LOWER SNAKE RIVER COMPENSATION PLAN: Oregon Spring Chinook Salmon Evaluation Studies 2007 Annual Progress Report

Transcription

1 LOWER SNAKE RIVER COMPENSATION PLAN: Oregon Spring Chinook Salmon Evaluation Studies 2007 Annual Progress Report Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Research and Development, NE Region Joseph W. Feldhaus Timothy L. Hoffnagle Debra L. Eddy Shelby M. Warren Nicholas Albrecht Richard W. Carmichael January 2010

2 This program receives federal financial assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability. If you believe that you have been discriminated against as described above in any program, activity, or facility, or if you desire further information, please contact ADA coordinator, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 3406 Cherry Dr. NE, Salem, OR 97303, , or write Office for Human Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C This report is available at:

3 ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT FISH RESEARCH PROJECT OREGON PROJECT TITLE: Lower Snake River Compensation Plan: Oregon Spring Chinook Salmon Evaluation Studies CONTRACT NUMBER: J009 PROJECT PERIOD: January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007 Prepared By: Joseph Feldhaus Timothy L. Hoffnagle Debra L. Eddy Shelby M. Warren Nicholas Albrecht Richard W. Carmichael January 2010 Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 3406 Cherry Avenue NE Salem, OR This project was financed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan.

4 Preface This annual progress report provides summary information for Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) spring Chinook salmon programs operated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins during Also included in this report are summaries of data collected at adult broodstock collection facilities operated by our co-managers, the Nez Perce Tribe (Lostine River) and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River), and funded by the Bonneville Power Administration. These ongoing monitoring and evaluation programs provide technical, logistical, and biological information to managers charged with maintaining viable natural Chinook salmon populations, and managing hatchery programs and recreational and tribal fisheries in northeast Oregon. The data in this report serve as the basis for assessing the success of meeting our management objectives and were derived from hatchery inventories and standard databases (e.g., PSMFC, coded-wire tag), through standard sampling techniques or provided by other agencies. As such, specific protocols are usually not described. When possible, data obtained from different sources were cross-referenced and verified. In cases where expansions of data or unique methodologies were used, we describe protocols in more detail. Additional descriptions of protocols can be found in the 2007 work statement (Carmichael et al. 2007). We used coded-wire tag (CWT) data collected from 2007 adult returns to evaluate smoltto-adult survival rates, harvest, straying, escapement, and specific information on experimental results. In addition, much of the data that we discuss in this report will be used in separate and specific evaluations of ongoing supplementation and research programs for Chinook salmon in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins. We began fish culture evaluations in 1983 and have improved many practices. Progress for work completed in previous years is presented in annual progress reports (Carmichael and Wagner 1983; Carmichael and Messmer 1985; Carmichael et al. 1986a; 1987; 1988; 1999; 2004; Messmer et al. 1989; 1990; 1991; 1992; 1993; Hoffnagle et al. 2005; Monzyk et al. 2006a; b; c; d; e; 2007; 2008a; b) and United States v. Oregon production report (Carmichael et al. 1986b). In this report, data are organized into salmon culture monitoring for juveniles and adults, CWT recoveries, compensation goals, estimates for total adult escapement, and natural escapement monitoring. During the period covered in this report, Chinook salmon smolts from the 2005 brood year were released, Chinook salmon from the brood years returned to spawn, and some of the returning adult Chinook salmon were used to create the 2007 brood year. i

5 CONTENTS Page Preface... i Contents... ii List of Figures... ii List of Tables... ii Executive Summary... iv Introduction... 1 Program Objectives... 1 Research Objectives... 1 Results and Discussion... 2 Juveniles... 2 Adults... 5 Coded-Wire Tag Recoveries... 8 Compensation Goals Natural Escapement Monitoring Acknowledgements References FIGURES Number Page 1. Recruits-per-spawner ratios for completed brood years ( ) of Imnaha River Chinook salmon Redd counts in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde basins from Estimated numbers of natural- and hatchery-origin spring/summer Chinook salmon that spawned naturally in the Imnaha River, Estimated numbers of natural- and hatchery-origin Chinook salmon that spawned naturally in Catherine Creek, and the Grande Ronde and Lostine rivers, Number of natural and hatchery origin Chinook salmon carcasses recovered during the 2007 spawning ground surveys on the Imnaha River Number of natural and hatchery origin Chinook salmon carcasses recovered during the 2007 spawning ground surveys on Catherine Creek Number of natural and hatchery origin Chinook salmon carcasses recovered during the 2007 spawning ground surveys on the Upper Grande Ronde River Number of natural and hatchery origin Chinook salmon carcasses recovered during the 2007 spawning ground surveys on the Lostine River TABLES Number Page 1. Rearing summaries for 2005 brood year juvenile spring Chinook salmon released into the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins in ii

6 TABLES (continued) Number Page 2. Number of female spring/summer Chinook salmon and mean egg weight by stock, origin (hatchery or natural), and age Estimates of percent adipose (Ad) fin clip and coded-wire tag application success for 2005 brood year spring Chinook salmon stocks reared at Lookingglass Fish Hatchery and released as smolts in Mean size of 2005 brood year spring Chinook salmon smolts, total number released into the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins, number PITtagged, and survival to Lower Granite Dam, Number of adult spring Chinook salmon handled each week at Northeast Oregon LSRCP facilities, Number and disposition, by origin, age, and sex of adult spring Chinook salmon returning to northeast Oregon LSRCP facilities in Spawning summaries for the Conventional Broodstock of spring Chinook salmon at Lookingglass Fish Hatchery, Expanded adult recoveries by coded-wire tag group of Imnaha River spring/summer Chinook salmon for the 2007 return year Catch and escapement distribution of Imnaha River spring/summer hatchery Chinook salmon by recovery location in Expanded adult recoveries by coded-wire tag group of Catherine Creek spring Chinook salmon for the 2007 return year Catch and escapement distribution of Grande Ronde Basin hatchery adult spring Chinook salmon by stock and recovery location in Expanded adult recoveries by coded-wire tag group of Grande Ronde River spring Chinook salmon for the 2007 return year Expanded adult recoveries by coded-wire tag group for the 2007 return year of Lookingglass Creek spring Chinook salmon Expanded adult recoveries by coded-wire tag group of Lostine River spring Chinook salmon for the 2007 return year Summary of hatchery and natural spring Chinook salmon carcasses recovered and number of redds observed by stream during spawning ground surveys, Summary of adipose-clipped Chinook salmon carcasses with coded-wire tags recovered during spawning ground surveys, Number sampled and mean, standard deviation (STD), minimum and maximum ELISA OD levels for hatchery-reared and natural adult Chinook salmon from streams in the Grande Ronde and Imnaha river basins sampled at Lookingglass Fish Hatchery or as carcasses on spawning ground surveys, Number and percent of natural and hatchery-reared adult Chinook salmon from streams in the Grande Ronde and Imnaha basins sampled for BKD with ELISA OD levels in each category, iii

7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2007, we released 432,530 Chinook salmon smolts from the 2005 brood year into the Imnaha River. We estimated that 99% of these smolts were identifiably marked with an adipose fin clip (ad clip) and or coded-wire tag. In addition, we released 2005 brood year smolts from both the Grande Ronde Basin Spring Chinook Salmon Captive Broodstock Program and Conventional Broodstock Program into the Grande Ronde Basin. We released 21,573 Captive Broodstock smolts and 49,696 Conventional Broodstock smolts into Catherine Creek with 100% identifiably marked. We released 20,620 Captive Broodstock smolts and 118,803 Conventional Broodstock smolts into the upper Grande Ronde River with 97.9% identifiably marked. We did not release any smolts into Lookingglass Creek in We released 24,604 Captive Broodstock smolts and 205,406 Conventional Broodstock smolts into the Lostine River with 99.9% identifiably marked. There was no difference in mean egg weight between age 4 hatchery and natural origin salmon. Age 5 natural returns had a greater mean egg weight than age 5 hatchery returns. The mean egg weight of salmon from the Imnaha River was greater than for salmon from the Grande Ronde Basin. Between stocks, we found significant differences in mean egg weight for age 4 hatchery and natural salmon, and for age 5 salmon, but not age 5 hatchery salmon. We trapped 1,178 hatchery- and 153 naturally-produced Chinook salmon at the Imnaha River weir. In the Grande Ronde Basin we captured 165 hatchery- and 77 naturally-produced Chinook salmon in Catherine Creek, 40 hatchery- and 33 naturally-produced Chinook salmon in the upper Grande Ronde River, 197 hatchery- and 20 naturally-produced Chinook salmon in Lookingglass Creek. The Nez Perce Tribe reported that some members of their hatchery production staff had falsified weir data from , so some Lostine River data in this report are estimates. Approximately 382 hatchery- and 196 naturally-produced Chinook salmon were captured in the Lostine River. We estimated that 1,595 Imnaha River hatchery Chinook salmon returned to the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan compensation area in 2007, achieving 49.7% of the hatchery adult compensation goal in the Imnaha River Basin. In the Grande Ronde River Basin, an estimated 196 Catherine Creek, 78 Grande Ronde River, 216 Lookingglass Creek, and approximately 390 hatchery adults returned to the Lostine River. These returns achieved 15.1% of the compensation goal for the Grande Ronde Basin. The recruits-per-spawner ratio for naturally spawning Imnaha River salmon for the 2002 brood year was This was the fourth consecutive year productivity was below replacement after three consecutive years of natural productivity levels above replacement. The recruits-perspawner (R:S) ratio for the hatchery component was 4.3, better than naturally spawning salmon and above replacement. In the Grande Ronde Basin, the 2002 brood year R:S for the hatchery component was 4.7 in Catherine Creek, and 3.9 in the upper Grande Ronde River. The natural component R:S for the 2002 brood year was 0.3 in Catherine Creek and 1.1 in the upper Grande Ronde River. An R:S was not calculated for Lookingglass because no smolts were released in We did not calculate an R:S for the Lostine River. iv

8 In 2007, we observed 126 carcasses and found 277 redds during spawning ground surveys in the Imnaha River Basin, and one stray from the Umatilla River was recovered. In the Grande Ronde Basin, we observed 230 carcasses and found 442 redds. We recovered five known in-basin hatchery strays and one out-of-basin stray within the Grande Ronde Basin in To monitor bacterial kidney disease (BKD), we collected 288 kidney samples from salmon from Grande Ronde Basin streams and 180 kidney samples from Imnaha River Chinook salmon in We found no difference in mean ELISA OD levels between hatchery-reared and natural Chinook salmon adults. Returning Captive broodstock F 1 generation adults had higher mean ELISA OD levels than Conventional Hatchery program offspring. We found no evidence that release of hatchery salmon is causing an increase in BKD prevalence in the monitored streams. v

9 INTRODUCTION This annual progress report summarizes spring Chinook salmon monitoring data for the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) facilities in Also summarized are adult broodstock monitoring data collected in the Grande Ronde Basin by our co-managers the Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). The main objectives of this report are to document and evaluate spring Chinook salmon culture performance for hatchery programs and achievement of management objectives in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins. These data are used to design culture practices to optimize eggto-smolt survival rate, smolt quality, smolt-to-adult survival rate, successful spawning in nature by hatchery-reared adults, and to provide information to adapt programs to most effectively meet management objectives. This report provides information on rearing and release operations for the 2005 brood year of juvenile Chinook salmon smolts, the collection of eggs for the 2007 brood year, Chinook spawning in nature, adult characteristics of adult Chinook salmon in the 2007 return year, and Bacterial Kidney Disease (BKD) monitoring. LSRCP Chinook Salmon Program Objectives 1. Prevent extinction of Imnaha River, Lostine River, Catherine Creek, and upper Grande Ronde River Chinook salmon populations and ensure a high probability of population persistence well into the future, once causes of basin-wide declines have been addressed. 2. Establish adequate broodstock to meet annual production goals. 3. Establish a consistent total return of Chinook salmon that meets the LSRCP mitigation goal of 3,210 hatchery adults in the Imnaha Basin and 5,820 hatchery adults in the Grande Ronde Basin. 4. Re-establish historic tribal and recreational fisheries. 5. Minimize impacts of hatchery programs on resident stocks of game fish. 6. Operate the hatchery program so that the genetic and life history characteristics of hatchery fish mimic those of wild fish, while achieving mitigation goals. 7. Maintain genetic and life-history characteristics of natural Chinook salmon populations in the Imnaha River, Lostine River, Catherine Creek, and upper Grande Ronde River. 8. Maintain the genetic and life-history characteristics of the endemic wild populations of Chinook salmon in the Minam and Wenaha rivers. 9. Provide a future basis to reverse the decline in abundance of endemic Chinook salmon populations in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins. Research Monitoring and Evaluation Objectives 1. Document Chinook salmon rearing and release activities at all LSRCP facilities. 2. Determine optimum rearing and release strategies that will produce maximum survival to adulthood for hatchery-produced Chinook salmon smolts. 3. Document Chinook salmon adult returns to broodstock collection facilities in the Imnaha River, Lostine River, Catherine Creek, upper Grande Ronde River, and Lookingglass Creek. 1

10 4. Estimate annual hatchery returns to compensation areas and determine success in meeting mitigation goals. 5. Estimate annual smolt survival to Lower Granite Dam (LGD) for production and experimental groups. 6. Conduct index, extensive, and supplemental Chinook salmon spawning ground surveys for all populations in northeast Oregon to assess spawn timing and spawning distribution, and estimate natural spawner escapement. 7. Determine the proportion of naturally spawning spring Chinook salmon that are of hatchery origin in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde basin Chinook salmon populations. 8. Determine annual escapement and spawner numbers to estimate and compare productivity (recruits per spawner) for natural- and hatchery-produced fish in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde basin Chinook basins. 9. Compare life history characteristics (age structure, run timing, sex ratio, egg size, and fecundity) of hatchery and natural origin salmon. 10. Coordinate Chinook salmon broodstock marking programs for Lookingglass Fish Hatchery. 11. Participate in planning activities associated with anadromous salmon production and management in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins and participate in ESA permitting, consultation, and recovery planning. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION During 2007, spring Chinook salmon from the 2005 brood year were released as smolts into the Imnaha River. In the Grande Ronde Basin, smolts from the 2005 brood year produced from the Conventional Broodstock program were released into Catherine Creek, the Grande Ronde River, and the Lostine River. Also released into Catherine Creek, the Grande Ronde River, and the Lostine River were smolts from the 2005 brood year produced from the Grande Ronde Basin Spring Chinook Salmon Captive Broodstock Program (Carmichael 2008). There were no smolts from the 2005 brood year released into Lookingglass Creek. Adult Chinook salmon from the brood years, for all supplemental streams, that returned to spawn were used as broodstock to create the 2007 brood year and were reared at Lookingglass Fish Hatchery (LFH). Coded-wire-tag recoveries from adult hatchery returns were used to assess the success of achieving mitigation goals and management objectives. In addition, much of the data discussed in this report will be used in separate and specific evaluations of ongoing supplementation programs for Chinook salmon in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins. Juveniles Green egg-to-smolt survival rate for the 2005 brood year of Imnaha River Chinook salmon released in 2007 was 81.4% (green egg-to-eyed egg survival rate, 85.2%; eyed egg-tosmolt survival rate, 98.0%) (Table 1). Green egg-to-smolt survival rates for Catherine Creek salmon were 69.5% for Captive Broodstock offspring and 92.8% for Conventional Broodstock offspring. For the Grande Ronde River, green egg-to-smolt survival rates were 56.9% for Captive Broodstock offspring and 76.6% for Conventional Broodstock offspring. For the Lostine River, green egg-to-smolt survival rates were 67.2% for Captive Broodstock offspring 2

11 and 87.7% for Conventional Broodstock offspring. Compared to the Conventional Broodstock Program, survival rates for the Captive Broodstock Program were consistently lower, mostly due to large numbers of eyed eggs being culled because of high enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) levels in female broodstock, in an effort to reduce the incidence of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) in their offspring. Co-managers decided to cull eyed eggs produced from females with ELISA levels > 0.8 for Catherine Creek and Grande Ronde River stocks and > 0.4 for Lostine River females. Without accounting for age or stock, we found a significant (P = ) difference in mean egg weight (g) between hatchery (0.240 g) and natural (0.259 g) origin Chinook salmon. Incorporating the age of returning salmon, we found no difference (P = ) in mean egg weight between age 4 hatchery (0.236 g) and natural (0.223 g) returns. Mean egg weight of age 5 hatchery females (0.258 g) was significantly lower (P = ) than natural origin age 5 females (0.288 g). In general, the mean egg weight of Chinook salmon from the Imnaha River was greater than for salmon from the Grande Ronde Basin (Table 2). There was a significant difference in mean egg weight between stocks for age 4 hatchery (P < ) and natural (P = ) origin returns. For age 5 returns, we found no difference (P = ) in mean egg weight between stocks for returning hatchery salmon. There was a significant difference (P = ) in mean egg weight between stocks for age 5 natural origin returns. The release of 432,530 smolts from the Imnaha River 2005brood year was below the long-term mitigation goal of 490,000, but above the specific annual production goal of 360,000 * for this brood year (Table 1). The recently modified long-term mitigation goal for the Grande Ronde River Basin was set at 150,000 smolts for Catherine Creek and 250,000 smolts per year for each of the Lookingglass Creek, upper Grande Ronde River, and Lostine River populations. In Catherine Creek, we released 21,573 smolts produced from Captive Broodstock and 49,696 smolts produced from Conventional Broodstock (71,269 total). In the Grande Ronde River, we released 20,620 smolts produced from Captive Broodstock and 118,803 smolts produced from Conventional Broodstock (139,423 total). In Lookingglass Creek, we did not release any smolts. In the Lostine River, the release of 24,604 smolts produced from Captive Broodstock and 205,406 smolts produced from Conventional Broodstock (230,010 total) nearly achieved the mitigation goal. Mitigation goals were not achieved from the stocks due to numerous reasons. In the Captive Broodstock Program, low broodstock survival due to bacterial kidney disease and low fecundity due to slow broodstock growth have limited smolt production. In the Conventional Broodstock Program, low adult returns in 2005 limited the number of broodstock collected and subsequent smolt production (Monzyk et al. 2008). Also, in Lookingglass Creek, no returning adults from the 2005 brood year were spawned (Monzyk et al. 2008). We evaluated the 2005 brood year smolts released in 2007 for mark application success from 6-8 February 2007, a few weeks prior to their release. We sampled at least 500 smolts from each raceway at LFH and checked for the presence of a coded-wire tag (CWT) and adipose fin clip quality (Table 3). We attempted to mark (ad clip+cwt) approximately 43% (three of seven raceways) of the Imnaha River. The remaining 57% of the Imnaha River smolts received only ad clips. For the portion of smolts receiving ad clip+cwt, we estimated that 95.5% were successfully marked with both marks. Fin clip application success was estimated at 98.3% for the portion receiving just ad clips. We estimated that 1.0% of the Imnaha River smolts had no identifiable mark (neither ad clip nor CWT). We attempted to mark all Catherine Creek smolts with ad clip+cwt and achieved an application rate of 96.4%. We estimated that 3.1% had an ad * Due to space limitations at LFH, the annual production goal is less than the LSRCP mitigation goal. 3

12 clip but no CWT, 0.5% had a CWT but no ad clip, and none of the smolts released had no identifiable mark. Grande Ronde River smolts produced from the Conventional Broodstock Program received just CWTs. We estimated that 97.9% of these smolts retained their CWT marks so 2.1% had no identifiable mark when released. The smolts produced from the Grande Ronde River Captive Broodstock Program received an ad clip and CWT. We estimated 95.8% had an ad clip and a CWT, 1.9% had an ad clip but no CWT, 2.3% had a CWT but no ad clip, and none of smolts had no identifiable mark. We attempted to mark all Lostine River smolts released in 2007 with ad clip+cwt and achieved a 95.1% application success rate. We estimated 3.8% had an ad clip but no CWT, 1.0% had a CWT but no ad clip, and less than 0.1% of smolts had no identifiable mark. Smolt migration success was monitored for all stocks based on survival to Lower Granite Dam (LGD). We developed release-recapture information for PIT-tagged smolts from each raceway to calculate Cormack-Jolly-Seber survival probabilities to LGD using the PIT Pro 4 Program (Westhagen and Skalski 2009) with a single release recapture model (Skalski et al. 1998). Mean stock survival was calculated as the weighted average of the raceways for each stock with the number of smolts in each raceway as the weight. The Imnaha River 2005 brood year Chinook salmon were reared in raceways at LFH (Table 3) and were acclimated at the Imnaha Acclimation Facility starting as early as 13 March Smolts in raceways were volitionally released from March and 31 March - 12 April Raceways 17 and 18 were added to the acclimation pond from March 2007 and volitionally released from 31-March until 12 April All fish remaining in the acclimation ponds were forced out on 12 April The mean survival rate to LGD for Imnaha smolts released in 2007 was 66% (Table 4). Catherine Creek Chinook salmon smolts produced from Captive Broodstock parents were reared in raceway 2 and smolts produced from Conventional Broodstock were reared in raceway 1 (Table 4). Smolts produced from both Captive Broodstock and Conventional Broodstock parents were transported to the Catherine Creek acclimation ponds on 12 March Smolts were volitionally released on 26 March 2007, and remaining smolts were forced out on 11 April The mean survival rate to LGD for Catherine Creek smolts was 32% and 33% for Conventional and Captive Broodstock, respectfully. Grande Ronde River Chinook salmon smolts produced from Captive Broodstock parents were reared in raceway 6 and smolts produced from Conventional Broodstock were reared in raceways 3-5 (Table 4). Smolts from the Captive Broodstock Program were transported to the Grande Ronde River acclimation ponds on 12 March 2007, volitionally released on 19 March 2007 and the remaining smolts were forced out on 25 March Smolts from the Conventional Program were transported to the Grande Rond River acclimation ponds on 26 March 2007, volitionally released on 2 April 2007, and the remaining smolts forced out on 11 April Mean survival rates to LGD for Grande Ronde River stock was 48%. The Captive broodstock smolts survived at a lower rate, 34%, than the Conventional Broodstock (47-59%). Lostine River Chinook salmon smolts produced from Captive Broodstock parents were reared in raceway 11 and smolts produced from Conventional Broodstock were reared in raceways 7-10 at LFH. Smolts from the Conventional Broodstock production group were transported to and released from the Lostine River acclimation ponds in two stages: early and late acclimation periods (Table 4). Smolts from the early acclimation were transported to the acclimation ponds as early as 5 March Smolts from the Captive Broodstock Program were part of the late release group. Volitional release of smolts began on 16 March 2007 and 4

13 remaining smolts were forced out on 26 March Smolts from the late acclimation period were transported to acclimation ponds from March 2007, were volitionally released beginning on 7 April 2007, and remaining smolts were forced out on 17 April The Lostine River Conventional Broodstock released during early acclimation periods had lower survival rates to LGD, 53-54% (Table 4), than Conventional Broodstock smolts released during the late acclimation period, which had a survival probability of 66%. The Lostine River Captive Broodstock had a survival probability to LGD of 59%, intermediate to the early and late Conventional Broodstock smolts. Adults Imnaha River The Imnaha River weir was installed on 1 June 2007 and operated until 19 September 2007 (Table 5). We trapped 1,151-hatchery and 180 naturally-produced salmon. After accounting for estimates of hatchery adults returns that lacked both a fin clips and CWT, we estimated that 1,178 hatchery (clipped and unclipped) and 153 naturally-produced salmon returned. We retained 213 hatchery- and 51 natural Chinook salmon for broodstock. To limit the number of hatchery salmon on spawning grounds, 28 jack hatchery salmon were retained for tribal ceremonial/subsistence, and 618 hatchery salmon were outplanted to Big Sheep and Lick Creeks (Table 6). The remaining salmon collected at the weir were released above the weir to spawn naturally (318 hatchery, 102 natural). Age structure of salmon captured at the weir was determined from CWT or scale analysis, when available, or from length-at-age relationships. Age structure of hatchery-produced adults collected at the weir was: 42% age 3; 53% age 4; and 5% age 5. This differed from the age structure of naturally-produced adults collected at the weir: 14% age 3; 51% age 4; and 35% age 5 (Table 6). We spawned 72 hatchery and 21 natural females with 82 hatchery and 23 natural males (Table 6). We collected 408,397 green eggs from broodstock (Table 7). Eggs were incubated at LFH and percent mortality to shocking was 25.8%. Catherine Creek The Catherine Creek weir was operated by personnel from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) from 1 March to 31 July The last fish captured at the Catherine Creek weir was on 3 July Totals of 173 hatchery- and 75 naturally-produced adult Chinook salmon were captured with 104 hatchery and 44 natural salmon release above the weir to spawn naturally (Table 6). Additionally, 10 salmon identified as Catherine Creek stock were captured in the Lookingglass Creek weir. Age structure of hatchery-produced adults collected at the Catherine Creek and Lookingglass weirs were: 17% age 3; 73% age 4; and 10% age 5. Age structure of naturally-produced adults collected at the weir was: 8% age 3; 52% age 4; and 40% age 5. Adults used as broodstock to create the Catherine Creek 2007 brood year were from both natural and hatchery origin (Conventional Broodstock progeny only returning Captive Broodstock progeny are allowed to spawn naturally or are removed but are not collected for Conventional broodstock due to domestication concerns). We spawned 31 hatchery and 14 natural females with 17 hatchery and 17 natural males. We collected 171,065 eggs and percent mortality to shocking was 14.5% (Table 7). 5

14 This is the second year we had a complete brood year return of Catherine Creek hatchery adults from both the Captive and Conventional Broodstock Programs (2001 and 2002 brood years). Returning Captive Broodstock adult Chinook were marked with an Ad clip and Conventional returns were marked with an Ad Clip and a VIE tag. Based on visual identification of returning adult Chinook, CTUIR staff identified 105 Captive and 75 Conventional adult Chinook returns. Three hatchery fish could not be identified as Captive or Conventional Broodstock. Subsequently, the age structure of Captive Broodstock progeny that returned to the Catherine Creek weir, determined from visual identification, was 23% age 3 (N = 25); 61% age 4 (N = 64); and 16% age 5 (N = 16). Age structure of the Conventional Broodstock progeny was 9% age 3 (N = 6); 86% age 4 (N = 64); and 6% age 5 (N = 5). Smolt-to-adult return rates (SAR) for the 2002 brood year, based on visual identification of Captive and Conventional adults, was the same as the 2001 brood year; 0.1% for Captive Broodstock progeny and 0.2% Conventional Broodstock progeny. However, we are not confident about the proportion of Captive and Conventional adults because we believe the VIE mark is not permanent; and therefore, unreliable. The loss of the VIE mark on Conventional returns would result in incorrectly identifying a Conventional return as a Captive return. In 2007, CTUIR identified 79 Captive (1 age 3, 63 age 4, and 15 age 5), 22 Conventional (20 age 4 and 2 age 5), and an estimated three returning adult Chinook of unknown Broodstock origin were passed above the weir. Based on the number of fish passed above the weir, we would expect 78% of the carcasses recovered with a CWT would be from Captive Broodstock and 22% from Convential Broodstock. On spawning ground surveys, we recovered 12 carcasses with a CWT and five carcasses that were only marked with an AD clip. Of the 12 carcasses with a CWT, five were from Captive and seven were from Conventional Broodstock. These 12 CWT recoveries represent 42% (5 CWT s) of the Captive and 58% (7 CWT s) of the Conventional Broodstock passed above the weir. The higher than expected recovery of Conventional carcasses suggests VIE marks are not being identified at the weir. Grande Ronde River The upper Grande Ronde River weir was operated by CTUIR personnel from 21 March to 13 July The last fish captured at the Grande Ronde River weir was on 5 July Forty hatchery- and 33 naturally-produced adult Chinook salmon were captured. An additional 23 salmon that returned to the Lookingglass Creek weir were identified as Grande Ronde hatchery stock. Sixty hatchery and 16 natural salmon were retained for broodstock (Table 6). The remaining salmon caught at the Grande Ronde River weir were released above the weir to spawn naturally (3 hatchery, 16 natural). Age structure of hatchery returns to the weir was 27% age 3; 53% age 4; and 20% age 5. Age structure of naturally produced adults returning to the weir was 0% age 3; 61% age 4; and 39% age 5. Adults used as broodstock to create the Grande Ronde River 2007 brood year were from both natural and hatchery origin (Conventional Broodstock progeny only returning Captive Broodstock progeny are allowed to spawn naturally or are removed but are not collected for Conventional broodstock due to domestication concerns). We spawned 25 hatchery and 6 natural females with 25 hatchery and 6 natural males. We collected 122,750 eggs and percent mortality to shocking was 19.2% (Table 7). This is the second year we had a complete brood year return of Grande Ronde River hatchery adults from both the Captive Broodstock and Conventional Broodstock Programs (2001 and 2002 brood years). No Grande Ronde Captive Broodstock progeny were captured at weirs in Age structure of the Conventional Broodstock was 27% age 3; 56% age 4; and 17% age 6

15 5. Age structure of natural returns was 0% age 3; 61% age 4; and 39% age 5. Smolt to adult return rates (SAR) for the 2002 brood year Captive Broodstock progeny was 0.001% (1 age 4 female returned in 2006) and 0.2% for Conventional Broodstock progeny. Lookingglass Creek The Lookingglass Creek weir was operated by Lookingglass Hatchery (ODFW) personnel from 2 April to 18 September A total of 197 hatchery adults and 20 natural adults were collected at the weir. Twenty-two of the hatchery adults were strays from the Grande Ronde Conventional Broodstock Program, 10 were strays from Catherine Creek (9 Conventional and 1 Captive Broodstock). The Conventional Program strays were used as broodstock for their respective Conventional Programs, and the Captive Broodstock salmon (age 3 male) was sacrificed. Six natural age 3 males classified as Lookingglass Creek progeny were released above the weir. Two male adults identified as Rapid River stock were returned below the weir on 24 and 27 August, Eleven natural adults, assumed to be offspring of Rapid River hatchery adults that spawned naturally, were sacrificed as part of the management objective to phase out Rapid River stock in Lookingglass Creek and re-establish a stock endemic to the Grande Ronde Basin (Catherine Creek). We spawned 22 hatchery females with 15 hatchery males. We collected 68,055 eggs with percent mortality to shocking at 23.1% (Table 7). Lostine River In a letter from NPT dated 26 May 2009, co-managers were informed about inaccuracies associated with data collected at the Lostine River weir. The NPT determined that three aspects of data collection protocols were compromised or falsified between 2001 and The pass:keep criteria was not strictly followed, hatchery origin fish with poor or questionable quality adipose fin clips were recorded as natural origin fish, and genetic tissues were dropped or lost and replaced by a backup supply of tissue from previously sampled fish resulting in multiple samples from a single fish being recorded as multiple fish. The NPT created a rule set for evaluating all data collected between 2001 and 2008: 1) Any genetic sample matching two or more fish is defined as a group of replicates. 2) There can only be one real fish within a group of replicates with the exception of hatchery fish shown with a disposition of kept or out-planted. If a hatchery fish has been duplicated as kept or out-planted assume replicate records represent actual fish. 3) Assume that records with dispositions of kept or out-planted represent the actual fish within a group of replicates. Eliminate all other records unless Rule 1 applies. 4) If the origin of the fish was not consistently duplicated within a group of replicates as either natural or hatchery, assign an unknown origin type to the fish. 5) Assume a fish was real if a valid PIT tag ID exists. Using the rule set, an escapement estimate using mark-recapture data from spawning ground surveys and the modified weir records were used to estimate the number of returning hatchery and natural Chinook to the Lostine River between 2001 and 2007 (genetic data were not yet available for 2008). Additionally, there is doubt about the reliability of size data collected for fish handled at the Lostine River weir so we are not able to reliably report age structure for fish 7

16 handled at the weir (Table 6). At the time this report was prepared, we were not able to estimate the number of Captive and Conventional hatchery broodstock returns based on weir data. The Lostine River weir was installed by NPT personnel on 15 May 2007 and operated until 28 September 2007 (Table 5). Adults used as broodstock in the 2007 brood year were both natural and hatchery origin (Conventional Broodstock progeny only returning Captive Broodstock progeny are allowed to spawn naturally or are removed but are not collected for Conventional broodstock due to domestication concerns). This is the third year we had a complete brood year return of Lostine River hatchery adults from both the Captive Broodstock and Conventional Broodstock Programs (2001 brood year). We spawned 40 hatchery and 20 natural females with 26 hatchery and 15 natural males. We collected 267,350 eggs and percent morality to shocking was 13.3% (Table 7). Coded-Wire Tag Recoveries Hatchery salmon from most production groups were marked with a coded-wire tag (CWT) to provide basic information on survival, harvest, escapement, straying, and specific information on experimental groups, if any. Coded-wire tag recovery information for each CWT code group was obtained from the Regional Mark Information System (RMIS) CWT recovery database maintained by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The observed and estimated number of hatchery salmon from each CWT code group recovered in ocean and mainstem river fisheries, as well as strays collected in and out of the Snake River Basin, were summarized from the RMIS database. Estimated CWT recoveries in the RMIS database were expanded from observed recoveries based on sampling efficiencies at each recovery location. The RMIS database does not expand for recoveries observed in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins. Therefore, we estimated total CWT marked hatchery adults from each code group (observed from weir collections and spawning ground recoveries) returning to the Imnaha River, Grande Ronde River, Lookingglass and Catherine creeks, and the Lostine River based on total escapement to each stream, sampling rate, and the proportion of each cohort marked with CWTs. In the Imnaha River, observed recoveries were expanded for unrecovered CWT adults by first estimating hatchery escapement to the river for each brood year (see Monzyk et al. 2006a). The estimated total number of coded-wire tagged returns for each brood year was determined by multiplying the hatchery escapement estimate by the proportion of the brood year tagged at release and the weighted average tag retention rate for each brood year. The estimated total number of CWT returns was partitioned into each CWT code group by multiplying the total number of CWT returns by the relative proportion of each CWT code recovered within a brood year to give the expanded number of CWT returns for each tag group. In the Grande Ronde River Basin, CWTs from Captive and Conventional broodstock programs were recovered at different sampling efficiencies. Recovery rates for Conventional Broodstock progeny are usually higher because CWTs are recovered from Conventional Broodstock progeny retained for broodstock, as well as from spawning grounds surveys, whereas Captive Broodstock recoveries are typically recovered only on spawning ground surveys, since none are retained for broodstock. This necessitated expanding CWT recoveries for Captive and Conventional hatchery returns separately using the method described above for the Imnaha River. 8

17 The NPT reported that some members of their hatchery production staff had falsified weir data from One results of this is that for the Lostine River, we were unable to expand Captive and Conventional Broodstock recoveries in the same way we expanded for Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River because we are unable to rely on Lostine River weir data to correctly identify Captive and Conventional returns. Subsequently, we did not differentiate between broodstock origin, and simply expanded CWT recoveries as hatchery salmon using the method described for the Imnaha River. To estimate total return of hatchery and natural salmon to the Lostine River, we used two sets of non-weir data that was known to be reliable for an adult (age 4-5) estimate of hatchery and natural returns above the weir: 1) a mark recapture estimate was calculated using spawning ground survey carcass recoveries, and 2) weir data for 2007 that was reconciled by NPT research biologists using data known to be reliable. We used the percentage of untrapped adults above the weir to estimate the number of untrapped jacks above the weir. A fish/redd estimate was determined by dividing the total number of Chinook (all ages) above the weir by the number of redds above the weir. This fish/redd estimate was multiplied by the number of redds below the weir to estimate the number of untrapped fish below the weir. The estimate of untrapped fish above and below the weir was added to the number of known origin (i.e., hatchery or natural) Chinook handled at the weir to arrive at an estimate for the total return to the river. The proportions of known origin fish handled at the weir were used to partition the total return to the river into hatchery or natural returns. The hatchery jack estimate was determined to be the difference between the estimated total (age 3-5) return to the river of all hatchery returns and the estimated adult only (age 4-5) hatchery returns to the river. To estimate the number of adult returns, we used the total CWT recoveries for age 4 and 5 returns to estimate the proportion of returning adult hatchery Chinook. In both the Imnaha and Grande Ronde basins, the exception to the CWT expansion method is when we did not have any CWT recoveries for a particular brood year, but weir data indicated adults from that brood year returned. In these cases, we estimated the total number of returning adults by age class. If the returning adults from the brood year were potentially comprised of more than one tag group, we partitioned the estimated CWT returns into individual code groups based on the relative proportion of tag group recoveries from the previous year s return. For the 2007 return, it was not necessary to partition CWT s in this manner. For some stocks each year, excess adult hatchery returns are outplanted to nearby streams. CWTs from these stocks that were recovered in outplant streams were not considered strays, but rather were included in escapement calculations (e.g., SAR) for the stream to which they returned. In 2007, 149 hatchery-reared Imnaha River Chinook salmon with a CWT from the brood years were recovered. Nearly all of these CWT recoveries occurred in the Snake River Basin. Recoveries were expanded to an estimated 729 CWT marked adults returning to the Imnaha River (84% of total recoveries) with the following age distribution: 24 from the 2002 brood year (age 5); 425 from the 2003 brood year (age 4); and 280 from the 2004 brood year (age 3) (Table 8). In addition, we estimated that five CWT Imnaha River salmon were harvested in ocean fisheries, 129 were harvested in the Columbia River, none in the Snake River, and one was recovered as a stray within the Snake River Basin at Lyons Ferry Hatchery. Of the Columbia and Snake rivers recoveries, an estimated 42 were recovered in treaty net fisheries, 6 in non-treaty net fisheries, and 82 were recovered in sport fisheries (Table 9). We estimate, with expansions, that 1,593 hatchery adults returned to the Imnaha River, and two Imnaha strays were 9

18 recovered within the Snake Basin. After expanding, we estimate a total of 1,595 Chinook salmon returned to the compensation area. We recovered 97 hatchery-reared Catherine Creek Chinook salmon with a CWT from the brood years. Recoveries were expanded to an estimated 176 CWT marked adults returning to Catherine Creek with the following age distribution: 22 from the 2002 brood year (age 5); 126 from the 2003 brood year (age 4); and 28 from the 2004 brood year (age 3) (Table 10). Catherine Creek Chinook salmon were not recovered in ocean fisheries, 18 were recovered from the Columbia River, and 8 were recovered in the Snake River (Table 11). Of the Columbia and Snake Rivers recoveries, an estimated three were recovered in non-treaty net fisheries, and 23 were recovered in sport fisheries (Table 11). We recovered 64 hatchery-reared Grande Ronde River Chinook salmon with a CWT from the brood years in Recoveries were expanded to an estimated 75 CWT returns to the Grande Ronde River with the following age distribution: 11 from the 2002 brood year (age 5); 35 from the 2003 brood year (age 4); and 29 from the 2004 brood year (age 3) (Table 12). Grande Ronde River salmon were not recovered in ocean fisheries, nor the Columbia or Snake Rivers, and we did not identify any in-basin or out-of-basin strays (Table 11). The lack of identified recoveries outside the Grande Ronde River is probably a result of the fact that 48% of the 2002 brood year was released without an adipose fin clip, 99% of the 2003 brood year was released unclipped, and 99.6% of the 2004 brood year was released unclipped. Therefore, unless a snout is collected for all fish with an intact adipose fin, or a CWT wand is used to check for the presence or absence of a CWT for all fish handled that have an intact adipose fin, there is a chance that upper Grande Ronde Chinook salmon could mistakenly be identified as a natural returns and the CWT would not be recovered. Furthermore, many sport fisheries prohibit harvesting Chinook salmon with an intact adipose fin, further diminishing the chances of recovering a CWT from upper Grande Ronde River hatchery salmon. We recovered 73 hatchery-reared Lookingglass Creek Chinook salmon with a CWT from the brood years in Recoveries were expanded to an estimated 194 CWT returns to Lookingglass Creek with the following age distribution: 14 from the 2002 brood year (age 5); 93 from the 2003 brood year (age 4); and 87 from the 2004 brood year (age 3) (Table 13). Lookingglass Creek salmon marked with a CWT were not recovered in ocean fisheries. An estimated six were recovered in the Columbia/Snake river sport fisheries, five were recovered in non-treaty net fisheries, four were recovered as in-basin strays, and none were recovered as outof-basin strays (Table 11). Of the in-basin strays, one was recovered on the Upper Grande Ronde River, one on the Lostine River, and two were recovered on the South Fork Salmon River. We recovered 230 hatchery-reared Lostine River Chinook salmon with a CWT from the brood years in These recoveries include 86 CWT s (85 Lostine River salmon and one Lookingglass Creek salmon) recovered at the Lostine River weir from fish collected for ceremonial/subsistence purposes by NPT that are not reported in RMIS. A total of 90 snouts were collected from fish at the weir in 2007 where the dates of capture, sex, and length were not recorded. Of the 90 recovered snouts, we recovered 86 CWT s, three CWT s were lost (lost CWT s are not counted in the total of recovered CWT s), and one snout did not have a CWT. Without the appropriate biological data, these data were not accepted by either the Oregon or RMIS CWT databases. The 2007 hatchery escapement estimate to the Lostine River, using weir data reconciled by NPT research staff, was 390 hatchery Chinook (age 3-5): Based on CWT recoveries and the estimated total return to the river of 252 hatchery adults (age 4-5), we 10

19 estimated that 87.1% of returning hatchery adults were Age 4, and 12.9% were age 5 for an approximate age structure of 138 age 3, 219 age 4, and 33 age 5. We recovered 15 CWT s from the 2002 brood year (Age 5), 101 from the 2003 brood year (age 4), and 88 from the 2004 brood year (age 3). This expanded to an estimated 387 CWT returns to the Lostine River with the following age distribution: 31 from the 2002 brood year; 219 from the 2003 brood year; and 137 from the 2004 brood year (Table 14). No Lostine River Chinook salmon were harvested in ocean fisheries, 61 were harvested in the Columbia River migration corridor, and four were recovered in the Snake River migration corridor (Table 11). Two strays were recovered outside the Snake River basin, one from the Deschutes River, and one from the Umatilla River. A total of 10 CWT salmon were recovered as in-basin strays, one at Lyons Ferry Hatchery, two at the Pahsimeroi trap, four at the Rapid River trap, one on the South Fork Salmon River, one on the Wallow River, and one returned to Lookingglass Hatchery. Compensation Goals To assess LSRCP success of achieving mitigation goals and management objectives, we determined the total number of hatchery-produced salmon for each stock that were caught in fisheries, escaped to the stream of release, or strayed within or outside the Snake River Basin. The number of hatchery-produced salmon that were caught in fisheries or strayed was based on estimated CWT recoveries from the RMIS database. Because not all of a cohort within a stock were CWT marked (i.e., ad only, failed CWT application), the estimated number recovered in each recovery location was further expanded by dividing it by the proportion of the cohort with CWT marks. The number of hatchery-produced salmon that escaped to the stream of release was determined using the method described in Monzyk et al. (2006a). To determine the return to the LSRCP Compensation Area, defined as the Snake River Basin above Lower Granite Dam, we summed all estimated escapement for the 2007 return year above Lower Granite Dam. Imnaha River The annual compensation goal for the Imnaha Basin is 3,210 hatchery adults. We estimated that 1,595 Imnaha River hatchery adults returned to the compensation area, 49.7% of the goal for the Imnaha River stock (Table 9). The primary factors causing hatchery returns below the compensation goal were low natural adult returns during the 2003 and 2004 brood years that limited broodstock collections and subsequent smolt production, as well as limited rearing capacity at Lookingglass Hatchery. The recruits-per-spawner ratio for hatchery- and natural-origin Imnaha River salmon that spawned naturally in 2002 was 0.07, much lower than the brood years, slightly higher than the 2001 brood year (0.05) and below replacement (Figure 1). The recruits-per-spawner (R:S) ratio for the hatchery component was 4.3, better than naturally spawning salmon, above replacement, but lower than the last seven years. The R:S ratios reported here include jacks and are not adjusted for estimates of pre-spawn mortality. Grande Ronde Basin In the Grande Ronde Basin, the annual compensation goal for all stocks combined was set at 5,820 hatchery adults. We estimated that 196 Catherine Creek, 78 Grande Ronde River, and 216 Lookingglass Creek, and 390 Lostine River, hatchery adults returned to the basin. The 11