John Day Basin Spring Chinook Salmon Escapement and Productivity Monitoring ; Fish Research Project Oregon, 1998-1999 Annual Report PDF Download

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Languages : en
Pages : 31

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The John Day River basin supports one of the healthiest naturally-produced populations of spring chinook in the mid-Columbia River basin. The study of life history and natural escapement conducted from 1978 to 1985 (Lindsay et al. 1986) provided valuable information on production and productivity of the John Day River spring chinook. With the exception of two years since completion of the study in 1985 (1989 and 1995), spring chinook spawning surveys were conducted in index areas only and have not provided adequate information to assess age composition, progeny-to-parent production values, and estimate natural spawning escapement. The PATH project (Marmorek and Peters 1996) has identified the John Day basin spring chinook as an index population for assessing the effects of alternative future management actions on salmon stocks in the Columbia Basin. To meet the data needs as an index stock, sufficient annual estimates of spawner escapement, age composition, and smolt-to-adult survival are essential. There is need to determine the annual spawner escapement and age composition for the John Day basin spring chinook to provide us the ability to estimate progeny-to-parent production for each brood year. This need can be met by expanding the annual chinook spawning surveys, estimating the annual escapement, and determining age composition by scale pattern analyses. This project provides information as directed under two measures of the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994). Measure 4.3C specifies that the key indicator populations should be monitored to provide detailed stock status information. In addition, measure 7.1C identifies the need for collection of population status, life history, and other data on wild and naturally spawning populations. This project was developed in direct response to recommendations and needs of the PATH project, the Fish and Wildlife Program, and the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Multi-Year Implementation Plan.

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Languages : en
Pages : 41

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The John Day River basin supports one of the healthiest populations of spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the entire Columbia River basin. Spring chinook salmon in this basin are therefore, used as an important index stock to measure the effects of future management actions on other salmon stocks in the Columbia basin. To meet the data requirements as an index stock, we estimated annual spawner escapement, age-structure, and smolt-to-adult survival. This information will allow us to estimate progeny-to-parent production for each brood year. To estimate smolt-to-adult survival rates, 1,852 chinook smolts were tagged with PIT tags from 3 March to 5 May, 2000. Length of captured smolts varied, ranging from 80 to 147 mm fork length (mean = 113 mm). These fish will be monitored for PIT tags as returning adults at dams and during future spawning ground surveys. During spawning ground surveys, a total of 351.3 km of stream were surveyed resulting in the observation of 478 redds. When expanded, we estimated total number of redds at 481 and total number of spawners at 1,583 fish in the John Day River basin. We estimated that 13% of the redds were in the mainstem John Day, 27% in the Middle Fork, 34% in the North Fork, and 26% were in the Granite Creek basin. Sampled carcasses had a sex ratio comprised of 53% females and 47% males with an age structure comprised of 0.5% age-2, 6.3% age-3, 88.7% age-4, and 4.5% age-5 fish. Five of the 405 carcasses examined had fin clips suggesting they were of hatchery origin. The 1999 index redd count total for the North Fork, Mainstem, and Granite Creek was lower than the 1999 average (535) but well within the range of annual redd counts during this period. The index redd count for the Middle Fork was higher than the 1990's average (92) but considerably lower than the average from 1978-1985 (401). Although quite variable over the past 40 years, the number of redds in the John Day River basin during 1999 was well within the range of redd counts since they were initiated in 1959.

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Languages : en
Pages : 91

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The objectives are: (1) Estimate number and distribution of spring Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha redds and spawners in the John Day River subbasin; and (2) Estimate smolt-to-adult survival rates (SAR) and out-migrant abundance for spring Chinook and summer steelhead O. mykiss and life history characteristics of summer steelhead. The John Day River subbasin supports one of the last remaining intact wild populations of spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. These populations, however, remain depressed relative to historic levels. Between the completion of the life history and natural escapement study in 1984 and the start of this project in 1998, spring Chinook spawning surveys did not provide adequate information to assess age structure, progeny-to-parent production values, smolt-to-adult survival (SAR), or natural spawning escapement. Further, only very limited information is available for steelhead life history, escapement, and productivity measures in the John Day subbasin. Numerous habitat protection and rehabilitation projects to improve salmonid freshwater production and survival have also been implemented in the basin and are in need of effectiveness monitoring. While our monitoring efforts outlined here will not specifically measure the effectiveness of any particular project, they will provide much needed background information for developing context for project-specific effectiveness monitoring efforts. To meet the data needs as index stocks, to assess the long-term effectiveness of habitat projects, and to differentiate freshwater and ocean survival, sufficient annual estimates of spawner escapement, age structure, SAR, egg-to-smolt survival, smolt-per-redd ratio, and freshwater habitat use are essential. We have begun to meet this need through spawning ground surveys initiated for spring Chinook salmon in 1998 and smolt PIT-tagging efforts initiated in 1999. Additional sampling and analyses to meet these goals include an estimate of smolt abundance and SAR rates, and an updated measure of the freshwater distribution of critical life stages. Because Columbia Basin managers have identified the John Day subbasin spring Chinook population as an index population for assessing the effects of alternative future management actions on salmon stocks in the Columbia Basin (Schaller et al. 1999) we continue our ongoing studies. This project is high priority based on the high level of emphasis the NWPPC Fish and Wildlife Program, Subbasin Summaries, NMFS, and the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds have placed on monitoring and evaluation to provide the real-time data to guide restoration and adaptive management in the region. By implementing the proposed program we have been able to address many of the goals for population status monitoring, such as defining areas currently used by spring Chinook for holding and spawning habitats and determining range expansion or contraction of summer rearing and spawning populations. The BiOp describes these goals as defining population growth rates (adult monitoring), detecting changes in those growth rates or relative abundance in a reasonable time (adult/juvenile monitoring), estimating juvenile abundance and survival rates (juvenile/smolt monitoring), and identifying stage-specific survival (adult-to-smolt, smolt-to-adult).

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Languages : en
Pages : 40

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The John Day River subbasin supports one of the last remaining intact wild populations of spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. These populations remain depressed relative to historic levels and limited information is available for steelhead life history. Numerous habitat protection and rehabilitation projects have been implemented in the basin to improve salmonid freshwater production and survival. However, these projects often lack effectiveness monitoring. While our monitoring efforts outlined here will not specifically measure the effectiveness of any particular project, they will provide much needed programmatic or watershed (status and trend) information to help evaluate project-specific effectiveness monitoring efforts as well as meet some data needs as index stocks. Our continued monitoring efforts to estimate salmonid smolt abundance, age structure, SAR, smolts/redd, freshwater habitat use, and distribution of critical life states will enable managers to assess the long-term effectiveness of habitat projects and to differentiate freshwater and ocean survival. Because Columbia Basin managers have identified the John Day subbasin spring Chinook population as an index population for assessing the effects of alternative future management actions on salmon stocks in the Columbia Basin (Schaller et al. 1999) we continue our ongoing studies. This project is high priority based on the level of emphasis by the NWPPC Fish and Wildlife Program, Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB), Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP), NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds (OWEB). Each of these groups have placed priority on monitoring and evaluation to provide the real-time data to guide restoration and adaptive management in the region. The objective is to estimate smolt-to-adult survival rates (SAR) and out-migrant abundance for spring Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and summer steelhead O. mykiss and life history characteristics of summer steelhead.

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Category : Chinook salmon
Languages : en
Pages : 41

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Author: Robert Bryan Lindsay
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Category : Chinook salmon
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Category : Early printed books
Languages : en
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Languages : en
Pages : 131

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A study of wild spring chinook salmon was conducted in the John Day River, Oregon: (1) recommend harvest regulations to achieve escapement goals in the John Day River; (2) recommend adtustments in timing of fish passage operations at Columbia River dams that will increase survival of John Day migrants; (3) recommend habitat or environmental improvements that will increase production of spring chinook salmon; (4) determine escapement goals for wild spring chinook salmon in the John Day River; and (5) recommend procedures for hatchery supplementation in the John Day River in the event it becomes necessary to artificially maintain the run of spring chinook salmon. Juveniles were captured as smolts during migration and as fingerlings during summer rearing. Juveniles were coded-wire tagged, and recoveries of tagged adults were used to assess contribution to ocean and Columbia River fisheries, timing of adult migrations through the Columbia River in relation to fishing seasons, and age and size of fish in fisheries. Scoop traps and seines were used to determine timing of smolt migrations through the John Day River. In addition, recoveries of tagged smolts at John Day Dam, The Dalles Dam, and Jones Beach were used to determine migration timing through the Columbia River. We examined freshwater life history of spring chinook salmon in the John Day River and related it to environmental factors. We looked at adult holding areas, spawning, incubation and emergence, fingerling rearing distribution, size and growth of juveniles and scales. Escapement goals fo the John Day River as well as reasons for declines in John Day stocks were determiend by using stock-recruitment analyses. Recommendations for hatchery supplementation in the John Day were based on results from other study objectives.

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Languages : en
Pages : 62

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We determined migration timing and abundance of juvenile spring chinook salmon from three populations in the Grande Ronde River basin. We estimated 6,716 juvenile chinook salmon left upper rearing areas of the Grande Ronde River from July 1997 to June 1998; approximately 6% of the migrants left in summer, 29% in fall, 2% in winter, and 63% in spring. We estimated 8,763 juvenile chinook salmon left upper rearing areas of Catherine Creek from July 1997 to June 1998; approximately 12% of the migrants left in summer, 37% in fall, 21% in winter, and 29% in spring. We estimated 8,859 juvenile chinook salmon left the Grande Ronde Valley, located below the upper rearing areas in Catherine Creek and the Grande Ronde River, from October 1997 to June 1998; approximately 99% of the migrants left in spring. We estimated 15,738 juvenile chinook salmon left upper rearing areas of the Lostine River from July 1997 to April 1998; approximately 3% of the migrants left in summer, 61% in fall, 2% in winter, and 34% in spring. We estimated 22,754 juvenile spring chinook salmon left the Wallowa Valley, located below the mouth of the Lostine River, from September 1997 to April 1998; approximately 55% of the migrants left in fall, 5% in winter, and 40% in spring. Juvenile chinook salmon PIT-tagged on the upper Grande Ronde River were detected at Lower Granite Dam from 4 April to 26 June 1998, with a median passage date of 1 May. PIT-tagged salmon from Catherine Creek were detected at Lower Granite Dam from 3 April to 26 June 1998, with a median passage date of 8 May. PIT-tagged salmon from the Lostine River were detected at Lower Granite Dam from 31 March through 26 May 1998, with a median passage date of 28 April. Juveniles tagged as they left the upper rearing areas of the Grande Ronde and Lostine rivers in fall and that overwintered in areas downstream were detected in the hydrosystem at a higher rate than fish tagged during winter in the upper rearing areas, indicating a higher overwinter survival in the downstream areas. Fish from Catherine Creek showed no difference in detection rates between the fall and winter tag groups, indicating similar overwinter survival in the upper and lower rearing areas. Chinook salmon parr were generally associated with low velocity habitat types during winter in Catherine Creek, and both winter and summer in the Lostine River. In summer 1997, we PIT-tagged parr on Catherine Creek and the Minam and Imnaha rivers in order to monitor their subsequent migration as smolts through the Snake and Columbia River hydrosystem. We found significant differences among populations in smolt migration timing at Lower Granite Dam in 1998. Fish from Catherine Creek and the Minam and Imnaha rivers were detected in the hydrosystem at rates of 16.4, 20.5, and 28.1%, respectively. In 1998, we estimated parr abundance and the number of parr produced per redd in Catherine Creek and the Lostine River. We estimated that 429 mature, age 1+ male parr and 13,222 immature, age 0+ parr were present in Catherine Creek in August. An average of 29 mature, age 1+ male parr and 287 immature, age 0+ parr were produced from each redd constructed in 1996 and 1997, respectively. We estimated that 75 mature, age 1+ male parr and 40,748 immature, age 0+ parr were present in the Lostine River in August. An average of 3 mature, age 1+ male parr and 832 immature, age 0+ parr were produced from each redd constructed in 1996 and 1997, respectively. For every anadromous female spawner in Catherine Creek and the Lostine River in 1998, there were an estimated 13 and 3 mature male parr, respectively.

Author: Christopher L. Johnson
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Languages : en
Pages : 121

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This report examines some of the factors that can influence the success of supplementation, which is currently being tested in the Yakima Basin using upper Yakima stock of spring chinook salmon. Supplementation success in the Yakima Basin is defined relative to four topic areas: natural production, genetics, ecological interactions, and harvest (Busack et al. 1997). The success of spring chinook salmon supplementation in the Yakima Basin is dependent, in part, upon fish culture practices and favorable physical and biological conditions in the natural environment (Busack et al. 1997; James et al. 1999; Pearsons et al., 2003; Pearsons et al. 2004). Shortfalls in either of these two topics (i.e., failure in culturing many fish that have high long-term fitness or environmental conditions that constrain spring chinook salmon production) will cause supplementation success to be limited. For example, inadvertent selection or propagation of spring chinook that residualize or precocially mature may hinder supplementation success. Spring chinook salmon that residualize (do not migrate during the normal migration period) may have lower survival rates than migrants and, additionally, may interact with wild fish and cause unacceptable impacts to non-target taxa. Large numbers of precocials (nonanadromous spawners) may increase competition for females and significantly skew ratios of offspring sired by nonanadromous males, which could result in more nonanadromous spring chinook in future generations. Conditions in the natural environment may also limit the success of spring chinook supplementation. For example, intra or interspecific competition may constrain spring chinook salmon production. Spring chinook salmon juveniles may compete with each other for food or space or compete with other species that have similar ecological requirements. Monitoring of spring chinook salmon residuals, precocials, prey abundance, carrying capacity, and competition will help researchers interpret why supplementation is working or not working (Busack et al. 1997). Monitoring ecological interactions will be accomplished using interactions indices. Interactions indices will be used to index the availability of prey and competition for food and space. The tasks described below represent various subject areas of juvenile spring chinook salmon monitoring but are treated together because they can be accomplished using similar methods and are therefore more cost efficient than if treated separately. Topics of investigation we pursued in this work were: (1) strong interactor monitoring (competition index and prey index), (2) carrying capacity monitoring (microhabitat monitoring); (3) residual and precocious male salmon monitoring (abundance); (4) performance of growth modulation in reducing precocious males during spawning; (5) incidence of predation by residualized chinook salmon; and (6) benefits of salmon carcasses to juvenile salmonids. This report is organized into six chapters to represent these topics of investigation. Data were collected during the summer and fall, 2004 in index sections of the upper Yakima Basin (Figure 1). Previous results on the topics in this report were reported in James et al. (1999), and Pearsons et al. (2003; 2004). Hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon were first released during the spring of 1999. The monitoring plan for the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project calls for the continued monitoring of the variables covered in this report. All findings in this report should be considered preliminary and subject to further revision as more data and analytical results become available.