Tahltan River Chinook Salmon Assessment Feasibility

The primary objective of this project is to test the feasibility of obtaining a census of Chinook salmon entering the Tahltan River in the Stikine River drainage. Based on telemetry data, the Tahltan River (into which Tahltan Lake, Beatty Creek, and the Little Tahltan River drain) is the most important Chinook tributary in the Stikine River drainage, supporting up to 60% of the total annual return. The use of sonar technology in the Tahltan River would complement existing weir operations at Little Tahltan River by providing a census of all Chinook salmon entering the river. The index approach using Little Tahltan weir data to derive an escapement estimate for the Stikine River has been complicated in recent years by an apparent decrease in the contribution of Little Tahltan Chinook to the overall Stikine River Chinook escapement.