Performance of a New Steelhead Line Derived from Hatchery Parents

Collected in Autumn in the Grande Ronde River

Lance Clarke, Michael Flesher, Shelby Warren, and Richard Carmichael

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Wallowa Stock Steelhead

Wallowa HatcheryJoseph

La GrandeUnion

Troy

Wallowa Hatchery Broodstock

• Stock founded from adults collected in spring at Ice Harbor (1976) and Little Goose (1977 & 1978) dams

• Current broodstock sourced from spring returns to hatchery

• Substantial fishery in Grande Ronde basin from Sept.−April

Snake River Hatchery Steelhead Stocks

Lyons Ferry

Dworshak B

Sawtooth

Pahsimeroi

Hells Canyon

Imnaha

Wallowa

Deschutes River basin

Dworshak B

0

Hells Canyon

Imnaha

Lyon’s Ferr

y

Pahsimero

i

Sawtooth

10

20

Wallowa

Average Annual Deschutes River Straying By %

STR

AY R

ATE

Snake River Hatchery Steelhead Stocks

HATCHERY PROGRAM

(Based on 11-24 Years of Data)

Error bars = 1 SE

Objectives

• Create a new hatchery line from Wallowa stock returning to Grande Ronde in autumn. Autumn Line may stray less and improve the autumn fishery.

• Compare performance of Autumn Line with the standard Wallowa Stock.

Is smolt outmigration survival similar? Does the Autumn Line return earlier? Are smolt-to-adult survival rates similar? Does the Autumn Line stray at a lower rate? Are contributions to fisheries different?

• Upon landing, anglers placed hatchery fish in a tube– Oriented fish into flow, held up to 24 h– Fish PIT-tagged, transferred to Wallowa Hatchery, held for

spawning

Broodstock Collection and Handling(Brood Years

2004−2007)

Oregon

Washington

Idaho

Acclimation Ponds

Juvenile Steelhead Releases

Coded wire tags were implanted into 100K of Autumn Line and Standard Line juveniles for estimating stray rates.

Brood Year

Number PIT tagged

Autumn Standard 2004 3,777 3,7692005 3,567 3,5662006 3,567 3,5862007 3,558 6,914

Gen-eration

F1

2008 F2 3,599 5,203

Number Released

Autumn Standard

170K 373K277K 308K221K 258K140K 345K

129K 241K

F1

F1

F1

Average Smolt Length and Condition Factor, Brood Years 2004-07

Fork length (mm)Autumn Line, X = 213.6

Standard stock, X = 212.0

Condition Factor

PERC

ENT

OF T

OTAL

Autumn Line, X = 1.03

Standard stock, X = 1.06

0

5

10

15

20

25

120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280

0

5

10

15

20

25

0.80 0.90 1.00 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40

Survival (± CI)

Autumn Standard

2004 77 (2.1) 77 (3.0)

2005 73 (6.6) 74 (5.3)

2006 71 (22.3) 78 (41.0)

2007 84 (19.3) 84 (13.5)

77% 79%Averages

23.5 (7.0)

21.6 (11.5)

30.8 (6.7)

31.3 (11.3)

Autumn Standard

23.8 (7.6)

22.4 (10.8)30.1 (8.7)

33.1 (12.9)

Brood Year

% OutmigrationTravel Time (d; ± SD)

Juvenile Performance

2008 82 (4.8) 80 (3.9)18.3 (9.7) 17.3 (11.2)

25.1 25.3

Average Adult Steelhead Return Timing

McNary

Lower Granite

MONTH

PERC

ENT

RECO

VERE

DBonneville

AUTUMN LINESTANDARD STOCK

Average Adult Steelhead Return Timing F1 Generation, (BY 2004-

07)

05

10152025

05

10152025

05

10152025

June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Aug. 5 Aug. 14

Aug. 31 Sept. 24

Sept. 11 Oct. 6

McNary

Lower Granite

MONTH

PERC

ENT

RECO

VERE

DBonneville

AUTUMN LINESTANDARD STOCK

F2 Generation Adult Return TimingBY 2008, 1-ocean from BY 2009

June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

05

10152025

05

10152025

05

10152025

Smolt-to-Adult Survival to Bonneville Dam

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

BROOD YEAR

PERC

ENT

SURV

IVAL

Autumn line, F1 generation

Standard stock

68 50 69 62 65 47 211 326 66 82

Autumn line, F2 generation

(significantly different, P = 0.004)

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

BROOD YEAR

Smolt-to-Adult Survival to Lower Granite Dam(significantly different, P < 0.001)

PERC

ENT

SURV

IVAL

Autumn line, F1 generation

Standard stockAutumn line, F2 generation

36 26 49 41 43 34 138 189 41 61

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2004 2005 2006 2007

BROOD YEAR

% 1

-OCE

AN A

DU

LTS

Age At ReturnStandard stock

(P = 0.062)Autumn line, F1 generation

0

10

20

30

2004 2005 2006

% S

TRAY

RAT

E IN

DEX

BROOD YEAR

Percent of Steelhead that Strayed

Autumn line, F1 generation Standard stock

2007

239

46 49 14

113

51 32 24

94.0% 76.0% 47.0% 41.0%

And the Percent of Barged Fish

Incomplete Data

020 20 40

Kilometers

Mouth (RK 0)

Pelton Trap (RK 161)

Sherars Falls (RK 69)

Warm Springs NationalFish Hatchery (RK 154)

Springs

Warm

River Deschutes

River

COLUMBIA RIVERDeschutes River Basin

0

0.5

1.0

FB SP

% RECOVERED ABOVE RK 69

% TRAP RECOVERIESBefore Feb. 1

SP

0.5

1.0

0

Total

FB FBSP

Run Year Experimental Group

Number Detected at

Sherars Falls

Number Later Detected at McNary or

Above

Percent Later Detected at

McNary or Above

2007-08 Autumn Line 5 0 0

  Standard Stock 7 5 71

2008-09 Autumn Line 6 1 17

  Standard Stock 3 0 0

2009-10 Autumn Line 19 4 21

  Standard Stock 15 2 13

2010-11 Autumn Line 5 2 40

  Standard Stock 5 0 0

Total Autumn Line 35 7 20

Total Standard Stock 30 7 23

PIT Tag Detections in Deschutes and at McNary

Compensation Plan Fisheries

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Feb Mar Apr

PERC

ENT

OF

TOTA

L H

ARVE

ST

Lower Grande Ronde

Autumn lineStandard stock

37 250

184

69 82

266 26

Harvest Timing in the Grande Ronde Basin

MONTH

Wallowa

(run years 2006-07 to 2008-09)

75 152

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar AprilMONTH

Autumn line Standard stock

Harvest in the Compensation Area

Error bars = 1 SE

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

No.

HAR

VEST

ED /1

,000

SM

OLT

S

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

2004 2005 2006 Average

BROOD YEARNo.

HAR

VEST

ED /1

,000

SM

OLT

SAutumn Line

In OregonAutumn Line

Outside OregonStandard stockOutside Oregon

Standard stockIn Oregon

Harvest Contribution in the Compensation Area

Conclusions

• Autumn Line F1 adults pass Lower Granite Dam earlier, provide increased autumn fishing opportunities in Grande Ronde River. Will F2 and subsequent generations continue to return

earlier?

• Greater Autumn Line survival to adulthood. Is it just because they return at an earlier ocean age? Will the trend continue?

• No apparent straying benefit to Autumn Line. Will stray rates remain low for all release groups? Are there other broodstock, rearing, or release

strategies that can be used to reduce straying.

Future Plans for the Autumn Line1. Brood Year 2012: Increase smolt production to 240,000 smolts (30%

of entire Wallowa stock production). Maintain current marking and tagging to assess whether F3 generation performs similarly to F1 generation.

2. Brood Year 2013 and beyond: Increase Autumn Line production to 320,000 smolts in BY 2013, 400,000 smolts in BY 2014. Releasing both lines would benefit autumn and spring fishing periods, provided future generations perform similarly to the F1 generation. Autumn Line may require occasional refreshing with new broodstock collected via angling in the Grande Ronde in autumn. During this time, straying information from F1 and F2 generations will continue to be collected and assessed. The ability of the hatchery to concurrently spawn, rear, and release Autumn Line and standard production groups (each consisting of 400,000 smolts) will impact future decisions.

Acknowledgements• Many thanks to the 192 anglers and

volunteers for:– 7,000 hours– 111,000 miles of travel– 2500 meals served

• ODFW Wallowa Hatchery and NE Region fish liberation staff

• Rick Madigan – Wenaha Wildlife Area• Volunteers from local state and tribal

agencies