This project is a study of the relative reproductive success of naturally spawning hatchery and natural spring Chinook salmon in the Wenatchee River above Tumwater Dam. The study was initiated in 2003 in response to the 2000 BiOp RPA 182.

The project is called for in the 2008 BiOp, is consistent to the Fish and Wildlife Program research and monitoring plans, and the Wenatchee subbasin plan. The reporting of results and adaptive management implications was succinct and thorough in a much-needed ongoing project of significance to the Columbia Basin on issues of supplementation and hatchery straying. The study design is appropriate and appears to be logistically feasible (that is, they can catch the adults and juveniles to obtain genotypic data for executing the parentage analysis).

This investigation concludes that hatchery spring Chinook salmon in this watershed have substantially reduced reproductive success relative to natural-origin individuals. Reproductive success increases as fish move upstream in the watershed. Most hatchery fish spawn lower in the watershed, near where they are released. It is not entirely clear whether the reduced success of hatchery-origin adults is a consequence of their hatchery background or their choice of spawning location.

The proponents have answered the fundamental question that they originally set out to address. The initial findings raise mechanistic questions, which are amendable to further exploration. The proponents plan to run this investigation for two complete generations, through 2018 with last brood in 2013, to expand on the initial findings and gain insight into mechanistic explanations of the observations.

1. Purpose, Significance to Regional Programs, Technical Background, and Objectives

The significance to regional programs, technical background and problem description, and objectives are all well described and appropriate for the investigation.

2. History: Accomplishments, Results, and Adaptive Management

Financial Performance and History - adequate response

Deliverable Performance - Based on Pisces reports, the project has delivered fine responses.

Major Accomplishments - The project has achieved the objective of evaluating the RRS of hatchery versus natural spring Chinook in the Wenatchee River subbasin. The hatchery fish have about 50% of the fitness of natural fish. Initial investigation of potential explanatory variables suggest spawning location, age, size, and spawning date influence the difference in performance between hatchery and natural parents.

Adaptive Management - The findings have contributed to the development of hatchery fish exclusion at Tumwater Dam, a revised HGMP reflecting limits on the genotype of fish passed upstream to spawn, and ongoing efforts to develop Parental Based Tagging (PBT) to reduce or eliminate the need for broodstock collection weirs in tributaries.

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions for Type of Work (Hatchery, RME, Tagging)

Adequate responses are given for project relationships, emerging limiting factors, and tailored tagging questions.

There are no emerging limiting factors that would reduce the likelihood of success of the investigation.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

The objectives of the investigation are appropriate for the topic – RRS of hatchery salmon and evaluation of supplementation. The deliverables, work elements, metrics, and methods are all acceptable. The proponents have a commendable track record of publication in peer-reviewed literature and have solved logistic and technical issues that have arisen during the course of the project.

This project is a study of the relative reproductive success of naturally spawning hatchery and natural spring Chinook salmon in the Wenatchee River above Tumwater Dam. The study was initiated in 2003 in response to the 2000 BiOp RPA 182.

The project is called for in the 2008 BiOp, is consistent to the Fish and Wildlife Program research and monitoring plans, and the Wenatchee subbasin plan. The reporting of results and adaptive management implications was succinct and thorough in a much-needed ongoing project of significance to the Columbia Basin on issues of supplementation and hatchery straying. The study design is appropriate and appears to be logistically feasible (that is, they can catch the adults and juveniles to obtain genotypic data for executing the parentage analysis).

This investigation concludes that hatchery spring Chinook salmon in this watershed have substantially reduced reproductive success relative to natural-origin individuals. Reproductive success increases as fish move upstream in the watershed. Most hatchery fish spawn lower in the watershed, near where they are released. It is not entirely clear whether the reduced success of hatchery-origin adults is a consequence of their hatchery background or their choice of spawning location.

The proponents have answered the fundamental question that they originally set out to address. The initial findings raise mechanistic questions, which are amendable to further exploration. The proponents plan to run this investigation for two complete generations, through 2018 with last brood in 2013, to expand on the initial findings and gain insight into mechanistic explanations of the observations.

1. Purpose, Significance to Regional Programs, Technical Background, and Objectives

The significance to regional programs, technical background and problem description, and objectives are all well described and appropriate for the investigation.

2. History: Accomplishments, Results, and Adaptive Management

Financial Performance and History - adequate response

Deliverable Performance - Based on Pisces reports, the project has delivered fine responses.

Major Accomplishments - The project has achieved the objective of evaluating the RRS of hatchery versus natural spring Chinook in the Wenatchee River subbasin. The hatchery fish have about 50% of the fitness of natural fish. Initial investigation of potential explanatory variables suggest spawning location, age, size, and spawning date influence the difference in performance between hatchery and natural parents.

Adaptive Management - The findings have contributed to the development of hatchery fish exclusion at Tumwater Dam, a revised HGMP reflecting limits on the genotype of fish passed upstream to spawn, and ongoing efforts to develop Parental Based Tagging (PBT) to reduce or eliminate the need for broodstock collection weirs in tributaries.

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions for Type of Work (Hatchery, RME, Tagging)

Adequate responses are given for project relationships, emerging limiting factors, and tailored tagging questions.

There are no emerging limiting factors that would reduce the likelihood of success of the investigation.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

The objectives of the investigation are appropriate for the topic – RRS of hatchery salmon and evaluation of supplementation. The deliverables, work elements, metrics, and methods are all acceptable. The proponents have a commendable track record of publication in peer-reviewed literature and have solved logistic and technical issues that have arisen during the course of the project.

This is a well-written proposal that was a pleasure to review. This kind of project is high priority and critical to conduct prior to larger scale implementation of supplementation projects. This project continues quantitative evaluation of the relative reproductive success of naturally spawning hatchery- and natural- origin spring Chinook salmon in the Wenatchee River watershed.

The statement on the need for this project, "All major reviews of hatchery programs have hatchery risks, including the relative reproductive success of hatchery fish, as a critical uncertainty for salmon recovery" says it all. The need for this work was also identified clearly in the subbasin plan.

The project objectives fit, except objective 2 on causes for differences, which could be considered more of an academic question, but still of great interest. Methods are appropriate and described in considerable detail. The proposal shows evidence of collaboration with related experiments in the basin and with other researchers.

The proposal includes a good summary of progress to date (2 years) and interesting unveiling of problems in sampling (hatchery progeny assignment) and proposed solutions (modeling and sampling) and study refinements (adaptive management of the experiment and the management actions already evident).