Progress Reports on Babine Lake Sockeye Salmon Studies for Inclusion in the Babine Lake Sockeye Salmon Development Program Progress Report No. 1

This report summarizes work carried out in 1966 and 1967 to answer two questions related to evaluation of the Babine Lake sockeye development project. These questions are, (l) how do fry produced from an artificial spawning channel compare to those produced from natural spawning grounds in their lake distribution, growth, and survival, and (2) what part of Babine Lake is utilized as a nursery area by Fulton River fry?

Sockeye fry were captured during their downstream movement from the Fulton River and the adjoining artificial spawning channel. The fry were marked distinctively by removing the right pelvic fin from the river fish and the left pelvic fin from the channel fish. Then both groups were released to enter the lake. A total of 203,754 river fry and 299,363 channel fry were marked and released between May 8 and June 23, 1966. Dates of 50% release of marked fish were June 6 for river fry and June 17 for channel fry.