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
Ann Cd Wire Tag Prog-Missing Prod OR Htch (ODFW)

BPA project number   8906900

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
ODFW

Sponsor type   OR-State/Local Agency

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   Jerry Bauer, EWN 503/230-7579

Biological opinion ID   NMFS BO - Basic Monitoring

NWPPC Program number   7.2D.4

Short description
Expand coded wire tag program to include all ODFW Columbia Basin hatchery coho and chinook salmon production releases not tagged by other programs. Use data to evaluate trends in hatchery survival, hatchery rearing and release strategies, and as input to fishery management decisions.

Project start year   1989    End year   

Start of operation and/or maintenance   

Project development phase   Implementation

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects
There are two related BPA projects, WDFW missing production groups (# 8906600) and USFWS missing production groups (# 8906500). This program also works in conjunction with the ODFW stock assessment program, ODFW Research, and the Pacific Salmon Commission tagging program for Oregon.

Project history
This project began in 1989 with the goal of production monitoring of all ODFW Columbia Basin hatchery salmon production releases. The tool chosen for this task was the coded wire tag (CWT). Since some of the production was already being tagged by other programs this project funded tagging of the remaining “missing” production groups. This project works closely with the other tagging projects, ODFW stock assessment, Pacific Salmon commission tagging, and ODFW research to create a complete database of release and recovery information for all ODFW hatchery salmon in the Columbia Basin system. This database is necessary to measure present and future levels of fish production by various hatchery and natural production components and to evaluate the success of BPA’s goal of doubling the size of fish runs in the Columbia Basin.

Biological results achieved
This project is a production monitoring program and is not designed to improve habitat or result in new production of fish or wildlife. The data provided by this program has been used to improve the survival of hatchery fish through evaluation of hatchery techniques. By representatively marking all hatchery releases it has become clear that certain release times generally produce higher survivals but that releasing fish at several different times reduces the risk of releasing in an unfavorable environment.

Annual reports and technical papers
An annual report “Annual Coded Wire Tag Program: Oregon Missing Production Groups” is produced for this project. This report includes release and recovery data for all CWT groups released by ODFW in the Columbia Basin system (including those funded by other programs). Data from this project is also used in an ODFW annual report “Stock Assessment of Anadromous Salmonids” that reports release and recovery information for CWT groups released from coastal hatcheries and some Columbia Basin hatcheries.

Management implications
This program provides information fundamental to evaluation of ODFW hatchery salmon production in the Columbia Basin. The information is used to calculate percent survival, ocean catch distribution and contribution rates, and freshwater recovery rates. It also provides information on age composition and size at age. The information provided is also used for evaluation and setting of salmon fishing seasons both in the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean fisheries. This program also helps establish a long-term database that may be useful in evaluating environmental trends and their effects on salmon.

Specific measureable objectives
Coded wire tag a representative sample from all ODFW Columbia Basin production releases of hatchery salmon that are not being tagged by another program. Calculate survival, catch distribution and catch contribution rates of all Columbia Basin CWT groups released by ODFW.

Testable hypothesis
Since this is a monitoring program there is no testable hypothesis.

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints
1) That CWT fish are representative of unmarked hatchery fish. 2) That the fisheries these fish are recovered in are sampled so that the total catch of CWT fish can be estimated.

Methods
Groups to be tagged are selected by comparing hatchery production schedules and tagging requests from other coded wire tagging programs. Any ODFW Columbia Basin salmon production groups not scheduled for tagging are then candidates for tagging under this program. Tagging is done by the ODFW fish identification section using the same techniques used for all coded wire tagging in Oregon. A pre-release check of fin clip quality and tag retention is performed on 400-500 fish a minimum of two weeks after tagging. Fish are then released according to the hatchery production schedule. Returning adults are sampled from the catch of ocean and freshwater fisheries, the hatchery, and the spawning ground surveys. Ocean and Columbia River freshwater fisheries are sampled by the fishery management agency responsible for each fishery, using statistical sampling techniques to estimate the total catch and total number of CWT fish. All fish that return to hatcheries or carcasses recovered on spawning grounds are checked for fin clips and the snout taken from adipose fin clipped fish. The coded wire tags are recovered and read at the Clackamas office. All release and recovery data is reported to the PSMFC database in Portland. The 1996 plans call for tagging 350,000 fall chinook, 155,000 spring chinook, and 250,000 coho.

Brief schedule of activities
The plans call for tagging the juvenile fish in 1997, followed by releases in 1997 and spring 1998. Returning adults will be sampled and tags read from 1998 to 2001. Data will be analyzed yearly as it becomes available. The specific groups to be tagged will depend on production and funding changes each year.

Biological need
This project is needed to provide data for hatchery evaluation and data input to the fishery management decision making process. This project also helps to establish a long-term data set that can be used for a variety of evaluations, such as correlation of measured environmental factors and salmon survival.

Critical uncertainties
Without this program, assessment of hatchery production, survival, catch distribution and catch contribution rate would have to be based on data from other hatcheries or release strategies. Different hatcheries and release strategies have been shown to effect all these measurements of hatchery production. Thus invalidating the assumption that they represent the otherwise unmarked production.

Summary of expected outcome
We expect to achieve production monitoring on all ODFW Columbia Basin salmon releases. We also expect to continue development of the CWT database for evaluation of hatchery salmon production and salmon fisheries.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
Production and release of hatchery salmonids in the Columbia Basin is regulated by NMFS under the Endangered species Act. The groups to be tagged depend on funding for the production and tagging of hatchery salmon in Oregon. Once the fish are tagged the program is dependent on the various fishery management agencies for sampling of salmon fisheries to recovery the coded wire tags.

Risks
We anticipate no change in risks to habitat, wild fish or wildlife from this coded wire tagging program.

Monitoring activity
Pre-release tag retention checks are performed on all groups to assess tagging quality. Sampling of fisheries and freshwater recovery sites will provide a measure of survival of the hatchery fish and thus the success of the hatchery programs. All CWT release and recovery information generated by and for this project will be stored in and available from the PSMFC on-line database in Portland.

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   System Policy

Recommendation    Tier 1 - fund

Recommended funding level   $175,000

BPA 1997 authorized budget (approved start-of-year budget)   $175,000