Anadromous cataloging and fish inventory in select drainages of the Upper Tanana and Yukon Rivers 2019

Following ADF&G's AFFI protocols, two crews, each with two members, will simultaneously sample fish communities in selected study stream reaches for approximately 20 days during the summer of 2019. Target survey sites will include wadeable headwater streams sampled with a backpack electrofisher and un-wadeable streams (including mainstem rivers) sampled with a raft mounted electrofisher. Two helicopters will provide access to the stream study sites for headwater and cataraft crews. Sites within the study area that have the highest potential for habitat degradation will be identified through consultation with the ADF&G Division of Habitat and will be given a higher sampling priority. The number of headwater streams in the study area will exceed the project’s limited sampling effort capacity; therefore, a subset of mapped streams, comprising the longest stream segments not currently listed in the AWC, will be selected as target streams. The headwater team will sample approximately six to eight headwater streams per day and the raft team will float and sample one un-wadeable stream per day, including a reach from all mainstem rivers in the study area. Sampling methods At selected streams, the fish community will be sampled with standardized methods and effort according to AFFI protocols. Fish will typically be collected by single-pass electrofishing (other non-lethal gear types such as beach seines, angling, or minnow traps may be deployed if conditions prohibit safe or effective electrofishing). Electrofishing is the principal fish collection gear because it is recognized as the most comprehensive and effective method for collecting fish in lotic systems. At all target streams, a length of stream (referred to as a reach) standardized by stream width (i.e., 40 or 120 wetted-channel-widths in wadeable and un-wadeable target streams, respectively, or, in large rivers, the maximum length of stream that can be sampled in one day) was sampled to include all aquatic habitat types within that reach. Collected fish will be identified to species, tallied, measure for fork length, and examined for external abnormalities. Additionally, standard water chemistry, channel morphology, and riparian habitat parameters will be recorded at each sample site. To enhance data quality and completeness and data entry efficiency, all collected data will be entered each day into an integrated database installed on a notebook computer.