Willamette Biological Opinion Hatchery Research 2010 Annual Report

Identification Information

Citation

Originator: ODFW

Publish Date: October 2011

Online Link: None

BPA Project #:

Contact Information

Agency: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Name: Jeremy Romer

Job Position: Assistant Project Leader

Telephone: 541-757-4113

E-Mail Address: jeremy.d.romer@odfw.oregon.gov

Description

Abstract: Task 1.1: Distribution, Abundance, and Proportion of Hatchery and Natural-Origin Chinook Salmon: Counts of spring Chinook redds were similar in 2010 compared to the 2002–2009 averages for the Middle Fork Willamette, McKenzie and the North Santiam rivers and significantly higher in the South Santiam River Preliminary analyses indicate that the proportions of hatchery fish recovered as carcasses from the spawning grounds varied significantly among all four surveyed sub-basins (South Santiam > M. Fork Willamette > North Santiam > McKenzie) Task 1.2: Monitor fin-clipped & unclipped fish passing Leaburg and Upper Bennett dams. Adult fish passage at Leaburg and Upper Bennett dams was continuously monitored in 2010. We estimated that 2,696 spring Chinook (52% unclipped) passed above Leaburg Dam and 5,956 passed above upper Bennett Dam (14% unclipped). Passage at Leaburg Dam of fin-clipped fish was strongly bimodal with peaks in June (coincident with passage of the majority of unclipped fish) and September (coincident with a smaller proportion of unclipped fish). This bimodal peak suggests that hatchery fish might be removed in September to reduce the proportion of hatchery origin spawners while simultaneously reducing the impacts of handling wild fish. Task 2.1: Collection, spawn timing, and Hatchery/Wild (H/W ) composition for broodstock management. Collection, spawn timing, and H/W composition for broodstock management were successfully monitored at all facilities in 2010. Task 2.2: Determine Survival of Outplanted Fish and Abundance of Spawners. Patterns of pre-spawning mortality were similar to results in 2009 with mortality below project dams significantly higher than that above project dams. We did not detect significant differences in mortality between clipped and unclipped spring Chinook. In comparisons of pre-spawning mortality among sub-basins above project dams, pre-spawning mortality was uniformly low in the Breitenbush and N. Santiam above Detroit, S. Santiam above Foster, and in the S. Fork McKenzie. Pre-spawning mortality was uniformly higher above project dams in the N. Fork Mid. Fork Willamette, Fall Creek and the Little N. Fork Santiam. No comprehensive surveys were conducted in the Middle Fork Willamette. Task 3.1: Determine the extent of summer steelhead reproduction in the wild: We developed a formal study plan to analyze and interpret genetic results from a collection of 299 tissue samples from unclipped juvenile steelhead at Willamette Falls, five from the mainstem Willamette River, and two from the South Santiam River in 2010 in addition to a single sample from an unclipped adult steelhead at the Minto fish collection facility. Samples were preserved 7 and cataloged and then shipped to the NOAA Fisheries Manchester, Washington (WA) laboratory for analysis. Task 3.2: Evaluate release strategies for summer steelhead to increase migration and reduce impacts on wild fish. Study plans to evaluate advantages and disadvantages of volitional release strategies were completed and presented in the 2009 annual report to USACE (Cannon et al. 2010). Funding to process the tissue samples was not available in 2010, and no progress was made in executing the proposed work.

Purpose: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and winter steelhead (O. mykiss) in the upper Willamette River Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (NMFS 1999a; NMFS 1999b). As a result, any actions taken or funded by a federal agency in the ESU must be evaluated to assess whether they are likely to jeopardize threatened and endangered species, or result in the destruction or impairment of critical habitat. Several hatcheries produce and release hatchery salmonids in the upper Willamette Basin (Figure 1), which may impact wild populations of listed species. All hatcheries are operated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and are funded (50–100%) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Potential risks of artificial propagation programs have been widely debated (e.g. Kostow and Zhou 2006, Levin and Williams 2002). Risks include disease transfer, competition for food and spawning sites, increased predation, increased incidental mortality from harvest, loss of genetic variability, genetic drift, and domestication (Steward and Bjornn 1990; Hard et al. 1992; Cuenco et al. 1993; Busack and Currens 1995, and Waples 1999). Hatcheries can also bolster spawner abundance—a critical consideration for those populations on the verge of extirpation—by providing a genetic reserve, as well as providing opportunities for nutrient enrichment of streams (Steward and Bjornn 1990; Cuenco et al. 1993). Recent work, however, has shown that hatchery fish tend to have lower reproductive success than wild fish even when broodstocks are largely comprised of wild fish (Araki et al. 2007), and productivity parameters are depressed when large numbers of hatchery salmonids mix with wild fish (Chilcote et al. 2011). The objective of this project is to conduct baseline monitoring of returning adult fish and to evaluate the potential effects of hatchery programs on naturally spawning populations of spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead in the upper Willamette River Basin.

Time Period of Content:

Geographic Extent: North Santiam, South Santiam, McKenzie, Fall Creek, North Fork Middle Fork and Middle Fork Willamette Rivers

Status: Final

Use Constraints:

Format: PDF

Data Quality Information

Lineage-Source: Task Order: NWPPM-10-FH-05 Work Completed for Compliance with the 2008 Willamette Project Biological Opinion, USACE funding: 2010

Data Information

No data information was supplied.

Entity and Attribute Information

Attributes Description: Field attribute information is available in the database table field descriptions.

Is a physical copy maintained for reference at Headquarters? Unknown