Stikine – Tahltan Lake Adult Sockeye Enumeration

The Tahltan Lake weir project monitors sockeye salmon escapement in the most important Stikine River sockeye spawning Lake. In 1993, the Transboundary Technical Committee (TTC) established an escapement goal of 24,000 fish for the Tahltan stock, which takes into account an escapement of 20,000 naturally spawning fish and up to 4,000 fish needed for broodstock to meet objectives of the Canada/U.S. Stikine River enhancement program. When coupled with stock identification techniques, an accurate count of Tahltan Lake sockeye permits estimation of escapement drainage-wide.

It is the primary tool for identifying whether or not both Tahltan Lake and Stikine River mainstem escapement goals have been achieved. Tahltan Lake counts are used to forecast future adult sockeye salmon production and will guide management actions in subsequent years through abundance based management. Data gathered through this project is also used to determine appropriate egg-take levels at Tahltan Lake designed to boost adult production in the Stikine River through the joint Transboundary sockeye enhancement program.