BPA Fish and Wildlife FY 1997 Proposal

Section 1. Administrative
Section 2. Narrative
Section 3. Budget

see CBFWA and BPA funding recommendations

Section 1. Administrative

Title of project
Selway River Captive Brood Supplementation Monitoring and Evaluation

BPA project number   5521100

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
Nez Perce Tribe

Sponsor type   ID-Tribe

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   ,

Biological opinion ID   

NWPPC Program number   7.4D

Short description
Determination of survival and fitness of the out-planted progeny from the Selway River chinook salmon captive brood project. Evaluate the possible contribution of Selway River captive brood as a viable chinook salmon supplementation strategy.

Project start year   1997    End year   2006

Start of operation and/or maintenance   0

Project development phase   Implementation

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects
89-098 Idaho Salmon Supplementation Studies. Will collect comparable life history data on natural and traditionally supplemented hatchery chinook salmon in other tributaries to the Clearwater River - IDFG, NPT, SBT, USFWS.

83-350 NPTH M&E. Collection and monitoring of adult chinook salmon returns to Meadow Creek (Selway River) - NPT.

IDFG Video Weir in Running Creek (Selway River). Will assist in the monitoring of chinook salmon adult returns - IDFG.

Project history

Biological results achieved

Annual reports and technical papers

Management implications

Specific measureable objectives
Objective 1: Monitor and evaluate the early life history characteristics (migration timing and minimum survival) of outplanted captive brood progeny.
Objective 2: Monitor and evatuate the contribution of Selway River captive brood progeny to adult returns/natural production in the Snake River basin.
Objective 3: Determine the usefulness of a Selway River captive brood program for preventing extinction and increasing returns of chinook salmon.

Testable hypothesis
H01: Captive brood progeny stocked into a natural environment do not exhibit typical/successful early life history characteristics (i.e. migration timing and survival).

Ho2: Use of captive brood progeny does not return adult chinook salmon.

HO3: Short term (one generation) captive brood production does not provide a survival advantage, increasing natural production.

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints
The continued successful collection and captive brood production of Selway River chinook salmon at the Clearwater Fish Hatchery for broodyears 1991 - 1996. Regardless of the overall goal and long term strategies for supplementation, efforts will be negated without improvements in mainstem passage and flow constraints to allow for an increase in smolt to adult production.

Methods
The release of Selway River captive brood progeny from the 1992 collection of Selway River juvenile chinook salmon is scheduled for the spring of 1997. All (approximately 2000) juveniles will be PIT tagged prior out-planting. Minimum survival estimates and migration timing of smolts reaching Lower Granite Dam is estimated using PTAGIS PIT tag interrogations. This data will be compared to other PIT tag data from natural and “traditional” hatchery chinook salmon from similar streams in the Clearwater River basin collected through the ISS. This study is concerned with captive brood chinook salmon and the number of fish supplemented is proportional to the amount of production in any given year. The estimated production to be out-planted in 1997 is 2000 smolts.

Brief schedule of activities
Activities during 1997 and 1998 will consist of marking (PIT tagging), stocking coordination (life stage, size, time), outmigration monitoring, PTAGIS data base analysis, and report formation. These activities will continue through 2001, but will also include adult return monitoring starting in 1999. Adult return monitoring will continue through 2006.

Biological need
Knowledge on the effectiveness of using chinook salmon captive brood progeny for supplementation, based on experimentation and experience, is lacking. The risk of failure is particularly high for upriver stocks experiencing extreme survival bottlenecks from mainstem passage constraints. The need for extreme supplementation methods as an interim recovery tool may be most pertinent for these same upriver stocks, which are rapidly declining to the point where recovery may be impossible. Compressive monitoring and evaluation of the performance of released captive brood progeny will contribute to the appropriate modification and successful application of captive brood methodologies.

Critical uncertainties
1) The ability of chinook salmon captive brood progeny to produce young which survive to return as adults, which are functional spawners.
2) Life stage at release which most effectively produces adults with minimal detrimental species interactions and produces progeny which return and successfully reproduce, under different environmental and ecological conditions.
3) The effects of captive brood progeny on supplementation on life history characteristics (emigration timing, age structure, genetic composition and variability, etc.).

Summary of expected outcome
This research will demonstrate the potential usefulness and best methods for supplementing captive brood progeny to relatively quickly increase naturally-reproducing populations of chinook salmon.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
Coordination with IDFG Clearwater Hatchery for marking and stocking procedures.

PTAGIS enables and assists in the use, interrogation, and data base management of Passive Integrated Transponder tags.

Risks
Risks are primarily associated with not conducting a complete evaluation, and failing to identify and implement the best captive brood hatchery-based recovery measures resulting in the continued decline or extinction of population and adversely impacting wild/natural populations through the use of inappropriate supplementation due to a lack of information.

Monitoring activity
This study is primarily a monitoring and evaluation project of captive brood supplementation. See above methods.

Section 3. Budget

* For most projects, Authorized is the amount recommended by CBFWA and the Council. Planned is amount currently allocated. Contracted is the amount obligated to date of printout.

Funding recommendations

CBFWA funding review group   Snake River

Recommendation    Tier 2 - fund when funds available

Recommended funding level   $0