations enacted a moratorium on the harvest of White Sturgeon in British Columbia.
The need for protection of the White Sturgeon has received national recognition. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has classified the White Sturgeon as Vulnerable while in British Columbia the fish is Red-listed with the potential for legal designation as endangered or threatened status. This means that in BC the population of White Sturgeon is considered imperiled and in danger of extinction if the reasons for their decline are not addressed. The concern over the status of the species led to a 5-year (1995-1999) Provincial project called the Conservation of White Sturgeon in the Lower Fraser River. In part, this project, led to the creation of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS).
Project Objectives
The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and The Fraser River White Sturgeon Conservation Society have worked together to achieve the overall vision of protecting Fraser River White Sturgeon populations from further decline.The objectives of the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund 5-year White Sturgeon assessment was to
- gather information on growth, reproduction and age distribution of Fraser River White Sturgeon
- identify habitat use
- assess genetics and stock structure of White Sturgeon in the Fraser River and its tributaries
- gather information on movement patterns
- estimate population size throughout the Fraser River.
The overall goal of the Fraser River White Sturgeon Conservation Society is to preserve White Sturgeon stocks. To achieve this goal, the society focuses its efforts on
- providing reliable information regarding seasonal distribution, movement, and abundance of White Sturgeon throughout the section of the Fraser River from Yale to Georgia Strait
- providing information regarding immigration and emigration of Fraser River White Sturgeon through collaboration with key sturgeon researchers in Oregon and Washington
- raising public awareness regarding of Fraser River White Sturgeon
- mobilizing groups for fundraising, research and advocacy of the Fraser River White Sturgeon
- gathering and deciphering information on sturgeon to develop conservation programs for this unique species.
Knowing the movements and abundance of White Sturgeon in the lower Fraser River is critical to the protection of the population. The Conservation of White Sturgeon in the Lower Fraser River Project produced an estimate of over 900 adult and sub-adult sturgeon living in the Fraser Canyon from Yale to Hope. From a management perspective, these values are useful as they indicate that there are very few fish in this portion of the river, and that efforts to protect this small population must continue. The estimates for the number of adult and sub-adult fish living in the Lower Mainland section of the river, from Hope to Mission, were over 17,000.
This work began to provide an understanding of population levels, habitat use, and seasonal distribution. Yet, from a technical perspective, the range in the population estimate was too great to give an accurate measure of population necessary for the implementation of sound management practices. To develop a more accurate population estimate, a very large number of tags, almost 10 times as many as had been administered through this initial study, needed to be applied.
To address the challenge at hand, the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) was established, and volunteer anglers from Hope to Mission were mobilized to take action in the Sturgeon Tagging Project. The FRSCS has gained support from a number of guides and interested anglers to tag sturgeon in the lower river not possible in the initial 5-year project. Currently, the society has commitment from about 100 anglers who volunteer their time to catch and apply PIT tags to assist in White Sturgeon population estimates.
In 1995, the province initiated a 5-year assessment program for the White Sturgeon – the longest and most comprehensive study ever conducted in the Fraser system. The goals were largely aimed at gathering biological and stock status data that would enable better management and protection of this significant species. This included gathering information on
- life history (growth reproduction, age distribution etc.)
- habitat use
- genetics (stock structure)
- movement patterns
- population size.
Angling was conducted throughout the Fraser River and mark-recapture techniques were used to derive population estimates.
BC Fisheries coordinated the study with partnership from four regional offices of The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (Surrey, Kamloops, Williams Lake, and Prince George). The program was largely funded through the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund (HCTF) and Forest Renewal BC (FRBC).
To further the momentum of this initial assessment, and to assist in the protection of the Fraser River’s White Sturgeon population, the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) was established. In 1998, Rick Hansen and BC Fisheries Minister at the time, Dennis Streifel, launched the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society with an event that saw a number of volunteer participants taking part in a Sturgeon Tagging Project. Rick Hansen, Canada’s Man in Motion, is an avid sturgeon angler who grew up in towns along the Fraser River, including Williams Lake, Abbotsford and Richmond. Known for his belief in collaboration and working together to make a difference, Hansen, as Chair of the FRSCS, has assisted in bringing together a diverse group of individuals from BC’s fishing industry to form the society.
Currently the Marine Trades Association and others have provided funding for several tagging kits, while the HCTF has provided funding to develop a tagging study program and protocol. With the assistance from these agencies, the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) has focused on three major areas of activity to raise public awareness about White Sturgeon and help protect and enhance sturgeon populations.
1. Increasing Public Awareness
To raise public awareness and initiate education on sturgeon issues, a communication plan has been developed by the FRSCS. Through the distribution of information at meetings, presentations around the province, and the FRCS website, the society has improved knowledge and awareness of the White Sturgeon. In addition, the society has recently been involved in preparing a display on sturgeon, developed in partnership with the Vancouver Aquarium.2. PIT-Tagging
Expanding upon geographic scope and volunteer component of the successful 5-year HCTF and Ministry of Water, Land and Air (MWLAP), the FRSCS will use passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to mark over 10,000 adult and sub-adult White Sturgeon in the Fraser River from Yale to the Strait of Georgia through the efforts of volunteer anglers and guides. PIT tags are electronic tags implanted under the skin of the fish. These tags remain in the sturgeon for long periods of time and are functional for several decades. This means that any recaptured tagged sturgeon can be individually identified. PIT tagging provides valuable movement and distribution information, as well as core data for scientifically defensible population estimates of lower Fraser River White Sturgeon.3. Estimating Population/Abundance
Population estimates are computed from the mark-recaptured data collected by the volunteer anglers. The population estimates are based on the following assumptions- marked fish suffer the same natural and fishing mortality of unmarked fish
- marked fish are equally as vulnerable to the recapture technique as are the unmarked fish
- marked fish do not lose their marks; the marks are applied randomly over the entire run
- marked fish become randomly mixed with the unmarked fish
- recovery effort is proportional to the number of fish present in different reaches of the system
- all marks are recognized and reported on recovery.
Overall, the population analysis and data collection provides reliable information of the seasonal distribution, movement, and abundance of White Sturgeon in the Fraser River. FRSCS hopes to provide key migration information regarding immigration and emigration of Fraser River White Sturgeon through collaboration with key sturgeon researchers in Oregon and Washington, USA.
The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) is coming very close to achieving its goal of tagging 10,000 White Sturgeon in the lower Fraser River. To date the FRSCS has
- provided an increased understanding of population levels and population structure of White Sturgeon in the Lower Fraser River
- provided an increased understanding of the seasonal movement and distribution of sturgeon
- developed an extensive network of volunteer taggers and stewards
- assisted in improving management activities for population restoration by enhancing the base line data and parameters for management techniques.
Recent years have seen the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society embark towards the next phase of the Fraser River White Sturgeon Project, which involves project management, training, data collection, data management, quality assurance, data analysis, and reporting.
Acknowledgements
The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) represents commercial, sport, First Nations, government agencies, and other interests. The FRSCS is further supported by many partners and interest groups including
- The Habitat Conservation Trust Fund
- Fisheries Renewal BC
- Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk (Environment Canada)
- The Vancouver Foundation
- Endswell Foundation
- Pacific Port Authorities
- BC Ministry of Fisheries
- Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
A special thanks for insights into the life of Fraser River White Sturgeon and the ‘hands on’ angling and tagging experience provided by Rick Hansen, Ralph Roberts and Rob Graham during the November 2000 FRSCS Sturgeon Tagging event organized by Troy Nelson (LGL Limited, Environmental Research Associates).
The Fraser River White Sturgeon Case Study is based on
- information found on the FRSCS website
- “White sturgeon” (1997) a brochure written by Donald Blood for The Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
- “British Columbia – A Natural History” (1996) written by Richard Cannings and Sydney Cannings and published by Greystone Books.
Contacts
Habitat Conservation Trust Fund
http://www.elp.gov.bc.ca/hctf/
PO Box 9354
Stn. Prov. Government
Victoria, BC Canada
V8W 9M1
Fax: (250) 952 6684
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
Fish and Wildlife Science and Allocation Section
Marvin Rosenau
Fish Biologist
2-10470 152nd St
Surrey , BC Canada
V3R OY3
Phone: 604 582-5312
Email: Marvin.Rosenau@gems7.gov.bc.ca
Rick Hansen Institute
http://www.rickhansen.com
Miranda Sharpe
1040-1874 East Mall, UBC
Vancouver, BC Canada
V6T 1Z1
Phone: 604-822-6028
Fax: 604-822-9486
Email: msharpe@rick-hansen.ubc.ca
Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society
http://www.rickhansen.com/fraser/fraser.html
Craig Orr
1040-1874 East Mall, UBC
Vancouver, BC Canada
V6T 1Z1
Phone: 604-809-2799
Email: msharpe@rick-hansen.ubc.ca
Partners
“We recognized that bringing all the partners working together would be critical in slowing the decline of the sturgeon. That’s why we’ve brought together native and commercial fishermen, anglers, government, researchers, environmental groups and concerned individuals to participate in the Society and in this event. We all have one thing in common and that is the preservation of this remarkable fish.”
– Dennis Streifel, former BC Fisheries Minister
The Fraser River White Sturgeon Project has been made possible through cooperative efforts and contributions of
- The Habitat Conservation Trust Fund
- The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society
- Fisheries Branch, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
- Forest Renewal BC.