Download Coho- Integrated - Northwest Power and Conservation Council

APRE Summary
Program name:
Coho- Integrated
Subbasin:
Wenatchee
ESA status:
Not listed and not a candidate for listing
Operator: Yakama Nation
Co-operators
Role
Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife
Co-Project Manager
Bonneville Power Administration
Primary Funding Source/Technical Work Group Member
Confederated Tribes of the Colville
Reservation
Technical Work Group Member
National Marine Fisheries Service
ESA Policy/Technical Work Group Member
Northwest Power Planning Council
Fish & Wildlife Program-Regional Policy/Technical Work
Group Member
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
ESA/Leavenworth Hatchery Complex Manager/Technical
Work Group Member
U.S. Forest Service
Owner-Manager of Remote Facilities Lands/Technical
Work Group Member
Funding Source(s)
Bonneville Power Administration
Annual Operating Cost*
$ 802,000
*Annual Operating Cost is reflected in dollars. The origin of this value is not consistent among programs, as it may reflect total
facility costs or multiple programs for a given species.
The purpose of this program is to contribute to: Harvest, Conservation/recovery and Research and/or education, as
mitigation for: Hydro impacts.
This is an integrated program.
Program description:
Location
Age Class
Maximum
Number Size (fpp)
Release
Date
Stream
Release Point (RKm)
Major
Ecoprovince
Watershed
Eggs
Unfed Fry
Fry
Fingerling
Yearling 1,000,000
19.2-19.5
April 15-May
30
Nason Creek
Butcher Creek
acclimation site, RKm
13.2
Nason Creek
Early Pond acclimation
site, RKm 13.7
Nason Creek
Whitepine acclimation
site, RKm 18.0
Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek
acclimation site, RKm
0.81
Icicle Creek
Leavenworth NFH, Dam
5, RKm 4.5
Little Wenatchee
R.
Two Rivers, RKm 0.81
Wenatchee R
Brender, RKm 3.2
Chumstick Creek
Uncertain [possible
direct stream release]
Nason Creek
Mahar Pond, RKm 21.2
Nason Creek
Couler Pond, RKm 12.1
Wenatchee
Columbia
Cascade
Comment:
PROGRAM PLAN: Adult coho are captured and collected at the Leavenworth NFH, Dryden Dam, and Tumwater Dam
trapping facilities and transported to the Entiat NFH for holding and maturation.
Spawning and incubation to eyed-egg take place at the Entiat NFH, Leavenworth NFH, and Peshastin facilities. Eggs
are and then transferred to the Cascade Hatchery (ODFW) and Willard NFH (USFWS) located in the Columbia River
Gorge, where they are hatched and reared, and then transported to the Wenatchee Subbasin for final rearing, smolt
acclimation, and release.
Pre-smolts are reared and acclimated in semi-natural ponds or river side channels at the sites indicated in the table
above. Smolts are volitionally released from the acclimation sites at ~19.2-19.5 fpp during the period of April 15May 30.
Broodstock source Adult Coho Returns Collected at Tumwater Dam, Dryden Dam, and Leavenworth
National Fish Hatchery
Broodstock collection location Dryden Dam/Wenatchee River/RKm 25.8/Wenatchee; Tumwater Dam/Wenatchee
(stream, RKm, subbasin) River/RKm 52.0/Wenatchee; Leavenworth NFH/Icicle Creek/RKm 4.3/Wenatchee
Adult holding location (stream,
Entiat National Fish Hatchery/Entiat River/RKm 11.2/Entiat
RKm, subbasin)
Spawning location (stream,
Entiat National Fish Hatchery/Entiat River/RKm 11.2/Entiat
RKm, subbasin)
Incubation location (facility Green Egg-Eyed Egg Phase: Leavenworth NFH/Icicle Creek/RKm 4.3/Wenatchee;
name, stream, RKm, subbasin) Peshastin Incubation Facility/Peshastin Creek/RKm ?/Wenatchee; Entiat National Fish
Hatchery/Entiat River/RKm 11.2/Entiat Eyed Egg-Emergent Phase: Cascade Hatchery
(ODFW)/Columbia River (Off-River)/RKm/Columbia Gorge; Willard National Fish
Hatchery/Columbia River (Off-River)/RKm/Columbia Gorge
Rearing location (facility name, Cascade Hatchery (ODFW)/Columbia River (Off-River)/RKm/Columbia Gorge; Willard
stream, RKm, subbasin) National Fish Hatchery/Columbia River (Off-River)/RKm/Columbia Gorge
Comment: Because coho salmon have been extirpated in the Wenatchee and Methow basins, the research into the feasibility
of reintroducing the species relies on development of a coho broodstock from lower Columbia River populations. No wild stock
from the mid-Columbia exists to use, and wild stocks from other areas such as British Columbia currently are unavailable. The
domesticated Lower Columbia River stock (which originated from the Toutle River stock, with recent infusions of Sandy River
stock) is being used as initial broodstock. These fish would came as smolts from Willard or Cascade hatcheries. In 2000,
700,000 smolts came from Cascade and 400,000 from Eagle Creek, but Eagle Creek is no longer used as a source. The
numbers from each hatchery are negotiated annually, but the fish are from essentially the same stock regardless of which of
the three lower river hatcheries they come from.
Beginning in 1999, adult coho returning to the mid-Columbia from earlier releases in the Methow basin were collected at Wells
Dam and Winthrop NFH for use as broodstock. Other collection points were added in later years (see section 1.5). Broodstock
collection goals are developed annually. As adult returns increase, the project will rely less on the Lower Columbia River stock.
To maximize the potential for genetic variability and naturalization of the returning population, the project would initially use
most of the returning coho for broodstock, collected throughout the run. Hatchery fish that return to the mid-Columbia will
have gone through a substantial selection process to survive the long migration and the variety of obstacles they encounter in
the journey, which is expected to enhance the trend toward local adaptation.
Ideally, adults collected at Wells Dam would be used to develop a Methow basin broodstock, and adults collected at Dryden or
Tumwater dams would be used to develop a Wenatchee basin broodstock. However, the number of adults returning is likely to
constrain the program from meeting the ideal for much longer than the scope of this plan. For this period, in general,
Wenatchee returns are incubated at Entiat NFH and then at lower river hatcheries and returned to the Wenatchee for
acclimation. Methow returns are spawned and reared at Winthrop NFH, to the extent of their capacity. The localized stocks are
supplemented with progeny of lower Columbia River hatchery stocks if necessary to meet production numbers. Release
guidelines are specified in section 10.4.
Broodstock Source
Origin
Willard NFH Type S Coho
Year(s) Used
Begin
H
End
U
Cascade Hatchery (ODFW) Type S Coho H
2000
U
Eagle Creek NFH Type S Coho
2000
2000
H
Status and goals for target stock:
= Low
= Medium
Now
Biological
Significance
= High
10-15 years
30-50 years
Viability
Habitat
Hatchery program performance indicators for the target stock:
Natural Escapement (Natural)
Spawning and Escapement
(#s of fish)
1400
Natural Escapement (Hatchery)
Hatchery Spawning (Natural)
1200
Hatchery Spawning (Hatchery)
1000
800
600
400
200
20
01
19
99
19
97
19
95
19
93
19
91
19
89
0
Return Year
Recruits per
Spawner
Smolt-to-Adult
Survival
Escapement and Hatchery Spawning
Total Catch
Consistency of hatchery program with the goals for the target stock:
The goal for this stock is its reintroduction into the Wenatchee subbasin. The strategy to use an integrated hatchery program
as part of the strategy for the reintroduction is consistent with this goal. The program is still in a transition stage. Insufficient
numbers of naturally produced returns are available to conduct a fully integrated program, but a plan is in place that intends
to achieve a locally adapted stock over time.
Guidelines for improving key operational elements to increase the likelihood of meeting goals
for the target stock:
Incubation

Hatchery intake screening for the incubation water supply should comply with Integrated Hatchery Operations Team
(IHOT) and National Marine Fisheries Service facility standards.

IHOT species-specific incubation recommendations should be followed for using substrate.
Rearing

Rearing water should have a chemical profile significantly different from natural stream conditions to provide
adequate imprinting of hatchery fish and minimize the attraction of naturally produced fish into the hatchery.

The water used for rearing should meet or exceed the recommended Integrated Hatchery Operations Team (IHOT)
water quality standards for the following compounds: ammonia, carbon dioxide, chlorine, pH, copper, dissolved
oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, dissolved nitrogen, iron, and zinc.

Juvenile rearing density and loading guidelines used at the facility should be based on life-stage specific survival
studies conducted on-site.

The water used for rearing should provide natural water temperature profiles that result in fish similar in size to
naturally produced fish of the same species.

The program should use a diet and growth regime that mimics natural seasonal growth patterns.
Release


Fish should be released at an optimum time and size that has been determined by a site-specific survival study.
Fish should be released at sizes and life history stages similar to those of natural fish of the same species.
These recommendations represent an opportunity to improve key operational elements for this type of program. Detailed
information on the benefits and risks of all operational phases as they affect the outcome of this program are available in APRE
Report for Coho- Integrated in the Wenatchee
Consistency of hatchery program with goals for other stocks:
Hatchery fish may affect other stocks in several ways. Naturally spawning populations may be subject to genetic interactions
through interbreeding. Ecological interactions through predation and competition may occur between the hatchery population
and other populations, and natural populations may be incidentally harvested in fisheries targeting a more abundant hatchery
stock. Abundant hatchery stocks may also mask the status of natural populations. Conversely an increase in the number of
artificially produced fish may improve the ecological function of a watershed through their contribution of marine derived
nutrients.
A number of factors are known to affect the likelihood and severity of such interactions, among them the abundance of the
hatchery population relative to other populations; the time, size and life stage at which hatchery fish are released; and the
quantity and quality of habitat available to the co-mingled stocks. The table below lists the current status of some of the
populations in the subbasin where the hatchery fish are released that might be vulnerable to these interactions.
Stock Name
Spring Chinook (Chiwawa R.)
Spring Chinook-Hatchery
Spring Chinook (White River)
Summer Chinook
Sockeye
Summer Steelhead
ESA Listing
Endangered
Not listed and not a candidate
for listing
Endangered
Not listed and not a candidate
for listing
Not listed and not a candidate
for listing
Endangered
Viability
M
M
Biological Significance
H
M
L
M
H
H
M
H
L
H
Additional reviewer comments:
The program fish are marked at a 100% rate allowing the composition of hatchery and natural population components to be
monitored.
Manager/operator response:
Depending on project needs, Methow river coho reared at Winthrop National FH may be released in the Wenatchee Basin in
addition to Wenatchee Basin coho and Lower Columbia River stocks.
Note: the Peshastin Incubation Facility is not located on Peshastin Creek.
The table of coho release sites is missing two release sites on Nason Creek, Mahar Pond @ RKM 21.2 , and Coulter Pond @
RKM 12.1
Some comments under the section ‘Consistency of hatchery program with goals for other stocks’ are not applicable to the
mid-Columbia coho reintroduction program. Currently there is no naturally spawning population to be subject to genetic
interactions through inbreeding with hatchery fish. When a naturally spawning population is established it will be the direct
result of hatchery fish spawning in the natural environment. Interactions with listed species (spring chinook and steelhead)
are being intensively studied and monitored in this program. The program is designed to reduce interactions with listed
species. Two stocks of ESA listed spring chinook are identified in this section; Chiwawa River and White River spring chinook
are not separately listed stocks, they are both part of the Upper Columbia River spring chinook ESU. The coho reintroduction
program has little to no interaction with Chiwawa River and White River spring chinook as no coho are released in the
Chiwawa or White Rivers.
Data on SARs, escapement, and hatchery spawning have been included in the ‘Hatchery program performance indicators for
the target stock’ table.