Shortnose sturgeon in the Gulf of Maine: migration, critical habitat, and response to dam removal

Shortnose sturgeon in the Gulf of Maine: migration, critical

habitat, and response to dam removal Gail Wippelhauser1, Gayle B. Zydlewski2, Micah Kieffer3, James Sulikowski4,

and Michael T. Kinnison5

1Department of Marine Resources, #172 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 2School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, 5741 Libby Hall, Orono, Maine, 04469-57413U.S. Geological Survey, Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center, One Migratory Way, Box 796, Turners Falls, Massachusetts, 013764Marine Science and Education center, University of New England, 11 Hills Beach Rd, Biddeford, ME 040055School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Murray Hall, Orono, Maine, 04469

www.maine.gov/dmr

1967- Listed as endangered rangewide

1973- Listed under the Endangered Species Act ◦ Pollution◦ Overfishing◦ Habitat loss in Maine – Edwards Dam (1837-1999)

1998 – Final recovery plan◦ 19 Distinct Population Segments identified

2010- Biological assessment◦ 5 Regional clusters (Gulf of Maine, Connecticut/Housatonic rivers, Hudson

River, Delaware River/Chesapeake Bay, southeast)

Critical habitat never designated

Shortnose sturgeon management

Kennebec System (McCleave et al. 1977; Wippelhauser and Squiers in prep.) ◦ Spawning: Androscoggin and Upper Kennebec estuaries ◦ Wintering: Merrymeeting Bay ~rkm 42◦ Foraging: Lower Kennebec Estuary, Sasanoa and Back rivers

Merrimack (Kieffer and Kynard 1993; Kieffer and Kynard 1996)◦ Spawning: rkm 30-32◦ Wintering: rkm 17, 21, 23◦ Foraging: rkm 7-12

Saint John (Dadswell 1979; COSEWIC 2005)◦ Spawning: Below Mactaquac Dam (rkm 145)◦ Wintering: multiple freshwater and saltwater sites

Penobscot◦ DMR caught one shortnose sturgeon in 1978

What we knew in 2005

Determine migration patterns and habitat use demonstrated by shortnose sturgeon captured and tagged in four Gulf of Maine river systems◦ Kennebec System, Penobscot, Saco, Merrimack

Important for environmental review of hydropower, construction, dredging projects

Objective

Capture with benthic set gill nets Implantation of Vemco acoustic transmitters

◦ (2-5 year life) Acoustic telemetry in Kennebec System

◦ 18-20 moored Vemco receivers VRW2 ◦ Array deployed during ice-free months◦ Mobile tracking with VR100 and hydrophone

HOBO temperature loggers Discharge from USGS gauges Ichthyoplankton sampling (D-net)

Methods

4/5 4/12 4/19 4/26 5/3 5/10 5/17 5/24 5/31 6/70

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45

60

75

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105

2008

13

74-75-12821

76-77-12822

84-85-12826

115-116

Date

rkm

36 shortnose sturgeon moved to a previously identified or historical spawning area in the Kennebec System ◦ 20 of 68 (29%) tagged in the Penobscot 2006-2010◦ 14 of 40 (35%) tagged in the Merrimack 2009-2012◦ 1 of 2 (50%) tagged in the Saco 2010◦ 1 of 4 (25%) tagged in the Kennebec System 2011

42% went to the Upper Kennebec Estuary, 31% to the Androscoggin Estuary, 19% to the Kennebec River, and 8% visited both the Upper Kennebec Estuary and the Kennebec River.

61% migrated directly to spawning area, 39% wintered in Kennebec before moving to spawning area

Spawning inferred from the fish location, season, water temperature, discharge, fish behavior and sexual status, and was confirmed by the capture of larvae in some years

Results - spawning

Site Tag codes Sex 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Days P 13 SKR 11.3 P 33-34-12714 SAE 6.6 P 183-184-12833 F SUKEKR 10.1 P 193-194-12838 SKR 21.8 P 151-152 F SAE 6.6 P 155-156 F SUKE 13.6 P 177-178-14253 F SAE 0.5 P 21953 F SUKE 6.3 P 21954 F SUKE 2.1 M 52467 F SUKE 10.7 M 52470 F SUKE 9.2 M 63933 F SKR 14.1 M 63937 F SKR 9.6 M 46868 F SUKE 11.5 M 46870 F SAE-W 3.5 M 46872 F SAE 0.1 M 48152 F SKR 18.9 M 48155 F SUKE 7.6 M 36472 F SUKE 15.1 M 36473 F SKR 6.1 M 36475 F SUKEKR 14.9 M 52463 F SAE 3.0 P 74-75-12821 F W SKR 6.8 P 76-77-12822 F W SUKE-W 10.3 P 78-79-12823 F W W SAE-W 7.5 P 84-85-12826 F W SAE-W 3.9 P 115-116 W SUKE 1.6 P 29-30-12712 F W SAE-W 7.8 P 153-154 F W SKRUKE W 8.2 P 197-198-12840 F W SAE 0.1 P 37-38-12816 F W SUKE 12.8 P 171-172-14250 F W SUKE 10.1 P 169-170-14249 F W SUKE 16.1 M 39371 F W SKR 7.4 S 46825 W W SUKE 4.5 K 30385 F W SUKE 11.6

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12 shortnose sturgeon moved to a known (rkm 42) or new (rkm 65) wintering area

Results - wintering

Site Tag codes Sex 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 P 25 W P 117-118 F W P 1-2-12427 W P 179-180-12831 W W P 35-36-12715 W P 127-128-12706 W P 27-28-12711 W W P 163-164-14246 W K 30388 W W K 30400 W W K 20402 W W M 46870 W

GoM shortnose sturgeon tagged in the Penobscot, Merrimack, and Saco migrated long distances in coastal waters to reach spawning habitat, wintering habitat or both in the Kennebec System.

This is the first evidence that shortnose sturgeon spawn in historical habitat that became accessible when Edwards Dam was removed in 1999, 162 years after it was constructed, and that use of this site is not trivial.

The shortnose sturgeon population in the Kennebec System may be expanding.

Two prespawning migration patterns (Kynard 1997) exhibited, but with a twist◦ Fish migrated between river systems in the Gulf of Maine (Dionne et al. 2013).◦ Migration distances in the Gulf of Maine may exceed those for other river systems

in the northeast.

Discussion

Thanks to DMR Jason Bartlett, James Beaudry, Toby Bonney, Claire Enterline, Nate Gray, Craig Kink, Josh Noll, Mark Pasterczyk, Jason Valliere, and Skip Zink; UMaine Stephen Fernandes, Phillip Dionne, Matthew Altenritter; UNE Caitlyn Little

Research was funded by NMFS grants NA07NMF4720053 and NA10NMF4720023

All methods were conducted pursuant to NOAA ESA Section 10 Permit Number 1578, 1595, and 16306 for take of protected species for scientific purposes

Acknowledgements