SRBTC Presentation to GBTU, Boston MA, Jan 2015

The Sea-Run Brook Trout Coalition is a non-profit organization established for the purpose of protecting and restoring sea-run brook trout

populations and the coastal watersheds that they depend upon

Founded in 2011

Board of Directors

Michael Hopper, President

Warren Winders, Co-Founder

Geoffrey Day, Co-Founder

Prudy Burt, MV Coordinator

Dwayne Shaw, Maine Coordinator

Scientific Advisory Committee

Andrew Danylchuk, Umass Amherst

Andrew Whiteley, Umass Amherst

Ben Letcher, US GS, Turner’s Falls

Steven Hurley, Mass Wildlife

Tim Purinton, Mass DER

Brendan Annett, Buzzards Bay Coalition

Present SRBTC ProjectsStream Monitoring in:

ConnecticutLong Island, NYMartha’s Vineyard

Microchemical Analysis in Maine

Fresh Brook Restoration, South Wellfleet

Common Garden Experiment, Umass

Long Term Objectives

Coordination with TU National Assessment

Full Time Restoration Coordinator

Executive Director

Interpretive and Biological Center

Brook TroutSalvelinus fontinalis

Our native trout speciesActually a charr! (brook charr)Coldwater (<70 F) habitat is criticalPreferred Temperature 52 to 56 F

YOY Brook Trout - September

Average Growth of Massachusetts Stream Brook Trout

• Age 1 - 4 inches• Age 2 - 6 inches• Age 3 – 9 inches

Brook Trout spawning area in the Quashnet RiverIn areas with springs and seeps, at edge of steep slopes

Wild Brook Trout Streams of Massachusetts

• Brook Trout Populations greatly reduced in abundance in Eastern Massachusetts

Massachusetts Dams (2,645+)

•Trap Sediment•Block Fish Passage•Warm water•Safety Issues

Abundant Marine Food Resources Lead To Excellent Growth Rates And A Large Size

Silvery sheen (April salter)

Westport DMF Fyke Net Catch2012

Southeastern Massachusetts was a famous brook trout fishing destination

Daniel WebsterDr. Jerome V.C. Smith

John Rowe

Theodore Lyman III President Grover Cleveland

The Monument and Scusset Rivers are now known as the Cape Cod Canal

Trout are Collected by Pulsed DC Electrofishing using a Smith-Root Backpack Electrofisher

Wild Brook Trout Streams of Southeastern Massachusetts

Tiny Streams Can Have Wild Brook Trout

Q uas hnet R iver T ro ut Invento ry S ectio ns 1- 4

0

50

100

150

200

250

1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007

Brook

Brown

Quashnet River Trout Inventory

Quashnet River Wild Brook TroutPhoto by Bob Golder

Genetic research indicated brook trout in each salter

stream different from each other and very different from Sandwich hatchery

strain (Annett 2005)

Annett, Brendan J. 2005. Conservation genetics of remnant anadromous brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, populations at the southern limit of their distribution: population structure and impacts of historic stocking. M.A. Thesis. Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. 52 pp.

Annett, Brendan, Gabriele Gerlach, Timothy L. King and Andrew R. Whiteley. 2012. Conservation Genetics of Remnant Coastal Brook Trout Populations at the Southern Limit of Their Distribution: Population Structure and Effects of Stocking. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society141(5):1399-1410.

PIT Tags(Passive Integrated Transponder)

• Allow Unique ID• 50 year life span• Glass encapsulated• Small, low impact on

fish• Biomark

TX1411SST, 134.2 Khz, 12.50 mm x 2.07 mm, 0.102 g)

• Relatively low cost ($2.50 -5.00 each)

Injected into

Abdominal Cavity

Wanding with

hand-held antenna most

useful for finding

dropped out tags

Fran Smith and Brendan Annett installing Quashnet Antennas underneath Route 28

November 2007

Quashnet River Stationary PIT Antennas

Placed November 5, 2007

•Tag #•Date/Time•Travel •Direction• Weekly Battery Changes- at head of tide

- double antenna System

Tag Number

Tag Number

Read and Date and

Time

Childs and Quashnet River

Antennas

Childs River Antenna

Quashnet River Antennas 1 and 2

Quashnet River Antenna 2.5

Quashnet River Antenna 3

Three PIT Antennas now Placed at Red Brook

SE Mass PIT Antenna Hits (And Number of Tagged Fish Detected)

River(# antennas)

start date

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total (includes

2013 to date)Quashnet

(2) Nov 2007 +

(1) June 2009

542(53)

2,285(93)

8,311(190)

5,069(241)

9,632(224)

12,310(264)

39,471(864)

Red Brook(2) Nov. 2008

+(1) July 2012

775(47)

5,919(100)

11,226(139)

6,199(154)

15,917(384)

40,936(753)

Childs(1) June 2010

4,657(62)

1,013(26)

2,608(37)

8,379(139)

A wild brook trout from the Quashnet River

Tagged 09/19/2007 -165 mm (2006 yearclass)

• Recaptured 09/24/2008 - 197 mm• Recaptured 09/21/2010 - 347 mm• 727 Days at Large, 15 antenna hits

between 09/26/2009 and 09/19/2010

• Went to tidewater once July 30 to 31, 2010

Largest recaptured PIT tagged brook trout from the Quashnet River 09/21/2010

Tag# 985.121003981009

Childs River Falmouth/Mashpee

Brook Trout Restoration

• September 2006 Surveys

• No brook trout reproduction but occasional wanderers

• Coldwater habitat seemed to be suitable

• Lacked brook trout broodstock

19 trout moved PIT tagged Adult fish (145 - 249 mm) Included 3 recaptured trout

Brook Trout Transplantation to Childs River From Quashnet River June 4, 2008

2nd Transplant May 21, 2009 - 29 Brook Trout (145-249 mm ) 3 Recaps Third Transplant May 18, 2010 - 37 Brook Trout

(148-295 mm) 6 Recaps

Brook Trout Reproduction Confirmed by Electrofishing in

March 2009• 7 young-of-year brook

trout• Mean length = 35 mm

(range 32 – 39 mm)Successful

reproduction documented

each year from

spawning in 2008-2012

Childs River Brook Trout September 27, 2011

June to November 2008

April 2009 to July 2009

Transplanted June 2008

Quashnet RiverRoute 28 Antennas

Brook Trout Homing MovementBrook Trout Homing Movement #7245232 - 174 mm#7245232 - 174 mm

• Released into Childs River June 4, 2008

• Headed upstream on Quashnet River 11/25/08

• Several detections in March and April 2009 at Route 28

• Located back in Childs on July 27, 2009!

• One fish travelled from Quashnet River to Childs river between Nov 2011 and June 2012

• Another fish travelled from Childs to Quashnet River (Tagged Sept 2009, detected Nov 2009 in Quashnet)

Project Partners and Funding

Council and TU National $ 65,000Red Brook Fund $ 50,000 Genetic (Brendan Annett) $ 10,000 American Rivers $ 250,000 AD Makepeace (site work) $ 50,000 DER $ 150,000SEMATU $ 8,000Embrace-A Stream $ 16,000CWRP $ 5,000 MET $ 45,000 USFWS $ 20,000 SRBTC/Patagonia $ 12,000 CC TU $ 3,000 TU/NOAA $ 25,000 Manomet Center $ 20,000 GBTU $ 15,000

Total $ 744,000

Results X 10

418 acre Red Brook WMA $ 400,000 Hal Lyman bequest to TTOR $ 200,000 Red Brook Headwaters purchase $ 3,500,000 Purchase 597 acres AD Makepeace $ 2,800,000

TOTAL TO DATE $ 6,900,000

SRBTC Strategic Partners

Thank You to GBTU and MA DFW

• This presentation was presented in Jan 2015 at the Greater Boston Chapter of Trout Unlimited

• Many of these slides were originally prepared by Steve Hurley, Southeast District Fisheries Manager, Mass Division of Fish and Wildlife

Questions?