Introduction: Grande Ronde BasinSpring Chinook Salmon LSRCP

Program Review – The Early Years

Richard W. CarmichaelOregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

203 Badgley HallEastern Oregon University

This project was funded by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan

Presentation Outline

• Program development history and background

• Early program performance (early 1980’s – late 1990’s)

• Biological risk and policy/legal influences

• Adaptive management decisions and hatchery reform actions

• Current program description

Grande Ronde and Imnaha River BasinsChinook Hatchery Facilities

0 8 16 24 324Miles

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Grande Ronde Weir

Grande Ronde Weir (old location) Grande Ronde

Acclimation

Catherine Weir

Catherine Acclimation

Lostine Acclimation

Lookingglass Fish Hatchery

Lostine Weir

Imnaha Weir

Imnaha River

Wallowa River

Grande Ronde River

Wenaha River

Catherine Creek

Snak

e R

iver

Snake R

iver

Mitigation Goals

Spring Chinook SalmonGrande Ronde Basin

Annual Goals

900,000 Smolts

45,000 Lbs.

5,820 Adults

0.65% Smolt-to-Adult Return Rate

29,100 Total Adults

3.25% Smolt-to-Adult Survival Rate

Original Management Objectives

• Establish adequate broodstock to meet annual production needs.

• Restore and maintain natural spawning populations of spring chinook salmon in the Grande Ronde Basin.

• Reestablish historic tribal and recreational fisheries.

• Establish an annual return of 5,820 hatchery fish.

• Maintain endemic wild populations of spring chinook salmon in the Minam and Wenaha rivers.

• Minimize impacts of hatchery program on resident stocks of game fish.

Initial Evaluation Objectives

• Document and assess fish culture and hatchery operation practices.

• Determine optimum rearing and release strategies that will produce maximum survival to adult.

• Determine total catch and escapement and assess if adult production meets mitigation goals.

• Determine the success of maintaining genetic integrity of endemic wild spring chinook salmon in the Minam and Wenaha rivers.

Lookingglass Fish Hatchery

Lookingglass FH

Direct Stream

Imnaha

Smolts

Adults

Direct Stream

Adults

Smolts

Big Canyon

1984-1993

Lookingglass CK

Smolts

Smolts

Early Program

Broodstock History

Brood year Stock Source

1978 Rapid River

1980-84 Carson / Willamette Hatchery

1985-87 Carson / Lookingglass HatcheryRapid River / Idaho

1988 Rapid River / Idaho

1989 Carson / Lookingglass HatcheryRapid River / Idaho

1990-97 Rapid River / Lookingglass Hatchery

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

19821983

19841985

19861987

19881989

19901991

19921993

19941995

19961997

Brood year

Nu

mb

er

of

fish

Pre-smoltsSmolts

Carson stockRapid River stock

Releases of Spring Chinook Salmonin the Grande Ronde Basin

Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation Efforts

• Carson or Rapid River stock smolts (1980-1988 BY) into Catherine Creek and Upper Grande Ronde River

• Carson stock pre-smolts (1983 and 1985 BY) into Catherine Creek and the Upper Grande Ronde River

• Carson stock adults (1987-1989) into Catherine Creek, upper Grande Ronde and Wallowa rivers

Returns to Compensation AreaGoal = 5820

0

250

500

750

1000

1250

1500

1750

2000

2250

2500

19871988

19891990

19911992

19931994

19951996

19971998

19992000

2001

Return year

Nu

mb

er

of

fis

h Number of Adults

Smolt-to-Adult Survival and Return Rates

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997Broodyear

Su

rviv

al

Ra

te (

%)

Smolt to Adult Survival

Smolt to Adult Return

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _SAR Goal_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997Year

Pe

rce

nt

of

to

tal

fis

h i

n r

ive

r

LostineMinamWenaha

Percentage of Naturally Spawning Fishof Lookingglass Hatchery Origin

1 o

f 3

fis

h

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

Perc

ent

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Year

LostineMinamWenaha

Rate of Straying of Hatchery Fish in the Grande Ronde Basin

Summary

• Using Carson and Rapid River stocks allowed us to achieve smolt production goals quickly and develop an adequate broodstock.

• Smolt-to-adult survival rates were consistently poor.

• Sufficient numbers of adults were not available to re-establish recreational fisheries. Tribal fishing opportunity was provided only in in a few years in restricted locations.

• Hatchery origin fish were straying into the Lostine, Minam, and Wenaha rivers and represented a high percentage of fish spawning in nature.

• Natural population status was severely depressed and supplementation efforts had failed as shown by poor recruits per spawner and low abundance of natural spawners in supplemented populations.

Policy Influences

•Oregon’s Wild-Fish Management Policy (1990)Guidelines that specified limits on the proportion of natural spawners that were hatchery origin

•Listing as threatened under ESA (1992)

The hatchery program was generating outcomes that were inconsistent with the Wild–Fish Policy guidelines, ESA recovery and sound conservation principles

To Inform Wise Hatchery ReformCritical Biological Questions

What is the demographic status and the near term risk of extinction of chinook salmon populations in the basin?

What genetic effects have resulted from prior releases and straying of non-endemic hatchery stocks?

Does there remain any genetic differentiation between natural and hatchery populations and between natural populations?

Demographic StatusNatural Origin Spawner Abundance

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

1960 1965 1969 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

sp

aw

ne

rs

Catherine Creek

Upper Grande Ronde

Lostine River

Natural Origin Recruits per Spawner

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

0.90

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

Year

Re

cru

its

pe

r s

pa

wn

er

Catherine CreekUpper Grande Ronde Lostine River

Conclusions

• Prior supplementation failed as indicated by low natural origin abundance.

• Extinction risk was high based on population growth rate trends, low abundance of natural origin spawners, and low productivity.

• There was significant genetic differentiation between hatchery and natural populations and between the Minam, Wenaha, Upper Grande Ronde, Lostine, and Catherine Creek natural populations.

• Hatchery programs using endemic broodstock should be initiated immediately in Catherine Creek, the Upper Grande Ronde, and Lostine river populations.

• Given the uncertainties associated with use of artificial propagation to enhance natural production, we should use a diversified approach (lower to higher risk) and maintain the Minam and Wenaha river basins as wild-fish management areas.

Adaptive ManagementHatchery Reform Actions

• Eliminated releases of Rapid River stock Chinook salmon in the Grande Ronde basin in 1999. Uniquely marked and trap/removal at Lower Granite Dam.

• Initiated captive broodstock with collection of parr from Catherine Creek, the Upper Grande Ronde, and Lostine rivers in 1995.

• We began conventional supplementation programs (natural adult broodstock) in Catherine Creek, the Upper Grande Ronde, and Lostine rivers in 1997 using sliding scale management strategies.

• Constructed acclimation and adult capture facilities on Catherine Creek, Upper Grande Ronde and Lostine rivers and made significant modifications to Lookingglass Hatchery.

• Developed comprehensive hatchery management and monitoring plan to guide programs into the future - NEOH

Grande Ronde - Imnaha MPG Populations

Mitigation Goals

Spring Chinook SalmonGrande Ronde Basin

Specific Population Program Goals

Upper Grande Ronde River 250,000 Smolts

Lookingglass Creek 1617 Adults

Lostine River

Catherine Creek 150,000 Smolts

970 Adults

0.65% Smolt-to-Adult Return

Captive parrcollection

Irrigon FH

Oxbow

Bonneville FH

Manchester

Captive parrcollection

UGR trap andacclimation

UGR

LOS

Lookingglass FH

LOS Trap andacclimation

Imnaha

E

SP

A

A

ES

P

E

SS

A

P

P

P

AS

S A

CC trap andacclimation

Lookingglass CK

S

Manchester Captive parrcollection CC

LOS Trap andacclimation

Today2000’s

Captive Broodstock/Safety Net O&M and M&E

•ODFW, NPT, CTUIR, NOAA

•BPA

LSRCP – O&M and M&E

•ODFW, NPT, CTUIR

•USFWS/BPA

Adult - Juvenile Telemetry

•NPT, ODFW

•OWEB, BOR, Freshwater Trust

Grande Ronde Supplementation –Acclimation, Adult Trapping and

M&E•CTUIR, NPT, ODFW

•BPA

Chinook Salmon Life History and Survival

•ODFW

•BPA

Comparative Survival Study

• ODFW

•PSMFC/BPA

Relative Reproductive

Success•NOAA

•BPA

Smolt Monitoring Program

•ODFW, NPT

•BPA

Grande Ronde River Basin Chinook Salmon Hatchery Program Organization