In its 1993 Strategy for Salmon, the Northwest Power Planning Council (now Northwest Power and Conservation Council) recommended that terminal or "select area" fishing sites be identified and developed to harvest abundant fish stocks while minimizing the incidental harvest of depressed stocks.  The Council called on the Bonneville Power Administration to fund a study to evaluate potential select area fishery sites and opportunities.  This project is an extension of the hatchery system that utilizes existing hatchery facilities to spawn, hatch, and conduct initial rearing of juvenile salmonids for subsequent outplanting to net-pen facilities at each of the select area fishery evaluation (SAFE) sites.  The new name for SAFE is now Select Area Fisheries Enhancement beginning with the 2007-09 funding period.  The project has been conducted in three distinct stages: an initial research phase to investigate potential sites, salmon stocks and methodologies; a second phase of introduction into areas of greatest potential as shown from the initial stage and expansion in Youngs Bay; and a final phase of establishment of select fisheries at full capacity at all acceptable sites. The final phase is intended to establish select area fisheries at full capacity at all acceptable sites through adaptive management strategies, however no site is currently rearing all species of fish at full capacity, and several potential sites have not been thoroughly evaluated.  Although expansion has been constrained somewhat by stock availability, limitations on funding will control progression into this third phase of the program.

There are currently four Select Area Fishing sites: Youngs Bay, Blind Slough and Tongue Point in Oregon and Deep River in Washington.  Each site provides both recreational and commercial fishing opportunities, although season structure and target species differ with current management goals and production strategies.  Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Clatsop County Economic Development Council are co-contractors for the SAFE Project.  Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) would receive $543,568 of the approximate $1.8 million FY 2008 budget for the project, of which $483,038 or 89% of the funds are used directly for fish production and fish marking costs.  The remainder of WDFW's share of the contract or $60,530 covers fishery sampling, stream surveys, hatchery sampling, test fishing, fishery management and analysis, project coordination, administration and other costs.  WDFW currently produces about 350,000 spring chinook and 550,000 coho salmon at Grays River Hatchery.

Sampling of the recreational fisheries, spawning grounds, and at the hatcheries provides additional tag recovery data that is used to monitor survival, stray rates, and fishery contribution.  Production, acclimation, and release strategies have varied over time at each site as empirical results from CWT releases have been analyzed to determine which methods have the best survival, highest fishery contribution, and lowest stray rate.  For all sites combined, annual SAFE project smolt releases during 1993-2005 have ranged between 2.0-4.2 million coho, 0.4-1.8 million spring chinook, 0.1-0.6 million upriver bright fall Chinook, and 0.1-1.4 million select area bright fall Chinook.

The SAFE Program releases high quality hatchery salmon smolts from net pen sites in terminal fishing areas.  These fish subsequently provide significant harvest opportunity for sport and commercial fishers when they return as adults.  The economic value of the fishery, as measured in ex-vessel dollars, has increased from approximately $198,000 in 1996 to $1.2 million in 2004.  The SAFE program has demonstrated high survival rates for smolts released by the project, high harvest rates and low stray rates for returning adults, low impacts to non-local salmonids, and high economic value to the fishers and the communities that benefit from the fisheries.  Plans for the third phase of the project, maximizing production releases for all species at all sites has been limited by available funding.  Emphasis in 2007-2009 will be to return efforts to areas known to provide the best harvest opportunities while avoiding non-local stocks.

This project will continue the development and expansion of the SAFE sites to maximize harvest of returning adults and minimize catch of non-SAFE stocks at existing and potential sites; coordinate activities with Washington and Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife, Clatsop County, Bonneville Power Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Salmon For All; and compile project results and information.

Objectives for this year are as follows:

*  Rear spring chinook and coho salmon at the Grays River Hatchery and Deep River net pen site.
*  Conduct spring and fall fisheries in Deep River.
*  Tag and mark both coho and spring Chinook
*  Benthic invertebrate and sediment monitoring
*  Collect homing and straying information
*  Site Prep
*  Test Fishing
*  Analysis of test fishing and homing and straying information