Lake Roosevelt Sturgeon Recovery (LRSRP) BPA Project No White Sturgeon Enhancement (WSEP) BPA Project No Upper Columbia White Sturgeon Recovery Jason McLellan (CCT), Deanne Pavlik-Kunkel (STOI), and Matt Howell (WDFW)

Upper Columbia White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative Established in 2000 Recovery Plan in 2002 Goal: “…ensure the persistence and viability of naturally-reproducing populations…” and “restore opportunities for beneficial use if feasible.” LRSRP ( ) implement RP in the US

Lake Roosevelt Sturgeon Recovery Project Population assessment Setline Surveys Acoustic telemetry Fall Gill Netting (Natural recruitment monitoring) Recruitment failure research ELH studiesPredation Food availability Conservation aquaculture Preserve genetics Rebuild demographics

Population Assessment (wild fish) Setlining Acoustic telemetry (GRTS)

Population assessment (wild fish) “Adult” (FL>150 cm) conditionSetline catch composition

Population assessment (wild fish) ReachOriginN95% CIS WA 1 Wild (>70 cm FL)2,0371,093-3,293-- BC 2 (>34 cm FL)1, WA & BC 3 Hatchery (6 mo. post rel.) WA & BC 3 Hatchery (2-5 yr post rel.) Howell and McLellan (2007); 2 Irvine et al. (2007) ; 3 Golder (2007)

Conservation Aquaculture -Implementation and Adaptation- LRSRP program BY Canada broodstock BY Northport broodstock BY Larval collection UCWSRI aquaculture review Factorial mating Canada releases reduced Effective as of 2008 BY (WA sub-yearling releases from BY 2011 larvae = 3,590) ReachOriginN95% CIS WA 1 Wild (>70 cm FL)2,0371,093-3,293-- BC 2 (>34 cm FL)1, WA & BC 3 Hatchery (6 mo. post rel.) WA & BC 3 Hatchery (2-5 yr post rel.) Howell and McLellan (2007); 2 Irvine et al. (2007) ; 3 Golder (2007) Total transboundary releases through 2010 = 118,412

Conservation Aquaculture -Evaluation Summer Setline Surveys Fall Gill Net Surveys Juveniles generally confined to river-reservoir transition zone

Conservation Aquaculture -Evaluation-

100 broodstock spawned 95 genotyped ~87% alleles represented Rare alleles in broodstock not in population sample Greater population diversity?

Early Life History -Spawning- Northport area Inferred from telemetry of pre-spawn adults ( ) Documented with egg mat gear ( ) Protracted spawning period mid-late June through (at least) July Commences when temp ~13-14 C at border Not associated with dam tailrace

Early Life History -Post hatch- D-ring frame

Early Life History -post hatch- D-ring catch composition (prey principally chironomid pupae/larvae) 2008 D-ring data

Early Life History -post hatch- D-ring (late June-July) Larval abundance declines downstream Trawling (July-August) No larvae in upper reservoir Fall gill nets (October) No age-0 subyearlings Survival bottleneck Between larval and age-0 juvenile stages (July-October) Upper transition zone Predation? Contaminants? Prey base? 2008 D-ring RiverineUpper transition zone

Predator sampling Electro-fishing July-August gut samples, 13 species No sturgeon in diets Macro-invertebrate sampling Various gears July Recruitment Failure Mechanisms

Recruitment Failure Mechanisms -Larval Transport- Power peaking Catch drops off at sunrise

LRSRP and WSEP Core Program Population Monitoring Setline Fall Gill Net Telemetry Aquaculture Data Management Habitat Assessment MBES ADCP WQM Recruitment Failure Proximate mechanisms Predation Food Contaminants Larval transport Flow/Habitat modeling Empirical testing Mass Marking Larval releases WA Co-Managers Operations Plan Outline

Project Specific Components LRSRP Core Program Stock Assessment Sub-yearling gill net Aquaculture Telemetry Recruitment Failure Predator assessment Food availability Chemical mass marking WSEP Core Program Data Management Habitat Assessments Recruitment Failure Flow/habitat modeling Contaminant assessments Larval release experiment

Larval transport hypothesis Hydro-ops “Net and Jet” Proximate Mechanisms Predation Predator control Turbidity Food availability Increase productivity (fertilization) Contaminants CERCLA process Behavioral and sensory impacts Management Implications/Alternatives Behavioral and sensory impacts Decreased prey densities

Questions?