Outer Hood Canal Salmon Evaluations

Freshwater component:
Spawning Escapement surveys were conducted systematically in cooperation with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Northwest Watershed Institute to estimate spawning escapement of summer and fall chum, steelhead (when encountered) and coho salmon in various North Hood Canal tributaries. Escapement counts were conducted by foot surveys to count live and dead salmon from August 15 - January 31, 2009. Streams surveyed include: Gamble Cr., Harding Cr. Spring Cr. Middle Cr., Martha-John Cr., Miller Lake Cr., Cougar-Kinman Cr., Little Anderson Cr., Seabeck Cr., Stavis Cr., Thorndyke Cr., Tarboo Cr., Shine Cr., Thomas Cr., and Rocky Brook Cr. Streams with very low historic counts will be counted at least twice with full system counts when it is believed 50% and 70% of natural spawning has occurred taking into account historic run curves. We targeted more productive systems to be sampled with full system counts weekly, when possible or at least bi-monthly. Comparisons were made between index reach and full system counts were used when possible due to historic problems with using index reaches that may or may not accurately represent the systems spawning area. Morphometric data and scales were collected from carcasses to quantify the demographics of these stocks. Live and dead fish were counted, and dead coho were checked for CWTs, adipose fin clips, fork length and sex. Scale samples and tagged heads were collected and labeled in plastic bags. Operculum tissue samples were collected on select non CWT fish for genetic analysis. Tails were severed on all mortalities regardless of tag indication to prevent recounting in the next weeks survey.
Stream Characterization studies were conducted regularly for water quality (temp., D.O., pH, conductivity) and flow readings including visibility, water flow, and air temperature.
Marine component:
The marine component consisted of monthly beach seining and nearshore surface trawls within the northern Hood Canal and Admiralty Inlet from June through September. These surveys targeted juvenile salmonids outmigrating from natal streams systems to track timing and condition factor matrices. The total catch collected through these sampling methods were quantified by weight and abundance. Length and weight data was collected from sub-samples of salmonids and forage fish. All sub-sampled salmonids were checked for CWTs, pit tags and adipose fin clips. During surface trawl events, individuals of each salmon species encountered were sampled for gut contents, genetic tissue, bacterial kidney disease, stable isotopes and otoliths.

This project will continue to provide major benefits to local and regional salmon recovery, conservation and sustainable management efforts, objectives and planning by illumination of the various Hood Canal escapement goals in the context of observed status and trends and potential need for additional escapement to be managed for. The intensively monitored major systems will provide additional critical tools for insuring that reasonable escapements are being managed for sustainable returns and harvests. The supplemental surveys will be continued to describe the current spawning distribution of chum and coho salmon with the addition of any observed steelhead and to describe the current spawning distribution, and relative abundance of escapement in these systems and tributaries compared to the northern Hood Canal standard index streams. The result will validate use of index surveys to estimate total escapement to Hood Canal. These surveys will provide more accurate estimates of the abundance of listed Hood Canal summer chum, to monitor their recovery. Steelhead data is very sparse in Hood Canal and due to their recent ESA listing it is imperative that systems are carefully surveyed for the presence and possible spawning activity of steelhead within Hood Canal. With coho salmon being listed as an ESA species of concern in Puget Sound, the need for accurate and consistent baseline survey data is critical in order to provide co-managers the necessary baseline data to properly manage these local fisheries.

Our spawner surveys will include sampling for hatchery marks and DNA sampling. Hatchery mark sampling results, coupled with a future assessment of genetic data, will help determine the origin of coho spawners in these surveyed streams. Analysis of adult coho tissue samples collected in our program will supplement similar genetic analysis of tissues collected from outmigrant smolts from four of these streams (by USFWS in cooperation with Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife), to develop a genetic baseline of coho stocks in this region. The intent is to characterize the influence of coho hatchery programs at Quilcene National Fish Hatchery and Port Gamble Net Pens on natural coho stocks. Ultimately the information attained through this study will inform decisions regarding the choice of broodstock for the net pen program, that will protect the genetic diversity among Hood Canals naturally spawning coho populations.

The early marine studies component will help describe the specific growth, predation and environmental mechanisms of early marine juvenile salmon life history and the linkage of these factors to adult marine survival potential. This information will help support and calibrate existing stock assessment and forecasting tools. This can only be realized with more intensive, multi-disciplinary studies that identify critical elements of these complex relationships and how they individually and collectively impact, constrain and influence adult survival potential. This is especially important for priority stocks of significant harvest and or recovery/conservation interests.

Water quantity (flows) and quality measurements will provide baseline data which is needed to better understand if freshwater components of risk are potential limiting factors of ESA listed or considered (coho) species in these streams. These data will be especially useful for longer term assessments of impacts, trends and climate change concerns.