Puntledge River Hatchery Summer Chinook Rearing Consolidation Project

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1 12.Pun.03 Prepared by: E. Guimond 473 Leighton Ave. Courtenay, BC V9N 2Z5 Prepared for: Comox Valley Project Watershed Society PO Box 3007 Courtenay, BC V9N 5N3 Prepared with financial support of: BC Hydro Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program March 2013

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Following several years of discussions and negotiation, DFO and BC Hydro have agreed to a new enhancement strategy for summer Chinook salmon, which includes moving all the associated fish production from the Upper Hatchery to the lower Puntledge Hatchery on Powerhouse Road and decommissioning the Upper Hatchery facility. The Upper Puntledge Hatchery (spawning channel) was constructed in 1965 by BC Hydro as compensation for the loss of summer Chinook and steelhead spawning habitat and juvenile turbine mortality following expansion of the hydro facilities on the Puntledge River in the 1950s. Over the past 47 years, the facility has operated with varying success. Prompted by concerns from BC Hydro over risks associated with the pumping requirements of the facility, and from DFO over water quality (temperature and gas supersaturation) impacts on fish health, the two parties agreed to the preferred alternative to only operating the Lower Hatchery facility. With funding from BC Hydro s Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP), twelve new rearing tanks, a new aeration tower and other infrastructure were installed at the lower Puntledge Hatchery to accommodate the rearing of 1.25 million summer Chinook fry. By consolidating all production at the Lower Hatchery, operational efficiencies as well as new production strategies will be implemented while still maintaining the same annual salmon production targets. ii

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary...ii Table of Contents...iii List of Figures...iv 1 INTRODUCTION Background Goals and Objectives STUDY AREA METHODS Project Design and Planning Communications RESULTS AND DISCUSSION RECOMMENDATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES...8 APPENDICES A B C D Confirmation of FWCP Recognition FWCP Financial Statement Drawings Photo Chronology iii

4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Puntledge River showing location of the Upper and Lower Puntledge hatchery sites and other major features...4 iv

5 1 INTRODUCTION Over the past decade Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and BC Hydro have been evaluating a range of alternatives for reducing enhancement activities at the Upper Puntledge Hatchery on Forbidden Plateau Road. These alternatives must also contribute to improved survival of salmon stocks in the Puntledge River. Historically, Puntledge Hatchery s summer Chinook broodstock collection and coho smolt production was conducted at the Upper Hatchery site. DFO was concerned with the potential risks to fish from high temperatures and gas supersaturation which resulted in the almost complete loss of summer Chinook broodstock holding at the facility in 2004, and 100% mortality of coho smolts rearing at the facility in Following a review of the Puntledge Hatchery program, coho rearing and release strategies, as well as broodstock collection for summer Chinook was moved to the lower hatchery site on Powerhouse Road to improve overall production. Only the rearing of summer Chinook juveniles from emergence to smolt release, (i.e. from February to May/June) continued at the Upper Hatchery. BC Hydro expressed concern over the risks and liability associated with continued operation of this facility because of the pumping and staff standby response requirements. Following several years of discussions and negotiation, DFO and BC Hydro have agreed to a new enhancement strategy for summer Chinook salmon, which includes moving all the associated fish production from the Upper Hatchery to the lower Puntledge Hatchery and decommissioning the Upper Hatchery facility. With funding from BC Hydro s Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP), twelve new rearing tanks, a new aeration tower and other infrastructure were installed at Puntledge Hatchery to accommodate the rearing of 1.25 million summer Chinook fry. 1.1 Background The Upper Puntledge Hatchery (spawning channel) was constructed in 1965 by BC Hydro as compensation for the loss of summer Chinook and steelhead spawning habitat and juvenile turbine mortality following expansion of the hydro facilities on the Puntledge River in the 1950s (Angus 1962; Lister, 1968). Over the past 47 years, the facility has operated with varying success. More recently, it has been used to hold a portion of the summer Chinook adult broodstock, rear up to 2 million Chinook juveniles and 600,000 coho smolts. 1

6 As a result of two catastrophic incidences in 2004 and 2009, and recent knowledge gained from migration studies, DFO Puntledge Hatchery incorporated changes to their summer Chinook broodstock collection and coho smolt production programs. First, Puntledge Hatchery has discontinued the production of coho smolts, in favour of releasing fed fry into the upper watershed. This eliminates the need to rear coho juveniles throughout the summer when high water temperatures may compromise fish health. Second, summer Chinook broodstock are now captured at the lower Puntledge Hatchery site. Capturing adults at the lower hatchery rather than the upper site potentially doubles access to broodstock because previous migration studies have indicated a summer Chinook migration success rate to the upper river (i.e. Upper Hatchery) of only 50% on average, particularly for adults arriving after June (Guimond and Taylor 2009). Summer Chinook salmon arriving at the lower hatchery are now transported to other DFO hatcheries that have cooler water supplies. Up to 300 adults can be transported to Rosewall Hatchery in Fanny Bay which operates on a pumped groundwater supply at a temperature of 8-10 o C. An additional 550 adults can now be transported to Big Qualicum (BQ) Hatchery, with the recent addition of two 9 metre tanks through FWCP funding. BQ Hatchery operates on a deep water gravity fed water supply from Horne Lake and can provide water temperatures around 15 o C throughout the summer months. Both facilities increase adult survival to spawn from ~50% to >95% and improves gamete viability and survival. Puntledge summer-run Chinook are genetically distinct from fall-run Chinook and have been classified as a unique conservation unit under Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Wild Salmon Policy. Despite over 50 years of considerable effort to rebuild this population to pre-hydro expansion levels, summer Chinook returns remain well below target escapements. Predictive modelling of summer Chinook recovery illustrates that hatchery enhancement, combined with other recovery actions in the watershed will continue to be a key component to the overall recovery of the summer Chinook population to historical levels (Guimond and Sheng 2009). These actions are also identified in the FWCP Salmonid Action Plan as a priority action for Puntledge summer Chinook recovery (BC Hydro 2011). 1.2 Goals and Objectives The primary objective of the summer Chinook rearing consolidation project is to improve survival to spawn of adult summer Chinook and reduce risks to fish while 2

7 being reared at the hatchery. The project will also reduce operating costs, and allow DFO to implement new enhancement strategies in a more cost effective manner. By consolidating all production at the Lower Hatchery, operational efficiencies as well as variable production strategies will be achieved while still maintaining the same annual salmon production targets. Overall, the project will: eliminate operating costs and liability for BC Hydro at the Upper Hatchery Site, optimize use of an existing DFO facility, and increase the rate of summer Chinook recovery. 2 STUDY AREA The lower Puntledge Hatchery is located at 38 Powerhouse Road in Courtenay, approximately 200 m downstream of the BC Hydro Puntledge Generating Facility, and ~6.5 km upstream of the Comox estuary (Figure 1). The hatchery was constructed in 1979 to rear Chinook, coho, and chum salmon, and steelhead, as well as some pink salmon. The facility consists of a main hatchery building, aeration tower, concrete raceways, ponding troughs and tanks, chum hatchery and rearing ponds, fishway and barrier fence. Water supply for the lower hatchery is drawn directly from the BC Hydro penstock, except during emergency situations and during the annual maintenance of the BC Hydro generating facility when it is pumped from the Puntledge River. 3 METHODS 3.1 Project Design and Planning Project planning commenced in May 2012 with an on-site meeting at Puntledge Hatchery with various DFO staff, the construction contractor (J. Burgess) and the Project Manager. Discussion identified specific operational requirements for the new 3 and 6 metre rearing tanks including biological data on biomass and loading limits and capacity of the aeration system to remove excess gas from the penstock water supply, and integration of fish handling protocols and technology with current infrastructure and operations. Production of the installation and layout drawings was provided by J. Burgess (Burgess Building Services) and JLH Consulting Inc. Burgess Building Services was contracted to install the new tanks and aeration tower at Puntledge Hatchery. 3

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9 3.2 Communications A Communications Plan was implemented to inform the public and local community of the project. This included an educational poster display and press release. The material described the goal of improving summer Chinook broodstock survival and overall stock production by cooling adults and transporting them to cool water holding facilities. The poster was displayed at the Puntledge Hatchery Open House in October 2012 (Appendix A) and as a press release in local newspapers (Comox Valley Record and Comox Valley Echo). 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Site preparations for the two new 6 m diameter tanks at Puntledge Hatchery commenced at the beginning of October The existing aluminum raceways and aeration tower were removed and the area was excavated to prepare the site for plumbing, tank pads, and aeration tower. Two 6 m diameter (20 feet) x 1.5 m (5 feet) deep fiberglass tanks were fabricated by Independent Shipwrights Ltd. in Coombs B.C. and delivered to the site in mid October. The tanks consisted of two pieces which required assembly and sealing on-site. Each tank was equipped with a side box with a 4 inch drain to split the flows between the bottom centre drain and side drain to reduce the impingement velocity, and to allow conversion of the tanks to partial re-use similar to tanks at Rosewall Hatchery 1. The Rosewall tanks are designed as 50% recirculation tanks with a volume of 40 m 3. Each side box is equipped with an air-lift pump system set at 50% depth. The air lifts add oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the water. At a maximum flow rate of 500 lpm in the tank, and an air lift flow rate of 250 lpm, biomass limits in the tank can be increased by 1.5 times. The air source is supplied by low pressure air blowers. Each 6 m tank also contains two PVC spray bars which tee from 150 mm (6 in.) into a 100 mm (4 in.) horizontal bar, 450 mm (18 in.) long, and a 100 mm (4 in.) vertical bar 760 mm (30 in.) long, both with 19 mm (3/4 in.) diameter staggered holes. Each tank also has a 760 mm (30 in.) dia. bottom centre drain screen (1/8 in. x 1 in. slotted screen with 42% void area) to further reduce impingement velocity. Added to each 6 m tank are 100 mm dia. (4 in.) fish drains with standpipes near the centre drain of each tank to allow fish to be easily moved from the tank, either draining directly to 1 Sweeten, T. Puntledge Hatchery site visit May 25, 2012, recommendations on tank installation at Puntledge Hatchery. 5

10 the river, or to an outer concrete manhole near the tank which would allow connection to a fish pump for transfer to a transport truck (Appendix C). This will reduce handling of the fish during release. Tanks covers are comprised of a 9 spoke aluminum frame with a 70% shade cloth cover with zippered access door. The covers/arch supports are not designed to carry heavy snow loads. Once the tanks were assembled and filled with water, they were partially backfilled with local material. A safe working platform was constructed around each tank using lock blocks, fill material, crushed rock and railings. An aluminum aeration tower was designed and fabricated with a capacity to handle 1000 lpm inlet water with a total gas pressure of 115% saturation. The tower is 0.9 m dia. by 2.4 m high (3 ft. x 8 ft.), positioned on a 1.9 m (76 in.) tall stand which is bolted to a concrete base. The tower contains 150 cm (5 ft.) of biomedia, which has been distributed in plastic oyster bags to allow easy removal for cleaning and maintenance. Outlet water from the tower will be % saturation. Aluminum Capilano troughs were removed from an existing site to prepare for the installation of ten 3 m diameter (10 ft.) rearing tanks. Five tanks were transferred from the Upper hatchery facility while the remainder were donated from DFO s Quinsam Hatchery. Some tanks required minor fiberglass repair while five of the tanks needed a refitting of the bottom sumps for proper connection to the existing drain system. Installation of the 3 m tanks was completed on January 11, three weeks prior to ponding of the first summer Chinook fry at the end of January Summary of components/features installed at the Puntledge Hatchery are summarized below and detailed in a photo chronology of the installation (Appendix D). Two 6 m dia. by 1.5 m deep (20 ft. x 5 ft.) fiberglass rearing tanks with side boxes for future air lift system, aluminum arch frames and 70% shade cloth covers Raised working platform with railing surrounding the 6 m tanks. Four inch fish drains with standpipes near the centre drain of each 6 m tank to release fish directly to river or an external sump for pumping out. One aluminum aeration tower on a concrete base, with biomedia, and overflow discharge. 6

11 Ten 3 m dia. by 1.2 m deep (10 ft. x 4 ft.) fiberglass tanks with fiberglass lids. A storage container was purchased and delivered to Puntledge Hatchery to accommodate equipment removed for the Upper Puntledge Hatchery during the decommissioning of the facility. In addition to the tank installation activities at the lower Puntledge Hatchery, a loading ramp was constructed beside the summer Chinook holding tanks at Rosewall Hatchery in July. This will allow the hatchery s transport truck to be sufficiently elevated to allow direct transfer of the summer Chinook broodstock to the holding tanks, rather than having to dip net the fish. This will reduce handling stress on the fish and safety concerns for hatchery staff. A new fish transport tank was also fabricated to facilitate the delivery of summer Chinook smolts to Comox Lake where they will imprint on the upper watershed, and adults to cool water holding sites at Rosewall and Big Qualicum Hatcheries. 5 RECOMMENDATIONS Any new strategy must be economical and biologically sound to be deemed beneficial. One of DFO s conditions to supporting this new strategy will be the longterm assessment (i.e. 4-6 years) of Chinook and coho smolt migration and survival above the diversion dam, and homing of adult hatchery returns into Comox Lake. In 2011 a homing behaviour study of Puntledge summer Chinook was initiated with support from FWCP. The assessment of retuning adults over the next 3-4 years will determine whether lake releases of Chinook smolts attain the desired objective (i.e. more adults migrating to Comox Lake compared to standard hatchery river releases). More importantly, the success of any wild (natural) and hatchery production strategies focused on the upper watershed will be dependent on safe passage of juveniles past the diversion dam Eicher screens, during downstream migration to the estuary. It is paramount that these factors are adequately assessed to ensure that recovery actions for a self-sustaining population of summer Chinook in the Puntledge River are not compromised. 7

12 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was made possible through the financial support of the B.C. Hydro Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) on behalf of its program partners BC Hydro, the Province of BC and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), as well as in-kind and cash contributions from DFO. Special thanks to Darcy Miller (Puntledge Hatchery Manager) and other hatchery staff for assistance with design, fabrication and installation activities, and Ted Sweeten (DFO Applied Technology Section, Nanaimo) for providing background biological data for the project. 7 REFERENCES Angus Commission, Puntledge River Inquiry. Report of the Commissioner. Province of BC, Victoria, BC. B.C. Hydro Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program Puntledge River Watershed Salmonid Action Plan. Final Draft. [online] URL: _donations.html Guimond, E. and M. Sheng Puntledge River enhancement activities at the Upper Hatchery: past, present and future. Prepared for BC Hydro, John Hart Generating Station, Campbell River, BC. Guimond, E. and J.A. Taylor Puntledge River radio telemetry study on summer Chinook migration in the upper watershed. BCRP Project # 08.Pun.04. Prepared for: Comox Valley Project Watershed Society and BC Hydro BCRP. Lister, D. B Progress report on assessment of the Puntledge River spawning channel June 1965 to May Dept. Fisheries Canada, Resource Develop. Branch, Vancouver. 8

13 APPENDICES 9

14 APPENDIX A: Confirmation of FWCP Recognition Poster display at Puntledge Hatchery, for the annual Open House event, October The weather-proof poster will remain at the site for the next year. 10

15 APPENDIX B: FWCP Financial Statement Project #: INCOME FWCP BUDGET Other (Cash) Other (in-kind) FWCP ACTUAL Other (cash) Other (in-kind) Total by Source $151,184 $0 $71,566 $151,184 $0 $82, Grand Total Income (FWCP + Other) $222, $234, EXPENSES Project Personnel Project Coordinator $2, $2, Contractor - tank installation $24, $22, DFO (Electrician & Engineer) $8,920 $2, DFO (Hatchery personnel) $4,200 $8, Communications $ $ Material and Equipment Equipment Puntledge tank installaiton $83, $51, $92, $57, Storage Container $5, $5, Rosewall Ramp $13, $10, $2, Transport Tank $8, $4, $5, Administration Admin Fees (10%) $13, $6, $13, $7, Total Expenses $151, $71,566 $151, $0 $82, Grand Total Expenses (FWCP + others) $222, $234, Balance (Grand Total Income - Grand Total Expenses $0.00 $

16 APPENDIX C: Drawings 12

21 APPENDIX D Photo 1. Location of the ten 3 m diameter tanks to replace aluminum Capilano troughs. Photo 2. Site preparations Cap troughs removed. Photo 3. Site preparations drainage lines regraded. Photo 4. Installation of ten new 3 m tanks with lids completed. 17

22 Photo 5. Location of the two new 6 m diameter tanks to replace aluminum raceways and aeration tower. Photo 6. Site preparation and installation of plumbing and drain lines. Photo 7. Installation of 6 m diameter tanks (two sections). Photo 8. Installation of 6 m tanks with aluminum frame arches for shade cloth covers completed. 18

23 Photo 9. Raised working platform surrounding 6 m tanks. Railings will eventually be installaed similar to Photo12. Photo 10. Spray bar arrangement in 6 m tanks. Photo 11. Aeration tower for water supply to 6 m tanks. Photo 12. Elevated ramp beside summer Chinook broodstock holding tanks at Rosewall Creek Hatchery. 19

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