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Title: Use of a Fish Transportation Barge for Increasing Returns of Steelhead Imprinted for Homing, 1983 Annual Report.

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine if transporting steelhead, Salmo gairdneri, smolts by barge from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery to a release site in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam would result in increased returns of adults to the fishery and hatchery. Eight separately identifiable groups of about 30,000 steelhead each were marked and released in 1982. During 1983, over 251,000 smolts were marked - about 30,000 fish for each of four test lots (barged) and four control lots (released into the Clearwater River near the hatchery). The health and status of smoltification of the juvenile fish were monitored from March to the release date for each group. The fish sampled were considered to be in good health and well advanced in smoltification at release. Fish from the control release were recovered at dams and in the estuary along their migration route. Approximately 29% of the fish from the control release were transported from collector dams (Lower Granite, Little Goose, and McNary) as part of the routine transportation program. The relatively large number of 1-ocean age adult steelhead (179) recovered at adult collector dams (Lower Granite, McNary, and Bonneville) and in the Indian fishery (Columbia River Zone 6) indicates amore » high survival of steelhead released as smolts in the spring of 1982. A large return of 2-ocean age adults is expected in 1984. 3 refs.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Sponsoring Org.:
United States. Bonneville Power Administration.
OSTI Identifier:
5501577
Report Number(s):
DOE/BP-345
R&D Project: 1982-002-00; ON: DE85016338
DOE Contract Number:
1983BP39643
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
13 HYDRO ENERGY; FISH PASSAGE FACILITIES; EVALUATION; TROUT; TRANSPORT; ANADROMOUS FISHES; COLUMBIA RIVER; SURVIVAL CURVES; ANIMALS; AQUATIC ORGANISMS; FISHES; RIVERS; STREAMS; SURFACE WATERS; VERTEBRATES; Steelhead (Fish) - Transportation - Columbia River; 130600* - Hydro Energy- Environmental Aspects

Citation Formats

Harmon, Jerrel R. Use of a Fish Transportation Barge for Increasing Returns of Steelhead Imprinted for Homing, 1983 Annual Report.. United States: N. p., 1984. Web. doi:10.2172/5501577.
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Harmon, Jerrel R. Use of a Fish Transportation Barge for Increasing Returns of Steelhead Imprinted for Homing, 1983 Annual Report.. United States. doi:10.2172/5501577.
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Harmon, Jerrel R. Thu . "Use of a Fish Transportation Barge for Increasing Returns of Steelhead Imprinted for Homing, 1983 Annual Report.". United States. doi:10.2172/5501577. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5501577.
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@article{osti_5501577,
title = {Use of a Fish Transportation Barge for Increasing Returns of Steelhead Imprinted for Homing, 1983 Annual Report.},
author = {Harmon, Jerrel R.},
abstractNote = {A study was conducted to determine if transporting steelhead, Salmo gairdneri, smolts by barge from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery to a release site in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam would result in increased returns of adults to the fishery and hatchery. Eight separately identifiable groups of about 30,000 steelhead each were marked and released in 1982. During 1983, over 251,000 smolts were marked - about 30,000 fish for each of four test lots (barged) and four control lots (released into the Clearwater River near the hatchery). The health and status of smoltification of the juvenile fish were monitored from March to the release date for each group. The fish sampled were considered to be in good health and well advanced in smoltification at release. Fish from the control release were recovered at dams and in the estuary along their migration route. Approximately 29% of the fish from the control release were transported from collector dams (Lower Granite, Little Goose, and McNary) as part of the routine transportation program. The relatively large number of 1-ocean age adult steelhead (179) recovered at adult collector dams (Lower Granite, McNary, and Bonneville) and in the Indian fishery (Columbia River Zone 6) indicates a high survival of steelhead released as smolts in the spring of 1982. A large return of 2-ocean age adults is expected in 1984. 3 refs.},
doi = {10.2172/5501577},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1984},
month = {Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1984}
}
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DOI:  10.2172/5501577
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  • In 1982, the National Marine Fisheries Service began a 6-year study to determine if transporting steelhead, Salmo gairdneri, smolts by barge from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (NFH) to a release site on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam would result in increased returns of adults to the various fisheries and to the hatchery homing site. During 1982 and 1983, over 500,000 juveniles were marked and serially released as controls from the hatchery or barged as test fish to below Bonneville Dam. As of July 1986, returns of adults to various recovery sites from juveniles released in 1982 are virtually complete.more » Returns of one- and two-ocean fish from the 1983 release are nearly complete. The 1983 test releases showed much less homing impairment and delay in upstream migration than 1982 releases. Most adults from both control and test releases in 1983 and control releases in 1982 migrated a considerable distance upstream and overwintered in the Snake and Clearwater Rivers - behavior similar to Clearwater River fish previously transported from Lower Granite Dam. In contrast, many of the adults from test releases in 1982 failed to migrate upstream very far in the fall and overwintered in the Columbia River.« less

  • A 6-year study to determine if transporting steelhead, Salmo gairdneri, smolts by barge from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (NFH) to a release site on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam would result in increased returns of adults to the various fisheries and to the hatchery homing sites is reported. During 1982 and 1983, over 500,000 juveniles were marked for the study. Adults have returned to in-river sampling sites, to the sport and Indian fisheries, and to the Dworshak NFH homing site from these groups of fish that were serially released as controls from the hatchery or barged as test fishmore » to below Bonneville Dam. As of July 1985, most returns were from test and control groups released in the spring of 1982. Most returns from 1983 releases are expected during the 1985 and 1986 steelhead migration. Survival of both control and test fish released in late April and mid-May in 1982 was substantially higher than the survival of those released early (19 April) and late (31 May).« less

  • The objective of this 7-year National Fisheries Service study, which began is 1982, was to determine if transporting juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by truck and barge from Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (NFH), on the Clearwater River, to a release site on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam would result in increased returns of adults to the various fisheries and to the hatchery homing site. During 1982 and 1983, over 500,000 marked juvenile steelhead were serially released as controls from the hatchery or barged as test fish to below Bonneville Dam. Recoveries of marked adults to various recovery sites are complete.more » Fish released in 1983 showed a stronger homing ability and more rapid upstream migration than test fish released in 1982. Most adults from both control and test releases in 1983 and control releases in 1982 migrated a considerable distance upstream and overwintered in the Snake and Clearwater Rivers--behavior similar to Clearwater River fish previously transported from Lower Granite Dam. In contrast, many of the adults from test releases in 1982 failed to migrate upstream during the fall, overwintered in the Columbia River, and migrated upstream the following spring. Survival of control fish released at Dworshak NFH in late April 1982 was substantially higher than survival of those released in mid-May. Survival and homing of control fish released in late April and early May 1983 were over 10 times that for fish released in late May. Return of adults from normal hatchery releases in 1982 was the highest ever observed at Dworshak NFH.« less

  • The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), under contract to the Bonneville Power Administration, began conducting research on imprinting Pacific salmon and steelhead for homing in 1978. In the juvenile marking phase, over 4 million juvenile salmon and steelhead were marked and released in 23 experiments. The primary objectives were to determine a triggering mechanism to activate the homing imprint, if a single imprint or a sequential imprint is necessary to assure homing, and the relationship between the physiological condition of fish and their ability to imprint. Ten experimental studies are discussed. Six of the studies employed a variety of techniquesmore » for imprinting fish. The remaining four tested the feasibility of imprinting fish by a short-distance voluntary migration before transport. In five experiments, survival was enhanced by the imprint-transportation procedures, and homing to the homing site area was partly successful. Returns from the Astoria, Oregon, release of fall chinook salmon from Big Creek Hatchery (Knappa, Oregon), for example, showed that limited short distance migration imprinting should provide 2-3 time more fish to the various fisheries while providing adequate returns to the hatchery for egg take each year. 21 refs., 12 figs, 12 tabs.« less

  • ; ;
    The main functions of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Aquaculture Task biologists and contractual scientists involved in the 1978 homing studies were primarily a surveillance of fish physiology, disease, and relative survival during culture in marine net-pens, to determine if there were any unusual factors that might affect imprinting and homing behavior. The studies were conducted with little background knowledge of the implications of disease and physiology on imprinting and homing in salmonids. The health status of the stocks was quite variable as could be expected. The Dworshak and Wells Hatcheries steelhead suffered from some early stresses in seawater,more » probably osmoregulatory. The incidences of latent BKD in the Wells and Chelan Hatcheries steelhead and Kooskia Hatchery spring chinook salmon were extremely high, and how these will affect survival in the ocean is not known. Gill enzyme activity in the Dworshak and Chelan Hatcheries steelhead at release was low. Of the steelhead, survival in the Tucannon Hatchery stock will probably be the highest, with Dworshak Hatchery stock the lowest. This report contains five previously published papers.« less