Inventory of Fall Chinook Spawning Habitat in Mainstem Reaches of Oregon's Coastal Rivers

Identification Information

Citation

Originator: Riggers, Brian, Kris Tempel, and Steve Jacobs

Publish Date: 2003

Online Link: None

BPA Project #:

Contact Information

Agency: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Name: Cedric Cooney

Job Position: Natural Resources Data and Systems Manager

Telephone: 503-947-6094

E-Mail Address: cedric.x.cooney@odfw.oregon.gov

Description

Abstract: The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has completed two years of a proposed three-year study to inventory fall chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawning habitat in Oregon's coastal rivers. Funding for this study was made available through the USCanada Letter of Agreement (LOA) and is administered by the Chinook Technical Committee (CTC) of the Pacific Salmon Commission. The Pacific Salmon Commission is comprised of fishery scientists that are responsible for the abundance-based management of north migrating fall chinook salmon stocks covered by the Pacific Salmon Treaty. There are two north-migrating stock aggregates identified as originating in Oregon: the North Oregon Coast (NOC) and Mid Oregon Coast (MOC) aggregates. Current ODFW monitoring programs do not supply the CTC with adequate information for management of fall chinook. The inventory was conducted in conjunction with several other CTC funded studies designed to assess fall chinook abundance. Recognition and documentation of spawning habitat are important components in designing monitoring programs for abundance estimates. Fall chinook are known to spawn extensively in mainstem reaches and large tributaries where there is a general belief that the standard fall chinook survey reaches do not fairly represent fall chinook spawning habitat. Selection of these reaches was based primarily on recommendations by ODFW personnel, and due to the lack of an ongoing monitoring program, was not verified. A 1995 habitat inventory conducted by Hodgson and Jacobs (1997) successfully verified the existence of fall chinook spawning habitat for mainstem and large tributaries in a majority of five north coast basins. Documenting the extent and location of suitable fall chinook spawning habitat in mainstem reaches may narrow the sampling universe and improve the efficiency of the fall chinook survey procedures that are currently being evaluated (Riggers et al. 1998). This will ultimately result in improved, more efficient monitoring methods and reliable escapement estimates. The objective of this study is to document the size and distribution of spawning habitat areas within mainstem and large tributary reaches of NOC and MOC river basins. This information will be incorporated into the ODFW salmonid spawning survey database and used as a framework to refine the survey design for estimating fall chinook escapement.

Purpose:

Time Period of Content:

Geographic Extent: Oregon's Coastal Rivers

Status: Final

Use Constraints:

Format: PDF

Data Quality Information

Lineage-Source: Cumulative Report for work conducted pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award Numbers: 1999-2000: NA97FP0310 and 2000-2001: NA 07FP0383, and U.S. Section, Chinook Technical Committee Project Numbers: N99-12 and C00-09

Data Information

No data information was supplied.

Entity and Attribute Information

Attributes Description: Field attribute information is available in the attached file(s).

Is a physical copy maintained for reference at Headquarters? Unknown