Abstract
Nisqually River Steelhead Acoustic Tracking in Puget Sound, Washington
Track: Tribal/Indigenous GIS programs
Author(s): Jennifer Cutler
The Nisqually River winter steelhead population has been in decline since the early 1990’s. The numbers of adult steelhead returning to the river each spring to spawn are at critically low levels. Similar patterns of decline are occurring in other Puget Sound steelhead stocks, suggesting that the problem may be due to conditions in Puget Sound or in the Pacific Ocean. In an effort to determine movement and mortality patterns during their time in the marine areas, acoustic tags were placed in steelhead smolts as they left the Nisqually River. Smolt movements from the Nisqually River through Puget Sound and the straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca were then monitored by a network of acoustic receivers or ‘listening lines’ placed under water. Preliminary results of the information gathered during this study will be presented using ArcGIS Desktop animation and cartography tools.
Jennifer Cutler
Nisqually Indian Tribe
12501 Yelm Hwy SE
Olympia , Washington 98513
United States
Phone: 360-438-8687
E-mail: cutler.jennifer@nisqually-nsn.gov