Snake River Fall Chinook Glen Mendel Debbie Milks William Young

Overview Introduction Legal Mandates Historic & Current hatchery operations Snake River fall Chinook performance Harvest Conclusions – What do we know? – What do we not know?

Why Start a Hatchery ? Average Fall Chinook Adult Returns to Snake River Basin by Decade = Natural/wild Origin = Hatchery Origin ?

Historic and current distribution

Congressionally mandated mitigation obligations associated with the FCRPS are substantial and are not supplanted by the need to comply with the Endangered Species Act The hatchery programs in the Columbia Basin are producing fish to mitigate for the development and operation of the hydrosystem. As long as the dams are in place there is a legal obligation to provide fish. Legal Mandates

Legal Mandates Snake River Fall Chinook Hatchery Production Lower Snake River Compensation Plan – Public Law , , Idaho Power Company Hells Canyon Settlement Agreement Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery - Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning And Conservation Act 16 U.S.C. § h U.S. vs. Oregon Management Agreement Columbia Basin Treaty Tribes Accords ESA/Hatchery Genetic Management Plan Legal Mandates

Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Mitigation based on return goals 9.16 million subyearling smolts (101,880 lbs) In-place, in-kind = endemic Snake River Chinook Adult/jack Goal Escapement to Project Area 18,300 Commercial/Tribal Harvest 54,900 Recreational Harvest 18,300 Total 91,500 Legal Mandates Lower Snake River Compensation Plan

1980 Idaho Power Company Hells Canyon Settlement Agreement (IPC, ID, OR, WA, NMFS) Requires IPC to contract with appropriate state and federal agencies or otherwise provide for the trapping of sufficient fall Chinook salmon and the fertilizing and eyeing up of sufficient eggs to permit raising up to 1,000,000 fall Chinook salmon smolts. (FERC, 1980). Approximately 2,700 adults to the project area Legal Mandates

Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery to protect, mitigate and enhance the fish and wildlife, including related spawning grounds and habitat, of the Columbia River and its tributaries, particularly anadromous fish. 1.4 million subyearling smolts Adult return goal – 3,750 back to the project area Legal Mandates

U.S. vs. Oregon Harvest/Production Relationship 1995 agreement – Argument over 18 fish. Parties agreed to constrained in-river fisheries harvest rate on natural Snake River fall Chinook (for all fisheries). In exchange the agreement provided, for the first time, off-station releases of Snake River fall Chinook above Lower Granite Dam. Legal Mandates

…The Action Agencies understand that that Tribes willingness to accept spill operations as outlined above is directly related to their expectation that the Lyons Ferry production program remains stable and substantially unaltered than as currently designed for the term of this Agreement. Should that fundamental expectation be upset, the Tribes will consider this a material change and grounds for withdrawal from the Agreement, and may, after notice to the Action Agencies, advocate for spill actions that deviate from those contemplated in this Agreement… Columbia Basin Treaty Tribes Accords Legal Mandates

HGMP completed and submitted collaboratively in 2011 BiOp & Sec 10 Permit received in Oct 2012 ESA/Hatchery Genetic Management Plan Legal Mandates

Hatchery Operations Past and Present CategoryPastPresent Hatchery Facilities Lyons Ferry FCAP (acclimation ponds) Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Irrigon Oxbow PurposeEgg Bank/MitigationSupplementation/ Mitigation Release Location Downstream of Lower Granite Dam (limited by broodstock) Upstream and Downstream of Lower Granite Dam BroodstockMostly HxH ( limited by high # strays ) HxN (up to 30% natural) Hatchery operations

Cooperative and Joint Management Effort Funding Source Implementers HatcheriesLSRCP BPA/NPCC IPC WDFW, NPT, IPC, CTUIR, ODFW, IDFG Monitoring and Evaluation LSRCP BPA/NPCC BLM IPC COE PSC Redd counts (NPT, IPC, USFWS, WDFW) Juvenile behavior and survival (USFWS, NPT, USGS, NOAA) Hatchery performance (WDFW, NPT) Run reconstruction (WDFW, NPT, IPC, NOAA, UI, USvOR-TAC) Hatchery operations

Current Snake River fall Chinook Salmon Production Goals Funding SourceProduction Facility Production Capacity 1+0+ Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Lyons Ferry Hatchery 900,0002,200,000 Idaho Power CompanyOxbow Hatchery0200,000 Idaho Power CompanyUmatilla Hatchery0800,000 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery 01,400,000 Total900,0004,600,000 Hatchery operations

Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Lyons Ferry Hatchery

Broodstock Collections (~4,000 adults needed to meet full production) Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Oxbow Hatchery Hatchery operations

Hatchery Facilities and Release Locations Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Oxbow Hatchery Irrigon and Umatilla Hatcheries

Captain John Rapids Acclimation Facility Pittsburg Landing Acclimation Facility Big Canyon Creek Acclimation Facility Captain Johns Acclimation Facility

Acclimation Sites Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Oxbow Hatchery Irrigon and Umatilla Hatcheries

Broodstock Collection History Hatchery operations

Hatchery-Origin Fall Chinook Marking Strategy Hatchery operations

Age at Release Hatchery operations

Release Location in Snake River Basin Hatchery operations

Subyearling/yearling comparison Subyearling –Older ocean age –higher jack return (< 61 cm) compared to naturals –Lower average SAR –Reservoir-rearing life history Overwinter and emigrate as yearlings, increased survival Yearling –Younger ocean age –high proportion of jacks 1 ocean, > 61 cm –Higher average SAR Performance

Draft Management Escapement Goal (39,110) Fall Chinook Salmon Escapement to Lower Granite Dam ICTRT minimum viability threshold = 3,000 14,875 5,160 Performance

Number of Fall Chinook Redds Counted Upstream of Lower Granite Dam Performance

5 year average redd distribution Performance

Snake River wild fall Chinook river mouth run size and total in-river harvest rates Ave. pre ESA harvest rate 56% Ave. post ESA harvest rate 24% * * ESA listed Harvest

Snake River Fall Chinook Salmon 2010 Adult fall Chinook disposition estimates, hatchery + natural 15% 20% 15% 5% 46% Consumption* 50% Conservation 50% Harvest *Non-selective fisheries

Goal (A+J)2010 (Adults) Escapement to Project Area 18,30018,858 Commercial/Tribal Harvest 54,90021,726 X Recreational Harvest 18,3009,872 X Total 91,50031,598 Snake River Fall Chinook Salmon Harvest LSRCP mitigation goals Conclusions Met project area goal, not harvest goal Harvest

Goal 2010 Escapement to Project Area undefined9,755 ? Commercial/Tribal Harvest undefined5,484 ? Recreational Harvest undefined2,306 ? Total undefined17,545 Snake River Fall Chinook Salmon Harvest Idaho Power Corp. mitigation goals – Mitigation goal – 1,000,000 subyearlings Conclusions Undefined adult return goals – significant contribution to harvest Harvest

Goal2010 (Adults) Escapement to Project Area3,7501,631 X Commercial/Tribal Harvest undefined2,354 ? Recreational Harvest undefined898 ? Total 3,7504,883 Snake River Fall Chinook Salmon Harvest Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery mitigation goals Conclusions Return to project goals were not met, significant contribution to fisheries *minimum estimate, not expanded Harvest

Things we now know Adult abundance has increased significantly Getting closer to meeting in and out of basin mitigation goals Natural-origin adult abundance near delisting criteria. However, total abundance is well below historic levels and current management goals. Adult distribution via annual aerial redd counts. 70/30 rule between Snake and Clearwater. Large number of hatchery fish on the spawning grounds Significant mainstem state and tribal harvest via coded- wire tag recoveries and creel surveys.

Things we now know, and dont know Fall Chinook abundance has increased –changes in management or environmental improvements? Management effects? –Hatchery production/Supplementation Finally met full broodstock objectives increased number of naturally-spawning hatchery fish Reduced proportion of out-of-basin strays Smaller size and age at return –Decreased ocean and lower Columbia River harvest rates Allowed for increased adult returns to the Snake River –Corridor improvements = survival benefits summer transport/spill Environmental effects? (ocean, long-term weather patterns) –Increased SARs/productivity - similar to other stocks/species

Things we dont know The level of contribution to increased adult abundance from supplementation compared to contributions from large increases in total hatchery production & higher SARs The contribution/influence of hatchery fish on natural fish productivity The productive capacity of remaining habitat Whether hatchery programs are affecting the life history structure of the natural population Long-term viability of an ESU with only a single extant population spatial structure and diversity

Questions?