A yearly mark-recapture study is done in the Bulkley River at the Moricetown Canyon Falls to estimate the number of adult steelhead. Tagging is carried out immediately below the falls and the recapture site is at the top of the falls. In 2009 Kintama deployed several acoustic receivers above and below the falls and a sub-sample of the mark-recapture fish was equipped with sonic tags in addition to the standard anchor tags. Our study found that less than 60% of tagged steelhead were available to recapture and therefore that the mark-recapture abundance estimates would be over-estimated.
Read the report here.
Click on the box in the lower right corner for the full-screen animation
Bulkley River animation 2009