nisqually chinook hatchery management

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

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Nisqually Chinook Recovery Plan Annual Review-Hatchery Operations and Broodstock Management

Nisqually Wildlife RefugeFebruary 8, 2011


Nisqually Chinook Hatchery Production•Past▫Johnny Appleseed▫‘Mixed Stock’ releases

•Recent Past/Current▫Kalama▫Clear Creek

Stock ‘self sufficiency’ Mass marking HSRG Recommendations

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•FUTURE…..▫Utilize Mainstem Weir to support 3 Tier Broodstock

Management Natural Integrated Stepping Stone

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Nisqually Chinook Hatchery Production


Nisqually Hatchery Chinook Release Timeline

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HSRG Recommendations

Kalama Creek

Clear Creek

Johnny Appleseed Outplants


The Johnny Appleseed Era

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Salmon Egg

From 1942 – 1990 releases of up to 2 million Chinook/year were made at various locations throughout the basin.

A variety of Chinook stocks were used and included fish from Green River, Deschutes, Hood Canal, Samish, and others.


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McAllister Creek Hatchery

• Operated from 1982 to 2002

• Release targets = 1 million zero-age Chinook and 300k yearlings

• Poor water quality, high incidence of parasites, poor attraction, and other concerns prompted HSRG to recommend that the Chinook program be discontinued

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Nisqually Chinook Hatchery Production Current Conditions•Goal: Provide sustainable harvest for tribal

commercial and sport fishers.

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Kalama Creek Hatchery

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• Located on river mile 9.2

• Releases began in 1980 and varied in size from .5 – 1.3 million Chinook

• Since early 90’s current releases number approximately 600,000 and broodstock are from Nisqually returns


Clear Creek Hatchery

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• Located on river mile 6.2

• Releases began in 1991 and average 3.5 million zero-age Chinook

• All broodstock are from Nisqually returns


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Clear Creek and Kalama Creek Hatchery Vital Statistics

Period HatcheryProgram Purpose

Program Type

Broodstock Management

HOR (adults)

Program Size(million) Marking Objectives

Baseline and

Current

Kalama Creek

Harvest Segregated 420 0.6

65,000k CWT/ad clip; 100% of program ad clip

Clear Creek

Harvest Segregated 2,321 3.4

200,000 CWT/ad clip; 200,000 CWT no ad clip; 3.0 million ad clip only

Notes: HOR: hatchery-originated recruits, CWT=coded wire tag, ad clip= adipose fin clip


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Mark rates (percent fish with adipose fin clip or CWT) from adult sampling at Clear Creek and Kalama Creek hatcheries in 2003 to 2009.

Year Adult Marked % (adipose fin clip

and/or CWT)

Clear Creek

Kalama Creek Combined

2003 92% 90% 92%

2004 96% 93% 96%

2005 93% 94% 93%

2006 98% 97% 98%

2007 97% 95% 96%

2008 95% 98% 95%

2009 94% 98% 94%

Average 95% 95% 95%



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Hatchery Surplus feeds People and Ecosystem

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Nisqually Stock Management: Why Change?

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Nisqually Natural Spawning Escapement

Approx. 70% pHOS will not lead to Local Adaptation


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How do we re-establish a wild Nisqually stock while still providing harvestable numbers of hatchery fish?


Utilize Mainstem Weir to Control Hatchery Composition on Spawning Grounds

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Fish Auger


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Old Technology


Modify Broodstock Management to Support Local Adaptation• Local adaptation requires low pHOS, must have

multiple generations of natural x natural spawning• Large Nisqually hatchery program very important for

tribal commercial and sport harvest•Will not be able to exclude all HOR and meet

effective pHOS target (10%) when hatchery program > natural run

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Approach: Initiate hatchery program where the natural environment drives adaptation, reducing the impact of hatchery spawners on natural fitness


Future Broodstock Management Key Elements• Develop an integrated hatchery program to generate

broodstock to support the stepping-stone harvest program and to provide a safety net in years of critically low adult abundance▫ Total brood stock: 420 adults▫ pNOB (percent natural-origin adults in broodstock): 25%

(75 to maximum 105 adults)▫ Smolt release: 400,000 to 600,000 fish▫ Release location: Kalama Creek initially and then move to Clear Creek

after retrofit▫ Marking: 100% coded wire tags (CWT), 75,000 CWT/adipose fin clip for

double-index tagging program, the remainder no adipose fin clip


Future Broodstock Management Key Elements (cont.)

• Develop a stepping-stone hatchery program to provide harvest using brood stock collected from the integrated program return▫ Broodstock: 2,300 adults taken from integrated hatchery return▫ Smolt release: 3.4 to maximum 3.6 million, dependent on size of

integrated program▫ Release location: Clear Creek▫ Marking: 100% adipose fin clip, 100,000 CWT/adipose fin clip


Future Broodstock Management Key Elements (cont.)

• Operate an adult weir at river mile (RM) 12.3 in the Nisqually River during fall Chinook management season (early July to October 30)▫ Monitoring: count escapement at weir and number unmarked Chinook

passed upstream of weir▫ Escapement composition: exclude all hatchery-origin adults from

escapement upstream of weir▫ Broodstock collection: collect up to 105 unmarked adults at weir for

the integrated hatchery program


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Successful Stock Management will lead to full Realized Potential of Habitat Investment….

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-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

Locally adapted Hatchery dominated

Abu

ndance

Recovery Plan

Current 2010

Baseline 2009

Baseline 2001

Unrealized Potential

nisqually chinook hatchery management

Documents

clear creek hatchery

integrated hatchery

mcallister creek hatchery

initiate hatchery program

chinook program

hatchery composition

hatcheryorigin adults

nisqually stock management