Salmon at the source: Kwanlin Dün monitor chinook
The Kwanlin Dün First Nation is keeping an eye on chinook salmon at the spawning grounds: A place where a 3,000km migration begins and ends.Philippe Morin visited the First Nation's salmon monitoring program on the McClintock river.
Posted by CBC Yukon on Sunday, September 6, 2015
Video source: CBC
Michie Creek is a tributary of the M’Clintock River. It is estimated that roughly 35% of the Chinook Salmon that travel through the Whitehorse Fish Ladder end their journey at Michie Creek to spawn.
The Michie Creek spawning population represents one of the longest migrations of Chinook salmon in the Yukon Drainage Basin – over 3,000 kms and, it is upstream of the Whitehorse Rapids Dam. It is also a fish stock subject to the greatest risk of overharvest because it migrates through fisheries on both sides of the Canada/ U.S. border.
The Michie Creek Salmon and Habitat Monitoring Project maintains continued access for migrating Chinook to reach its primary spawning location on upper Michie Creek at the outlet of Michie Lake. For over a decade, many barriers had to be breached such as beaver dams and logjams for migrating salmon to reach their spawning grounds.
The spawning population is monitored each year by counting redds (salmon nests) and the number of adult spawners present at the site.
Hourly temperature and flow data have also been collected over the summer months for the duration of the project. This database represents one of the only Chinook spawning locations in the Yukon where this data has been documented over the long-term.