Monitoring and Evaluation of Supplemented Spring Chinook Salmon and Life Histories of Wild Summer Steelhead in the Grande Ronde Basin

Transcription

1 Monitoring and Evaluation of Supplemented Spring Chinook Salmon and Life Histories of Wild Summer Steelhead in the Grande Ronde Basin Annual Report 23 March 26 DOE/BP-659-9

2 This Document should be cited as follows: Boe, Stephen, Rey Weldert, Carrie Crump, "Monitoring and Evaluation of Supplemented Spring Chinook Salmon and Life Histories of Wild Summer Steelhead in the Grande Ronde Basin", 23 Annual Report, Project No , 71 electronic pages, (BPA Report DOE/BP-659-9) Bonneville Power Administration P.O. Box 3621 Portland, OR 9728 This report was funded by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), U.S. Department of Energy, as part of BPA's program to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife affected by the development and operation of hydroelectric facilities on the Columbia River and its tributaries. The views in this report are the author's and do not necessarily represent the views of BPA.

3 Monitoring and Evaluation of Supplemented Spring Chinook Salmon and Life Histories of Wild Summer Steelhead in the Grande Ronde Basin Annual Report 1 January 23 through 31 December 23 Stephen J. Boe Rey L. Weldert Carrie A. Crump Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Program P. O. Box 638, Pendleton, Oregon 9781 (541) Prepared for: Ken Kirkman, Project Manager U.S. Department of Energy Bonneville Power Administration Division of Fish and Wildlife P. O. Box 3621 Portland, Oregon Project BPA Contract No. 659 CTUIR Project 413 June 25

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 3 INTRODUCTION... 6 STUDY AREA... 7 METHODS... 1 Juvenile Spring Chinook Salmon... 1 Adult Spring Chinook Salmon SECTION I. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ENDEMIC SPRING CHINOOK SALMON SUPPLEMENTATION IN CATHERINE CREEK AND THE UPPER GRANDE RONDE RIVER, OREGON RESULTS Juvenile Spring Chinook Salmon Adult Spring Chinook Salmon DISCUSSION SECTION II. LIFE HISTORY OF SUMMER STEELHEAD IN CATHERINE CREEK AND THE UPPER GRANDE RONDE RIVER, OREGON... 5 METHODS... 5 RESULTS... 5 DISCUSSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LITERATURE CITED PART III. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO PROGRAM COOPERATORS PART IV. SUMMER STEELHEAD GENETICS PART V. GENETICS MONITORING RECOMMENDATINS FOR SUMMER STEELHEAD APPENDICES

5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This is the sixth annual report for a multi-year project designed to monitor and evaluate supplementation of endemic spring Chinook salmon in Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River. These two streams have historically supported anadromous fish populations that provided significant tribal and non-tribal fisheries. Conventional and captive broodstock supplementation methods are being used to restore these spring Chinook salmon populations. Statement of Work Objectives for 23 included: 1. Participate in management forums and develop management, monitoring and evaluation strategies and master plans in cooperation with co-managers for the restoration of salmon, steelhead and bull trout and their habitats within the Grande Ronde River Basin. 2. Evaluate and contrast performance of supplemented endemic juvenile spring Chinook salmon of conventional and captive brood hatchery origin acclimated and released at facilities on Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River and naturally-produced juveniles. 3. Evaluate life history differences between natural and supplemented (hatchery-origin F 1 ) adult spring Chinook salmon from Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River. 4. Describe life history characteristics and genetic stock structure of adult summer steelhead from Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River. 5. Assist comanagers with program activities. Prior to 22, this project included operations and maintenance (O&M) and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) components. Beginning in 22, project O&M responsibilities were removed and placed in a separate project (Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Project 9873, BPA Contract No. 659, CTUIR Project 41), with a separate budget and reporting requirements. We report here the spring Chinook salmon monitoring and evaluation and summer steelhead life history components (BPA Project 9873, BPA Contract No. 659, CTUIR Project 413). A total of 129,75 Catherine Creek spring Chinook salmon smolts were acclimated and released from 7 March April 23, and 237,446 upper Grande Ronde River smolts from 1 March-14 April 23. All smolts acclimated at both facilities were marked with coded-wire tags (CWT) and adipose fin clips. Approximately 1% of the upper Grande Ronde River and 16% of the Catherine Creek smolts also were PIT-tagged. Conventional broodstock progeny from each stream received visual implant elastomer (VIE) tags in the fatty tissue immediately posterior to the eye. 3

6 Smolts acclimated and released were progeny of both captive and conventional broodstocks. Fish were acclimated in two groups at each facility to maintain desired loading densities. Volitional release began after about one week and forceout of remaining fish occurred about two weeks later. Mean fork lengths at PIT-tagging of various groups of hatchery-origin fish from Catherine Creek ranged from mm fork length (FL) (overall mean 129.5, n = 2,69) and (overall mean 126.6, n = 2,478) for upper Grande Ronde River fish. Median arrival dates (expanded for spill) at Lower Granite Dam of various groups of PIT-tagged fish from Catherine Creek ranged from 2 April 23 to 12 May 23 (overall median 29 April 23, expanded n = 3,96) and for the upper Grande Ronde River ranged from 24 April 23 to 14 May 23 (overall median 5 May 23, expanded n =497). Minimum cumulative detection rates in the Snake River-Columbia River migration corridor of various groups of PIT-tagged fish from Catherine Creek ranged from % (recapture totals ranged from 154-5,38) and % for the upper Grande Ronde River fish (recaptures ). Adult salmonid traps were operated near La Grande, Oregon on Catherine Creek from 5 March 23-1 August 23 and on the upper Grande Ronde River from 19 March 23-1 August 23. Life history data were collected from summer steelhead and spring Chinook salmon. A portion of the spring Chinook salmon trapped from each stream were kept for use as conventional broodstock, transported to Lookingglass Hatchery and held in ponds, and spawned during August-September 23. Two hundred and twenty-four wild (unmarked), upstream-migrating summer steelhead were captured from Catherine Creek during 12 March May 23. Fork lengths ranged from mm. Forty-six unmarked fallbacks were collected; all had been previously collected at the weir and marked with opercle punches. The estimated population of upstream-migrating summer steelhead passed above the weir was 224. Fifty-six unmarked, upstream-migrating summer steelhead were captured from the upper Grande Ronde River from 21 March-21 May 23. Fork lengths ranged from mm. Twenty-one unmarked fallbacks were collected; all had been previously collected at the weir and marked with opercle punches. The estimated population of summer steelhead passed above the weir was 57. Tissue samples were collected from all unmarked adult summer steelhead collected from Catherine Creek, the upper Grande Ronde River, and Lookingglass Creek during CRITFC (Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission) geneticists were contracted to analyze these tissues and completed a report during Two hundred and fifty-four wild (unmarked) and 35 hatchery-origin (ad-clipped) adult spring Chinook salmon (first time captures) were collected at the Catherine Creek weir from 13 May July 23. Age composition of wild fish determined from scales was 1.5% age 3, 27.2% age 4, and 71.3% age 5. Mean fork lengths at age were mm (age 3), 723. mm (age 4) and 94. (age 5). Age composition of hatchery fish was 23.% age 3, 6.% age 4, and 17.4% age 5. Mean fork lengths at age were mm 4

7 (age 3), mm (age 4) and (age 5). Samples aged comprised 36-47% of the total catch for hatchery and wild fish. Fifty-one wild spring Chinook salmon were retained for use as conventional broodstock. Mean fecundity of 27 females was 3,814 eggs/fish. One hundred twenty-one wild and forty-one hatchery adult spring Chinook salmon (first time captures) were collected at the upper Grande Ronde River weir from 22 May July 23. Age composition of wild fish determined from scales was.9% age 3, 5.2% age 4, and 94.% age 5. Mean fork lengths at age were 48 mm (age 3), 722. mm (age 4) and mm (age 5). Age composition of hatchery fish was 9.2% age 3 and 9.8% age 4. Mean fork lengths at age were mm (age 3) and 714. mm (age 4).. Samples aged comprised 97% of the total catch of both hatchery and wild fish. Seventytwo wild spring Chinook salmon were retained for use as conventional broodstock. Mean fecundity of 23 females was 5,249 eggs/fish. Spawning ground surveys prior to regularly scheduled surveys yielded 5 prespawn mortalities on Catherine Creek and 13 on the upper Grande Ronde River. Estimated escapements of spring Chinook salmon were 483 (477 above the weir) for Catherine Creek and 29 (1 above the weir) for the upper Grande Ronde River. Adult returns from the 1998 brood year of Catherine Creek hatchery-origin spring Chinook salmon (all captive broodstock progeny) totaled 258 from and yielded smolt-to-adult (SAR) survival of.7. Genetic tissue samples from Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River hatcheryorigin and wild spring Chinook salmon were analyzed in under a subcontract to CRITFC. Low snow pack during the winter of resulted in lower-than-average peak stream flows during 23. High water temperatures probably increased stress of some returning spring Chinook salmon adults in both streams and may have precluded movement of some upper Grande Ronde River fish to the best spawning area above Vey Meadows. The high efficiencies at both trapping sites resulted from low flows and low debris loads during the spring freshet period. Hatchery-origin smolts released into both streams were much larger than outmigrating wild fish collected by ODFW. Survival of hatchery smolts, as represented by minimal detection rates of PIT-tagged fish in the migration corridor, was slightly less than for wild fish tagged and released in the spring. Migration timing for Catherine Creek hatchery smolts was earlier and more concentrated than for wild fish. Migration timing for upper Grande Ronde River smolts was more similar to wild fish. Hatchery-origin age 4/5 fish from Catherine Creek showed different migration timing than wild fish. Hatchery fish appeared to spawn in the same stretches of the streams as natural fish. Higher numbers of redds have been seen in the last 2 years in the reach just above the Catherine Creek acclimation site. Hatchery fish seemed to retain more eggs than wild fish. 5

8 Program assistance provided to comanagers in 23 included collection of captive broodstock parr from Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River, maturity sorts and spawning activities at Bonneville Hatchery and Lookingglass Hatchery and spawning ground surveys in the Grande Ronde, Imnaha, and Wenaha basins. INTRODUCTION Spring Chinook salmon populations in Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River, along with other streams in the Snake River Basin, have experienced severe declines in abundance over the past two decades (Nehlsen et al. 1991). In order to prevent extinction in the short term, and rebuild populations over the long term, a supplementation program for spring Chinook salmon in Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River was initiated, incorporating the use of both captive and conventional broodstocks. The captive broodstock component of the program (BPA Project ) uses natural parr collected by seining that are reared to maturity at facilities near Seattle, Washington (Manchester Marine Laboratory) and Hood River, Oregon (Bonneville Hatchery). These fish are spawned, their progeny reared in hatcheries, and acclimated and released into the streams of parental origin. The conventional broodstock component uses unmarked fish collected at traps near the spawning areas, transported to Lookingglass Hatchery near Elgin, Oregon, and held until ripe. These fish are spawned, and their progeny are also reared in a hatchery environment, acclimated, and released into the streams of parental origin. All progeny released receive one or more marks including a fin (adipose) clip, coded-wire tag, PIT tag, or visual implant elastomer tag. Comanagers developed a management plan for spring Chinook salmon in the Grande Ronde Basin in 22 (Zimmerman and Patterson 22). Activities of this project are directly linked with those of comanagers, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and Nez Perce Tribe. These agencies cooperate in carrying out an integrated monitoring and evaluation plan for spring Chinook salmon in the Grande Ronde Basin. Some projects related to supplementation in the basin are funded directly by BPA, or by the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), using funds provided by BPA. Supplementation has many definitions (Bugert 1998). The supplementation program for Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River spring Chinook salmon conforms to the definition by RASP (1992): Supplementation is the use of artificial propagation in an attempt to maintain or increase natural production while maintaining the long-term fitness of the target population and keeping the ecological and genetic impacts on nontarget populations within specified limits. Bugert (1998) described the functional underpinnings of this definition (e.g., trapping broodstock close to where they spawn). Monitoring and evaluation of supplementation methods and results are necessary to determine program effectiveness (Bugert 1998). 6

9 Activities for this project focus on two life stages of spring Chinook salmon: juveniles during the migration from freshwater to the ocean and adults during prespawning migration through the end of spawning. Life history, production, and genetics are monitored and used to evaluate program effectiveness. Wild steelhead populations in the Snake River basin have declined along with other anadromous species. Sport fisheries in the Grande Ronde and Imnaha Rivers were closed in 1974 (Flesher et al. 2). Managers have used harvest augmentation of summer steelhead since 1978 to provide sport fisheries in Catherine Creek, the upper Grande Ronde River, and other streams in the Grande Ronde Basin (Carmichael et al. 199). Creel surveys conducted since 1985 indicate this program has been very successful (Flesher et al. 2). However, the hatchery stock used (Wallowa), for reasons poorly understood, has a high rate of straying into the Deschutes River. For this and other reasons, the National Marine Fisheries Service (renamed in 23 as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Fisheries) has directed that the use of Wallowa stock be phased out by 28 (NMFS 1999). A new biological opinion regarding steelhead is due out in 24. Few baseline life history data exist for Grande Ronde Basin summer steelhead and has limited the development of management alternatives. The existence of adult collection weirs on Catherine Creek, the upper Grande Ronde River, and other streams in the basin provide opportunities to collect valuable adult life history information during the spawning migration that occurs during February-July. STUDY AREA The Grande Ronde River originates in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and flows for 341 km to join the Snake River near Lewiston, Idaho (Figure 1). Gradient is moderately steep in the upper reaches, becoming more gradual from La Grande, Oregon, to the mouth. The Grande Ronde River drains a sparsely populated watershed of approximately 13,727 km 2 dominated by agriculture, logging and outdoor recreation (Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) 1995). The largest towns are La Grande (population 12,), Enterprise (1,95), Union (1,88), Elgin (1,6), and Joseph (1,54). Land ownership in the watershed is 53% private, 46% U. S. Forest Service, and less than 1% each by the Bureau of Land Management, and state and tribal agencies (ODEQ 1995). McIntosh et al. (1995) summarized field notes from stream habitat surveys of the Umatilla, Tucannon, Asotin, and Grande Ronde River Basins completed during General descriptions of the terrestrial and aquatic habitats of the upper Grande Ronde River and Catherine Creek can be found in documents produced by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ 1995, ODEQ 1998, ODEQ 22). Wissmar et al. (1994) and McIntosh et. al. (1994a, 1994b) reported changes in a number of habitat or environmental features in the Grande Ronde Basin from surveys conducted 5 years apart, including land use, pool frequency, occurrence of large pools, large woody debris, dominant stream substrate, percentage of stream substrate by type, stream discharge, timing of peak discharge, base discharge, precipitation, temperature and snow 7

10 pack. McHugh and Budy (22) summarized spring Chinook salmon habitat in the upper Grande Ronde River. Duncan (1998) described the synthesis of law and science in efforts to restore ecosystem integrity to the Grande Ronde Basin. Langston (1996) described historical resource use of the Blue Mountains, particularly emphasizing forestry practices. 8

11 Figure 1. The Grande Ronde Basin, showing adult collection weirs ( acclimation ( ) sites. ) and juvenile 9

12 METHODS Juvenile Spring Chinook Salmon Procedures for acclimation were described in McLean et al. (23). Smolts were acclimated in two groups (early and late) at each facility due to space constraints (Table 1). The early group of hatchery-origin spring Chinook salmon smolts were delivered to the Catherine Creek acclimation facility on 7 March 23 and the late group on 24 March 23. The early group of smolts was delivered to the upper Grande Ronde acclimation facility on 1 March 23 and the late group on 24 March 23. Table 1. Acclimation summary for spring Chinook salmon smolts from Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River, 23 (data from McLean et al. 24). Start of Broodstock Volitional Number Stream Period Method Release Forceout Released Catherine 1 Captive 13 March 23 March 15,313 Creek 2 Conventional 31 March 14 April 24,392 Total 129,75 Upper Grande 1 Captive 17 March 23 March 11,114 Ronde 2 Captive 3 March 14 April 1,555 River 2 Conventional 3 March 14 April 26,891 Total 237,446 Performance attributes monitored for hatchery spring Chinook salmon smolts acclimated at both facilities included migration timing (arrival timing to Lower Granite Dam), fork length, weight, K factor (K=W/FL 3 *1 5, where W=weight in grams and FL=fork length in mm), minimum survival to Lower Granite Dam, and smolt-to-adult survival (SAR). Fish were marked several ways. All smolts were marked with adipose clips and codedwire tags by ODFW staff at Lookingglass Hatchery in 22. Some smolts were also PITtagged by ODFW staff assisted by CTUIR and Nez Perce Tribe staff at Lookingglass Hatchery in October 22. Totals PIT-tagged for Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River were 2,628 and 2,48, respectively. The much higher number of fish PITtagged for Catherine Creek serves to evaluate smolt-to-adult survival (Bouwes et al. 22). All conventional broodstock progeny were also marked with visual implant elastomer (VIE) tags to enable visual recognition as returning adults at the weirs. ODFW, assisted by comanagers, completed length, weight, and mark retention sampling of Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River spring Chinook salmon smolts at Lookingglass Hatchery from February 23 (ODFW, unpublished data). Smolts were also sampled at the Catherine Creek acclimation facility on 24 March 23 (5 fish from each of four ponds). Date and time-stamped detections of PIT-tagged smolts leaving each acclimation facility were recorded with PIT tag readers (Digital Angel 1

13 Model FS21 1 ) placed on outlet pipes at each facility. Placement of the PIT tag readers at the Catherine Creek facility potentially allowed for detection of all smolts leaving the facility. Readers probably detected a high percentage (assumed to be over 9%) of the volitionally released smolts. However, the large volume of PIT-tagged fish leaving this facility in a short period of time at force-out meant that a significant number of tags were not detected due to tag interference (multiple tags passing through the field at essentially the same time). At the upper Grande Ronde River facility, battery problems with the PIT tag readers resulted in missing significant numbers of fish as they exited the ponds. Despite these problems, we assumed that the PIT-tagged fish detected at release were representative of the entire group of PIT-tagged fish for size, migration timing, and survival. PIT tag data from the web-based PTAGIS database (Bauman et al. 1998) were used to describe migration timing to Lower Granite Dam and cumulative unique detections in the hydropower system for various groups of acclimated hatchery and wild smolts. Wild spring Chinook juveniles in both Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River were collected and PIT-tagged by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife using rotary screw traps (Jonasson et al. 22). Wild fish for Catherine Creek also included 56 fish seined and tagged at several locations during 29 July 22-1 August 22 (Reischauer et al. 23). Migration timing was described using the date of detection at Lower Granite Dam. Detections for each date at Lower Granite Dam were expanded by the amount of spill, since fish going over the dam in spill would not be detected. The expansion factor was calculated as the sum of inflow and spill divided by the inflow. Flows at Lower Granite Dam were obtained online from Columbia River DART (Data Access in Real Time) (Anonymous 24). Cumulative unique PIT-tag detections in the hydropower system during the outmigration period (release date to normally the end of July) were used to estimate minimum survival to Lower Granite Dam for various groups of outmigrating smolts. The number of unique detections was divided by the total number released to obtain the minimum survival estimate. Detections included PIT-tags recovered on islands near the Columbia River estuary. These tags were from fish eaten by cormorants or other avian predators (Collis et al. 22). Point estimates of survival to Lower Granite Dam by this method reasonably approximate estimates made using more sophisticated estimators (e.g. Burnham et al. 1987), but yield unreliable confidence intervals (Tom Berggren, personal communication). Using data from Reischauer et al. (23), minimum detection rates averaged.5 lower than Cormack-Jolly-Seber survival estimates for 33 groups of Catherine Creek wild spring Chinook salmon smolts during the years Future analyses will include use of estimators such as MARK (White 24) that calculate precision and provide for hypothesis testing. Adult Spring Chinook Salmon Adult spring Chinook salmon life history attributes for Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River included migration timing (arrival at weirs), smolt-to-adult survival 1 Mention of this commercial product does not imply endorsement. 11

14 (SAR), abundance, age, length and sex frequencies, length-at-age, hatchery/wild ratios, fecundity, egg weight, occurrence of strays, genetic diversity, spawn timing, redd numbers and distribution, and fractions of spawned-out females observed on the spawning grounds. Much of the information for this project was collected at adult collection weirs and during spawning ground surveys. ODFW coordinates spawning ground surveys of known spawning areas of Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River during 3 consecutive weeks in late August and early September (Parker et al. 1995), assisted by comanagers. Data are also collected during additional pre- and post-spawning surveys and spawning of conventional broodstock at Lookingglass Hatchery. McLean et al. (23) described weir operations and methods used to collect data for summer steelhead and spring Chinook salmon captured at the upper Grand Ronde River and Catherine Creek adult traps. On a few occasions, upstream-migrating summer steelhead or spring Chinook salmon previously sampled swam back over the weir and were trapped again; these fish were omitted from the data summaries. Trapping efficiency was estimated as the number of marked fish released above the weirs divided by the estimated population of spawners above the weir. Some fish from each stream were removed to maintain appropriate hatchery/wild ratios and some were taken to Lookingglass Hatchery for use as broodstock. Only unmarked spring Chinook are currently used for conventional broodstock. Individual weights to the nearest.1 g using an electronic balance were made for 2 randomly selected green eggs for each female. ODFW hatchery staff collected fecundity data. Viable eggs were determined for each female after fertilization by use of a mechanical egg sorter (JennSorter Fish Egg Sorter 2 ). Viable eggs plus unfertilized eggs removed during egg picking was used for estimation of fecundity. Scales from spring Chinook salmon were aged using standard methods (Mosher 1969). Age 3 spring Chinook spent one year in the ocean, age 4 spring Chinook two years, and age 5 spring Chinook, three years. Spring Chinook salmon older than age 5 are very rare in the Grande Ronde River basin. Age-length keys (Ricker 1975) were used to estimate age composition for Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River spring Chinook salmon collected in 23. SAR for the 1998 brood year of captive broodstock progeny acclimated and released from the Catherine Creek facility was estimated as the total adult spawners at ages 3-5 divided by total smolts released. We used the total catch at the weir of age 3 fish in 21. Age 3 fish ( jacks and jennies ) typically migrate later in the trapping season, when flows have dropped and trapping efficiencies are higher. Estimates of age 4 spawners in 22 and age 5 spawners in 23 were obtained by taking the population estimates for each year (ODFW, unpublished data), estimating the hatchery proportion from weir collections, and estimating the age composition from length categories in 22 (< 62 mm FL, age 3; mm FL, age 4; >799 mm FL, age 5) or scales (age-length key) in 23. Total stream returns included the population estimate of fish spawning above the 2 Mention of this commercial product does not constitute endorsement. 12

15 weir and below the weir. The below-weir spawner estimate was made using the product of redds observed below the weir and the mean number of fish per redd from the estimate above the weir. A preliminary review of environmental data available for the upper Grande Ronde River basin was conducted to develop models that might account for some of the variability in hatchery-origin smolt migration characteristics. We related the week of peak flow and magnitude of peak flow from data recorded at flow gauges near the acclimation sites to arrival timing at Lower Granite Dam and minimum detection rates though the migration corridor. Flow gauges are operated by the U. S. Forest Service and located on the North Fork of Catherine Creek about 4.4 rkm above the acclimation site and on the upper Grande Ronde River below the mouth of Clear Creek about 3.2 rkm above the upper Grande Ronde River acclimation site. Methods used for calculations of instantaneous flows and summary statistics are available at the Oregon Water Resources website ( These stations also record air and water temperatures. Water temperature data were also recorded hourly at Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River adult trap sites using Onset 3 programmable data loggers. Descriptive statistics in tabular and graphical form were the primary methods used to summarize data for different life stages and groups of spring Chinook salmon. We used Wilcoxon two-sample tests (Sokal and Rohlf 1995) to evaluate differences in migration timing and fork length of different groups of juvenile spring chinook salmon. Kolmorogov-Smirnov tests (Sokal and Rohlf 1995) were used to evaluate differences in migration timing of adult spring Chinook salmon. We used simple least squares regression to explore the relationship between flow and smolt migration timing and minimum detection rates. Statistix 7 (Analytical Software 2) was used to conduct statistical tests with a significance level of α=.5. SECTION I. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ENDEMIC SPRING CHINOOK SALMON SUPPLEMENTATION IN CATHERINE CREEK AND THE UPPER GRANDE RONDE RIVER, OREGON Juvenile Spring Chinook Salmon RESULTS Mean fork lengths and weights at PIT-tagging of various groups of hatchery spring Chinook salmon smolts were much greater than wild fish for both Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River (Table 2). Fork length distributions of four out of five groups of volitionally released fish were significantly different than forced-out fish of the same group (Table 3). Smolts grew about 6-9 mm between PIT-tagging in October 22 and transfer to acclimation facilities in March 23. Sampling of the early group of 3 Mention of this commercial product does not imply endorsement. 13

16 Catherine Creek smolts on 24 March 23 showed no detectable increase in mean FL during the acclimation period. Mean weights and K factors for hatchery fish were greater than wild fish for both streams, but these differences were not tested statistically. There did not appear to be any trend of increasing K factor with increasing FL for hatchery or wild fish from Catherine Creek (Figures 2,3), but a trend of decreasing K with increasing FL may have been present for hatchery fish from the upper Grande Ronde River (Figures 4,5). Median arrival dates at Lower Granite Dam of hatchery-origin smolts from both Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River were earlier than for wild smolts tagged and released in the spring, as well as the entire group of wild fish (Table 4). These differences ranged from days for Catherine Creek and from 3-23 days for the upper Grande Ronde River. Significant differences in arrival date distributions were evident between volitionally-released and forced-out and hatchery and wild smolts (Table 5). Cumulative percent frequency distributions of arrival dates showed substantial differences between hatchery and wild smolts, but only slight differences between the wild groups tagged and released in the spring of 23 compared to the entire wild group Figures 6, 7). The frequency distribution of arrival dates at Lower Granite Dam for Catherine Creek hatchery smolts (Figure 8) showed a compressed bimodal distribution, compared to more extended, unimodal distributions for wild smolts (Figures 9, 1). Hatchery smolts from the upper Grande Ronde River (Figure 11) had a multimodal distribution, compared to a multimodal distribution for wild fish (Figures 12, 13). Wild smolts tagged and released in the spring of 23 for Catherine Creek had slightly higher survival than hatchery smolts (Table 6). Survival rates of conventional and captive broodstock progeny differed by only 1%. Volitionally released smolts had higher survival rates than forced-out smolts. Fork lengths of detected hatchery fish were different from the entire group of PIT-tagged hatchery fish released (Wilcoxon two sample test, sample sizes 2,69;5,219, mean ranks 12,524.6:14,454., P<.1). Wild smolts from the upper Grande Ronde River also had a slightly higher survival rate than hatchery smolts (Table 7). The survival rate of conventional broodstock progeny was higher than for early or late groups of captive broodstock progeny. Volitionally released smolts (early and late groups) of captive broodstock progeny had higher survival rates than forced-out smolts. Volitionally released captive broodstock progeny had a slightly lower survival rate than forced-out smolts. Fork lengths of detected hatchery fish were significantly different from the entire group of hatchery PIT-tagged fish released (Wilcoxon two sample test, sample sizes 2,478;822, mean ranks 1,66.8,1,782.3, P<.1). 14

17 Table 2. Mean fork length at PIT-tagging and pre-transfer sampling of migration year 23 spring Chinook salmon by broodstock method a and release group b from Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River, 23*. Broodstock Release Fork Length (mm) Weight (g) K factor Stream Method Group n Mean SD Range n Mean SD Range n Mean SD Range Catherine H PT Creek Ca PR Ca V(1) 3, Ca F(1) 3, Ca All(1) 13, Co V(2) 4, Co F(2) Co All(2) 6, H All 2, W All 2, , , W Spr upper H PT 1, Grande Ca V(1) Ronde Ca F(1) River Ca All(1) Ca V(2) Ca F(2) Ca All(2) Co V(2) Co F(2) Co All(2) H All 2, W All 1, , , W Spr *ODFW, unpublished data a Ca=captive, Co=conventional, H=hatchery, W=wild b V=volitional, F=forceout, (1)=early release group, (2)=late release group, PT=prior to transfer to acclimation sites (19-21 February 23) PR=prerelease on 24 March 23 Spr= spring 23 tagged/released (CC-2/13/3-5/2/3, UGR-3/8/3-5/2/3) The entire wild groups included fish tagged from 7/29/2-5/2/3 (CC) and 9/3/2-5/2/3 (UGR) 15

18 Table 3. Results of Wilcoxon two sample tests comparing FL at PIT-tagging of hatcheryorigin spring Chinook salmon smolts released during March-April 23 by broodstock method a and release group b. Comparison Sample sizes Mean ranks Two-tailed P value Catherine Creek Ca, V vs. F 3,25;3, ; <.1 Co, V vs. F 4,531; ;2. <.1 upper Grande Ronde River Ca, V vs. F, 1 317; ;323.7 <.1 Ca, V vs. F, 2 35; ;137.1 <.1 Co, V vs. F, 2 144;34 9.8; a Ca=captive, Co=conventional b V=volitional, F=forceout, 1=early rearing group, 2=late rearing group 1.4 Mean K factor (+/- SE) FL Group (cm) Figure 2. Mean K factors by FL group for hatchery-origin spring Chinook salmon smolts from Catherine Creek, migration year

19 1.2 Mean K (+/- SE) FL Group (cm) Figure 3. Mean K factors by FL group for natural-origin spring Chinook salmon smolts from Catherine Creek, migration year Mean K factor (+/- SE) FL Group (cm) Figure 4. Mean K factors by FL group for hatchery-origin spring Chinook salmon smolts from the upper Grande Ronde River, migration year

20 1.1 2 Mean K (+/-SE) FL Group (cm) Figure 5. Mean K factors by FL group for natural-origin spring Chinook salmon smolts from the Upper Grande Ronde River, migration year

21 Table 4. Arrival dates at Lower Granite Dam of PIT-tagged migration year 23 spring Chinook salmon by broodstock method and release group from Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River, 23. Broodstock Release Stream Method Group n* N** Median Earliest Latest Catherine Ca V(1) /2 3/25 5/26 Creek Ca F(1) /1 4/2 7/1 Ca All(1) 1,655 2,17 4/26 3/25 7/13 Co V(2) /5 4/1 7/9 Co F(2) /12 4/26 6/4 Co All(2) 774 1,13 5/6 4/1 7/9 H All 2,429 3,96 4/29 3/25 7/13 W All /23 4/13 6/23 W Spr /25 4/13 6/23 upper Grande Ca V(1) /3 3/29 5/26 Ronde River Ca F(1) /5 4/3 5/31 Ca All(1) /4 3/29 5/31 Ca V(2) /24 4/6 5/19 Ca F(2) /14 4/3 5/17 Ca All(2) /3 4/5 5/27 Co V(2) /4 4/19 5/2 Co F(2) 3 6 5/14 5/12 5/26 Co All(2) /8 4/16 5/26 H All /5 3/29 5/31 W All /14 3/31 6/2 W Spr /17 3/31 6/2 * =raw detection;, ** =detections expanded for spill ; Ca=captive, Co=conventional, H=hatchery, W=wild; V=volitional, F=forceout, 1=early rearing group, 2=late rearing group, Spr=group tagged/released in spring 23 (CC-2/13/3-5/2/3, UGR-3/8/3-5/2/3) The entire wild groups included fish tagged from 7/29/2-5/2/3 (CC) and 9/3/2-5/2/3 (UGR) 19

22 Table 5. Results of Wilcoxon two sample tests comparing arrival dates at Lower Granite Dam of spring Chinook salmon smolts released during March-April 23 by broodstock method a and release group b. Comparison Sample sizes Mean ranks Two-tailed P value Catherine Creek CA, V vs. F 646; ;756.5 <.1 CO, V vs. F 727; ;56.3 <.1 H vs. W 3,96; ;266.5 <.1 H vs.wspr 3,96:157 1,571.6:2,719. <.1 upper Grande Ronde River CA, V vs. F, 1 7; ; CA, V vs. F, 2 13; ;58.7 <.1 CO, V vs. F, 2 42;6 22.2; H vs. W 497; ;425.8 <.1 H vs.wspr 497: :427.2 <.1 a b CA=capti;, CO=conventional, H=hatchery, W=wild; V=volitional, F=forceout, 1=early rearing group, 2=late rearing group, Spr=spring 23 tagged/released (CC-2/13/3-5/2/3, UGR-3/8/3-5/2/3) Cumulative % of Detections Hatchery n=3,96 Wild n=3 Wild spr=157 3/19 4/2 4/16 4/3 5/14 5/28 6/11 6/25 7/9 Week Figure 6. Cumulative percent frequency of arrival dates at Lower Granite Dam for Catherine Creek spring Chinook salmon by rearing method and week of the year, 23. 2

23 1 Cumulative % of Detections Wild n=2 Hatchery n=497 Wild spr=14 3/19 3/26 4/2 4/9 4/16 4/23 4/3 5/7 5/14 5/21 5/28 6/4 6/11 6/18 6/25 7/2 7/9 Week Figure 7. Cumulative percent frequency of arrival dates at Lower Granite Dam for upper Grande Ronde River hatchery-origin spring Chinook salmon by rearing method and week of the year, 23. Tags detected n=3, /25 4/8 4/22 5/6 5/2 6/3 6/17 7/1 Date Figure 8. Frequency distribution of arrival dates (expanded for spill) at Lower Granite Dam for Catherine Creek hatchery spring Chinook salmon,

24 Tags detected n= /13 4/2 4/27 5/4 5/11 5/18 5/25 6/1 6/8 6/15 6/22 Date Figure 9. Frequency distribution of arrival dates (expanded for spill) at Lower Granite Dam for Catherine Creek wild spring Chinook salmon, Tags detected n= /13 4/2 4/27 5/4 5/11 5/18 5/25 6/1 6/8 6/15 6/22 Date Figure 1. Frequency distribution of arrival dates (expanded for spill) at Lower Granite Dam for Catherine Creek wild spring Chinook salmon (spring release group),

25 3 Tag detections n=497 3/29 4/5 4/12 4/19 4/26 5/3 5/1 5/17 5/24 5/31 Date Figure 11. Frequency distribution of arrival dates (expanded for spill) at Lower Granite Dam for upper Grande Ronde River hatchery spring Chinook salmon, 23. Tags detected n= /31 4/7 4/14 4/21 4/28 5/5 5/12 5/19 5/26 6/2 Date Figure 12. Frequency distribution of arrival dates (expanded for spill) at Lower Granite Dam for upper Grande Ronde River wild spring Chinook salmon,

26 2 Tags detected n=14 3/31 4/7 4/14 4/21 4/28 5/5 5/12 5/19 5/26 6/2 Date Figure 13. Frequency distribution of arrival dates (expanded for spill) at Lower Granite Dam for upper Grande Ronde River wild spring Chinook salmon (spring release group), 23. Table 6. Minimum cumulative unique PIT-tag detections of migration year 23 spring Chinook salmon by broodstock method a and release b group from Catherine Creek. Broodstock Release % of Method Group # Released # Recovered % Recovered* Wild (Sp) Ca V(1) 3,251 1, Ca F(1) 3, Ca All 13,77 3, Co V(2) 4,535 1, Co FO(2) Co All 6,921 1, H All 2,628 5, W Spr W All 2, * excluding recoveries at the Snake River Trap upstream of Lower Granite Dam a Ca=captive, Co=conventional, H=hatchery, W=wild b V=volitional, F=forceout, (1)=early rearing group,(2)=late rearing group, Spr=spring 24

27 Table 7. Minimum cumulative unique PIT-tag detections of migration year 23 spring Chinook salmon by rearing method and release type from the upper Grande Ronde River. Broodstock Release % of Method Group # Released # Recovered % Recovered* Wild (Sp) Ca V(1) Ca F(1) Ca All Ca V(2) Ca F(2) Ca All Co V(2) Co F(2) Co All H All 2, W Spr W All 1, * excluding recoveries at the Snake River Trap upstream of Lower Granite Dam a Ca=captive, Co=conventional, H=hatchery, W=wild b V=volitional, F=forceout, (1)=early rearing group,(2)=late rearing group, Spr=spring 25

28 Adult Spring Chinook Salmon Adult salmonid trapping began 5 March 23 at the Catherine Creek facility and 19 March 23 at the upper Grande Ronde River facility and ceased at both facilities on 1 August 23. Dates for the first and last hatchery and wild spring Chinook salmon collected at the Catherine Creek facility were 13 May 23 and 28 July 23. The first wild fish at the upper Grande Ronde River was collected on 22 May 23, and the first hatchery fish on 4 June 23. The last wild fish was collected at the upper Grande Ronde River on 24 July 23 and the last hatchery fish on 23 July 23. No fish collected at either trap in 23 could be confirmed as strays by visual marks. None were indicated as strays by PIT tags, and coded wire tag data from snouts recovered on spawning ground surveys has yet to be received. Migration timing (arrival at the weirs) of hatchery and wild fish was similar at Catherine Creek, with jacks of both groups arriving later (Figure 14). Sample sizes for most comparisons of migration timing were too small to be useful. The one comparison made (Catherine Creek ages 4/5, hatchery vs. wild) showed a significant difference (two-tailed Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic=.22, P<.1). Two adult spring chinook radio-tagged by the Idaho Cooperative Fishery Research Unit at Bonneville Dam in 23 were recovered at the Catherine Creek adult trap. A hatchery-origin 852 mm female tagged on 1 April 23 was captured on 5 June 23 and a 96 mm wild male tagged on 18 April 23 was captured on 3 June 23. Fifty-one percent of wild spring Chinook salmon (all ages) were trapped at Catherine Creek during June, compared to 72% of hatchery fish Hatchery Jacks n=7 Wild Jacks n=6 2 Hatcher 4/5 n=235 Wild 4/5 n=248 5/7 5/14 5/21 5/28 6/4 6/11 6/18 6/25 7/2 7/9 7/16 7/23 Week Figure 14. Cumulative percentages of wild and hatchery spring Chinook salmon caught by week of the year at the Catherine Creek weir,

29 Migration timing of upper Grande Ronde River fish hatchery ages 4/5 fish appeared earlier than wild fish but only 6 wild fish were collected (Figure 15). Hatchery and wild jacks arrived later than ages 4/5 fish. Sixty-six percent of wild (all ages) fish were trapped in June at the upper Grande Ronde River facility Cumulative % of Total Catch Hatchery Jacks n=37 Wild Jacks n=2 Hatchery 4/5 n=4 Wild 4/5 n=119 5/7 5/14 5/21 5/28 6/4 6/11 6/18 6/25 7/2 7/9 7/16 7/23 Week Figure 15. Cumulative percentages of wild and hatchery spring Chinook salmon caught by week of the year at the upper Grande Ronde River weir, 23. The size distribution of hatchery jacks from Catherine Creek suggested the presence of mini-jacks (fish usually less than 5 mm FL that probably spent time in the Columbia River estuary, but not in the ocean) (Figure 16). Wild fish >62 mm FL from Catherine Creek showed two distinct age groups (ages 4 and 5) (Figure 17). Wild fish were predominantly female (53%). Hatchery fish >62 mm FL from Catherine Creek showed a much less distinct separation between age groups (Figure 18), and were also dominated by females (56%). Thirty-seven of 39 jacks collected at the upper Grande Ronde River trap were hatcheryorigin (Figure 19). Almost all fish >62 mm FL were age 5 (Figure 2). Only four marked ages 4/5 fish were collected at the upper Grande Ronde River facility; they ranged from mm and were collected from 4 June June 23. Ages 3-5 were observed in the scale samples aged for wild and hatchery fish from Catherine Creek and the upper Grande Ronde River and ages 3-4 for hatchery fish from the upper Grande Ronde River (Tables 8, 9). Mean fork lengths of ages 3, 4, and 5 wild fish from Catherine Creek were 493.7, 723., and 94. mm, respectively. Mean fork lengths of ages 3, 4, and 5 hatchery fish from Catherine Creek were 482.4, 731.2, and mm, respectively. Mean fork lengths of ages 3, 4, and 5 wild fish from the upper 27

30 Grande Ronde River were 46, 722., and mm, respectively. Mean fork lengths of ages 3 and 4 hatchery fish from the upper Grande Ronde River were and 714. mm, respectively. The catch of wild spring Chinook salmon collected at the Catherine Creek trap was dominated by age 5 (71.3%) (Table 1). Hatchery fish were dominated by age 4 (59.7%) (Table 11). Wild fish at the upper Grande Ronde River trap were dominated by age 5 (94.%) (Table 12). Hatchery fish were dominated by age 3 (9.2%) (Table 13). Percent Frequency n= Fork Length Group (cm) Figure 16. Length frequency of hatchery age 3 spring Chinook salmon caught at the Catherine Creek weir, 23 (first time captures). 28

31 Percent Frequency n= Fork Length Group (cm) Figure 17. Length frequency of wild spring Chinook salmon >62 mm FL caught at the Catherine Creek weir, 23 (first time captures). Percent Frequency n= Fork Length Group (cm) Figure 18. Length frequency of hatchery spring Chinook salmon >62 mm FL caught at the Catherine Creek weir, 23 (first time captures). 29

32 16 Percent Frequency n= Fork Length Group (cm) Figure 19. Length frequency of hatchery age 3 spring Chinook salmon caught at the upper Grande Ronde River weir, 23 (first time captures). 1 9 Percent Frequency n= Fork Length Group (cm) Figure 2. Length frequency of wild spring Chinook salmon >62 mm FL caught at the upper Grande Ronde River weir, 23 (first time captures). 3

33 Table 8. Mean, standard deviation, and range of fork lengths-at-age for wild Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River adult spring Chinook salmon caught in 23 and aged using scales. Stream n Mean FL (mm) SD Range Catherine Creek Age 3 (jacks) Age Age upper Grande Ronde River Age 3 (jack) 1 48 Age Age Table 9. Mean, standard deviation, and range of fork lengths-at-age for hatchery-origin Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River spring Chinook salmon caught in 23 and aged using scales. Stream n Mean FL (mm) SD Range Catherine Creek Age 3 (jacks) Age Age upper Grande Ronde River Age 3 (jacks) Age Age 5 31

34 Table 1. Age-length key for wild spring Chinook salmon collected at the Catherine Creek weir, 23. FL No. Number Expanded Totals Group Age 3 % Age 4 % Age 5 % Aged Collected Age 3 Age 4 Age Totals

35 Table 11. Age-length key for hatchery spring Chinook salmon collected at the Catherine Creek weir, 23. FL No. Number Expanded Totals Group Age 3 % Age 4 % Age 5 % Aged Collected Age 3 Age 4 Age Totals

36 Table 12. Age-length key for wild spring Chinook salmon collected at the upper Grande Ronde River weir, 23. FL No. Number Expanded Totals Group Age 3 % 3 Age 4 % Age 5 % Aged Collected Age 3 Age 4 Age Totals * * includes 12 fish seined below the weir and transported to Lookingglass Hatchery for broodstock. 34