Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project

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•Avian and Fish Predation studies !!

•Yakima River Basin !!• Identification of Smolt Survival within the Yakima River !• Survival may be linked to river structures and predation

Michael Porter Fisheries Biologist

Roza Reach

Wapato Reach

Wanawish Dam

Yakima Delta

Yakima River Smolt out-migration losses to McNary Dam may reach up to 70%

Much of this loss in within the Yakima River Basin

Roza Reach !•Reach - Roza Dam to confluence Naches River !• Reach Distance - 18.3 Km !• Dam pulls water for Irrigation & Power !• The Reach commonly experiences low water flow during smolt out-migration !• Provides predation opportunities for wading birds (Great Blue Heron) !• May decrease smolt travel time which in turn may affect lower river survival !

Roza Dam

Naches River

During drought years flows in the Roza Reach drop below ideal flow regime for smolt out-migration !The System Operation Advisory Commission (Basin Biologists) suggests that smolt migration flows should be at least 1000 CFS over a period of three days

Selah Heronry • Located along the “Roza Reach” !• Surveyed for PIT tags !• Produced over 3000 PIT tags to date

CFS in Roza Reach during low flows of 2005 and high flows of 2007

Selah Heronry PIT tags numbers much higher for the low flow year

Great Blue Heron

! Useful in pointing out areas of smolt vulnerability to predation

! Roza Reach – flows ! Toppenish Creek Heronry – Cle

Elum passage issue with late migration timing in Coho

! PIT tag numbers have led to the investigation of close proximity Irrigation Diversion Canals and Fish Screening Facilities

! Wapato Wildlife Heronry ! Produced a high number of

PIT tags – 4097 ! Large percentage of 2009

reintroduced Summer Chinook

! Located below both Parker and Sunnyside Dams

Bureau of Reclamation Irrigation Dams and Diversions • Surveyed for PIT tags at the fish screening facilities • Timing of surveys coincided with BOR annual maintenance

High mortalities for the 2009 Summer Chinook reintroduction !

• 176,000 Juveniles were released of these 30,000 were PIT tagged !• 5%tags accounted for as mortalities in Heron Rookeries and Diversions within a year !• ~1600 Summer Chinook tags found !• Signifies ~10,000 fish- showing significant initial mortality rates in the Yakima Basin

Wapato Fish Screening Facility ! High PIT tag numbers ! Fish bypass pipes were remotely probed by underwater cameras ! Two of the fish bypass pipes were completely inoperable and one

operating less than 15% ! ~90% smolt mortality in the fish screening facility ! Smolt mortality expanded by high entrainment into the canal during

low river flow ! Maintenance issue with facility thought to have been ongoing since

1994 with turnover of employees (check boards to regulate flow)

Fish Predator Wapato Reach! Northern Pike Minnow ! CPUE at spawning times average up to 5 fish per minute in side channels ! Sub basin Drain showed extremely high numbers of NPM – Toppenish

Sewage Plant waste water

WAPATO REACH

Northern Pike Minnow are the primary fish predator The graph below depicts total numbers surveyed and Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE)

CPUE is given in fish catch per minute

Brown Bullhead – Complete Survey Numbers

LOCATION Date SPECIES NUMBERS ELECTRODE3MINUTES CPUEDELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 5/4/2011 CHCT 1 51.07 0.019581DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 5/12/2011 CHCT 1 63.35 0.015785DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 7/11/2011 CHCT 2 51.53 0.038812DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 9/8/2011 CHCT 10 46.33 0.215843DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 5/17/2012 CHCT 26 42.68 0.609185DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 6/21/2012 CHCT 1 51.87 0.019279

Channel Catfish– Complete Survey Numbers

LOCATION Date SPECIES NUMBERS ELECTRODE3MINUTES CPUEDELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 9/8/2011 BRCT 1000 46.33 21.58429DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/9/2011 BRCT 1 43.37 0.023057DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/17/2011 BRCT 5 38.57 0.129634DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/30/2011 BRCT 23 38.3 0.600522DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 8/30/2012 BRCT 100 61.32 1.630789DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 9/6/2012 BRCT 15 12.53 1.197127DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 9/13/2012 BRCT 2 56.07 0.03567DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 10/11/2012 BRCT 1510 122.63 12.31346DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/14/2012 BRCT 20 87.83 0.227713DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/15/2012 BRCT 47 37.98 1.237493DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 12/10/2012 BRCT 34 64.37 0.528196

Wanawish Dam

!Bird Predation by the

American White Pelican

Example: On Badger Island in 2010 8279 PIT tags were surveyed - 2760 YN fish

Badger Island ~ 30 Miles from Horn Rapids (Wanawish Dam) ~ 40 Miles from Prosser (Chandler Juvenile Screening Facility)

Hazing ineffective without lethal take Listed as endangered by Washington State

Management of AWPE may be necessary in the future 1n areas of smolt vulnerability

Wanawish Dam Fish Ladder

! Smallmouth bass migrate up the Yakima River from the Columbia River during the spring

! Spawn in the Yakima because of the warmer temperatures and habitat

! Smallmouth bass may use the fish ladder at the dam to migrate further upriver

! Salmon may be able to pass over the low dam without using the fish ladder

! If Smallmouth are using the ladder and salmon are not - block the ladder-

! Underwater cameras will be placed in the ladder to view fish utilization

! Predator spawning habitat could be reduced along with predation opportunity

Lower Yakima River Fish Predators

• The Lower Yakima River contains abundant numbers of piscivorous fish !• The primary predator in this reach is Smallmouth Bass !• Spring brings large numbers of Smallmouth Bass into this section of the river during smolt out-migration smolts then provide the spawning bass with an abundant food source !• Northern Pikeminnow are frequently found in this reach as juveniles

Primary Survey & Management Locations : •Wanawish Dam to Delta •Delta West of Bateman Island Causeway •Delta East of Bateman Island Causeway

Fish Surveys and Management in the Lower Yakima River and the Yakima Delta

SMALLMOUTH BASS – Micropterus dolomieu

By 1925, 5000, Smallmouth Bass had been introduced to the Yakima River and had established resident populations. The Yakima River serves as a spawning nursery for Smallmouth Bass

CHANNEL CATFISH – Ictaluras Punctatus

Introduced into Washington State in 1892 (Lampman 1946) Channel Catfish naturally produce in only the Columbia , Snake, Walla Walla, and Yakima Rivers.

BROWN BULLHEAD – Ameiurus Nebuloso

Introduced into Washington State in 1882 - 1883(Lampman 1946) Brown Bullheads inhabit warm-water ponds, lakes, sloughs, and Sluggish areas in streams. (Yakima Delta)

LARGEMOUTH BASS – Micropterus Salmoides

Widely introduced into Washington by 1895 the Largemouth Bass has established large populations in much of the Columbia River is frequently present in the Delta of the Yakima River

Yakima Delta – Bateman Island Causeway

! Blocks Yakima River Flow on south side of Island ! Creates an unnatural River Delta which limits flow and

creates stagnant water ! Stagnant pool of water west of causeway raises water

temperatures creating habitat for non-native warm water fish species (piscivores)

! Creates a thermal barrier for adult salmon migrating to the Yakima Basin by mixing with flowing river water

! Disrupts spawning timing for adult summer migrants and causes salmon to hold at the mouth of the Yakima River until temperature drops (Sockeye and Summer Chinook)

West of Causeway Below Bateman Island Displayed Greatest Utilization of Non-native fish species and piscivorous fish !Abundant Numbers of: • Smallmouth Bass • Largemouth Bass • Brown Bullhead

Juvenile Small Mouth Bass – West of Causeway

Totals and Catch per Unit effort

Early Fall Fish Totals: Yakima Delta West of the Causeway

LOCATION Date SPECIES NUMBERS ELECTRODE3MINUTES CPUEDELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 7/11/2011 LMB 3 51.53 0.058219DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 9/8/2011 LMB 3 46.33 0.064753DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/9/2011 LMB 4 43.37 0.09223DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/17/2011 LMB 7 38.57 0.181488DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 4/5/2012 LMB 1 34.1 0.029326DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 9/13/2012 LMB 5 56.07 0.089174DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 10/10/2012 LMB 32 66.4 0.481928DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 10/11/2012 LMB 778 122.63 6.344288DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 10/17/2012 LMB 205 34.25 5.985401DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/14/2012 LMB 60 87.83 0.683138DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 11/15/2012 LMB 75 37.98 1.974724DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 3/4/2013 LMB 1 57.82 0.017295DELTA&FRONT&OF&CAUSEWAY 3/21/2013 LMB 1 62.52 0.015995

West of the Causeway Largemouth Bass–Numbers

Conclusions! Avian predation can be a link to problems with dams and smolt passage. !

! Slight changes to management strategies of facilities may improve smolt survival (flow over Roza Dam, Fish Bypass properly maintained) !

! Fish screening of drains or irrigation returns along the river may improve smolt survival by reducing predators (Northern PikeMinnow) !

! American White Pelican endangered listing should be challenge or worked around when smolt survival is an issue !

! Existing dams or structures may provide opportunity to limit predator movement (Wanawish and Smallmouth bass) !

! Changes to the river delta may limit non-native fish predators and increase survival of adult migration by altering delta temperatures (eliminate Bateman Island Causeway)