Project Scope

The purpose of this project is to quickly rebuild the number of spring Chinook salmon that return to the Tucannon River.  If successful, this project will delay or prevent extinction of the Tucannon River spring Chinook salmon (listed as "Threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)).  The 2008 FY will be the ninth year of this project and will include some basic operation and monitoring costs for the captive broodstock program.

Project Location
  
The captive broodstock program will occur at three Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) locations (Lyons Ferry Hatchery (LFH), Tucannon Fish Hatchery (TFH), and Curl Lake Acclimation Pond (AP)).  LFH is located at rkm 95 on the Snake River between Lower Monumental and Little Goose Dams and is used for spawning and rearing of the captive broodstock.  Tucannon Fish Hatchery (rkm 58) and Curl Lake AP (rkm 66) are both located on the Tucannon River and are used for rearing and volitional release of captive broodstock progeny.  


Relationship to the Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Program

This proposed captive broodstock project is supported by various measures in the Northwest Power Planning Council's (Council) Fish and Wildlife Program.  Further, the project has been supported by the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA) and the Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP) for funding, and has been agreed to by the co-managers and NOAA Fisheries.  The project will support the native run of Tucannon River spring Chinook salmon in its native habitat (2.2A), and will contribute to the rebuilding of the Snake River spring Chinook salmon run (4.1A). As stated under the Council's salmon and steelhead rebuilding principles (4.1A); 1) priority should be given to activities that aim to rebuild weak upriver populations, including populations listed under the ESA, 2) this project will be linked to habitat restoration activities (Tucannon River Model Watershed Program, State of Washington's Governor's Salmon Recovery), and 3) that while additional production facilities are not recommended by the Council, the current facilities (with slight additions/modifications) used for the hatchery supplementation program will be able to satisfy the needs of the fish and achieve the goals.  

Further, WDFW and the co-managers believe this to be an emergency case (7.4C, 7.4C.1), where unless intervention takes place quickly, the population may be beyond recovery.  While captive broodstock programs can be risky (genetic integrity, catastrophic facility failures, etc.), they also have the potential to rapidly increase adult fish numbers back to a particular location.  Implementation of a captive broodstock program may be the most effective means of accelerating recovery of this depleted stock, and if held in captivity for no more than a single generation, as clearly stated in the Tucannon River Master Plan, genetic integrity and adaptability should be preserved (7.4D).  


Coordination

This project will be performed in coordination with the Nez Perce Tribe (NPT), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and NOAA Fisheries.  The USFWS provided early support by funding the operation costs, planning, and some capital construction between 1998 and summer of 2000.  NOAA Fisheries has given their approval of the project under the ESA Section 10 permitting process (Permit #1129, issued 25 July, 2000).  

WDFW will participate in coordination meetings (as referenced in the Tucannon Master Plan) to make the best possible decision to maximize the program benefits.  Both NPT and CTUIR are kept up to date of the progress of the program though monthly reports and during Lyons Ferry Hatchery Complex AOP meetings.  NOAA Fisheries, USFWS, and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will be informed of the program's progress through annual reports and presentations during the year at various scientific forums/discussions.  

WDFW will act as the lead agency in compiling and widely distributing the results and reports throughout the Columbia and Snake River basins to all interested parties.

Project Goals

The goal of this captive broodstock program is for the short-term; preservation and rebuilding of this critically depressed run of ESA listed spring Chinook salmon in the Tucannon River.  In a broader context, this program will (in the short term) assist in increasing the total number of spring Chinook that return to the Snake River Basin, and help preserve a genetically and geographically distinct population of spring Chinook within the river.  

The specific goal of this captive broodstock program is to rear spring Chinook salmon juveniles to adults.  The project will then spawn these captive adults, rear their progeny, and release up to 150,000 progeny smolts into the Tucannon River with an estimated adult return of 300 fish per brood year.  Excess fish produced from the program, should their survival be greater than expected, may be released as parr as allowed under Section 10 Permit #1129.  The 150,000 smolt release, in combination with the current hatchery supplementation program, is expected to produce 500-600 returning adult spring Chinook to the Tucannon River from return years 2005-2010.  In order to accomplish this production goal, WDFW will need to complete the following during FY 2008:

1) Progeny from the 2006 spawning will be reared at LFH and will be released at the smolt stage from Curl Lake AP during March/April 2008.

2) Continue to monitor survival of captive fish at the LFH to make sure the program is achieving it's goals, and monitor the smolt out-migration (through PIT tagging and smolt trapping), adult returns (through redd surveys and adult trapping), and natural progeny produced (DNA analysis) to evaluate the overall success of the program.

Current Project Status

Eggs collected to date from Captive Brood spawners are as follows:

2000 BY - 15,000 eggs.  Poor survival with 3,000 smolts released in 2002.
2001 BY - 250,000 eggs. 20,592 parr released in 2002 and 146,922 smolts released in 2003.
2002 BY - 176,000 eggs.  Mortality to eye-up was 68% leaving 55,711 live eggs.  44,784                            
                 smolts released in 2004.  Conducted adult outplants (97 adults outplanted - 21 BY98;  
                 76 BY99).                                                      
2003 BY -  309,416 eggs.  Mortality to eye-up was 40%.  130,064 smolts released in 2005.
2004 BY - 310,819 eggs.  Mortality to eye-up was 49%.   132,312 smolts released in 2006.                    
2005 BY -  210,296 eggs.  Mortality to eye-up was 66%.  90,056 smolts released in 2007.
2006 BY -  of May 1, 2007 we had 83,392 fish on hand.                                                          

TUCANNON RIVER SPRING CHINOOK CAPTIVE BROODSTOCK PROGRAM
BPA FY2008 PROJECT Number 2000-019-00 - Objectives and Tasks

Objective 1:  Rear captive brood progeny at LFH.

Task 1a.  Conduct daily rearing (daily feeding, pond cleaning, routine disease sampling
                and analysis, basic hatchery record keeping for feed fed, mortalities, water inflow,
                etc.) of BY06 captive brood progeny.
            
Objective 2: Establish baseline data of parents to track family and pedigree of returning adults through genetic sampling and analysis.

Task 2a.  Consolidate all DNA fin clip or opercle punch samples for the 2007 Tucannon
               River spring Chinook run.  Consolidate all other data records (i.e., length, age,
               sex, etc…) associated with DNA samples.

Task 2b.  Send all DNA samples (2007 brood year) to the WDFW Genetics Lab
               for microsatellite DNA analysis.  DNA samples will provide the baseline stock profile, and will
               allow tracking of "families" in coming generations.  Effects to the overall
               population (wild origin, hatchery supplementation origin, and captive brood
               origin) will also be monitored.  

Objective 3:  Monitor outmigration survival of captive brood progeny and supplementation fish through PIT tagging.

Task 3a.  Randomly PIT tag 1,000 captive brood fish each year.  PIT tagging for supplementation fish is funded
through LSRCP.  Survival comparisons between captive and supplementation fish will be described on a yearly basis.

Objective 4.  Compile and disseminate captive broodstock program results.

Task 4a.  Monthly and annually compile and distribute written data summaries or reports
               and complete a final written report for distribution.

Task 4b.  Participate in planning activities under the Lyons Ferry Hatchery Complex
               Annual Operations Plan (AOP).