FY 2013 Chinook and Summer Chum Harvest and Hatchery Management Planning and Analyses

DUNGENESS WORKSITE:
The Tribe continued tracking and assessing the Dungeness Chinook Supplementation Program. Tasks included evaluating coded wire tag recoveries and other information from carcass sampling to determine proportions of wild and hatchery Chinook returns spawning naturally, comparing to the proportions of wild and hatchery Chinook returns spawned for broodstock purposes. The Tribe used the information to adapt and plan future approaches to the supplementation and broodstock programs. For example, the Tribe participated in the annual Dungeness Chinook Technical Committee meeting on 01/16/2016. The purpose of this meeting was to review the previous year’s data (including spawner surveys, broodstock collection, egg and fry growth/survival, etc.) and to discuss ways to improve future adult returns as well any changes to current methods for the upcoming season.

STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA WORKSITE:
The Tribe also engaged the expertise of Point No Point Treaty Council staff in harvest and hatchery management activities such as: preparation of stock status reports, recovery planning updates and recovery implementation reports on progress of harvest and hatchery management of ESA-listed Puget Sound Chinook and Hood Canal Summer Chum (as specified in approved recovery plans), technical involvement in developing harvest regulations, participation in related hatchery and harvest management meetings (such as North of Falcon forums), preparation of Hatchery Action Implementation Plans (including review of Hatchery Genetic Management Plans) and participation in other harvest and hatchery management planning processes - such as reviewing and updating portions of the Summer Chum Conservation Initiative to assure the plan maintains effective harvest and hatchery practices while increasing and aligning habitat improvements.

Evaluating carcass and tag data allows restoration planners to determine contributions from the naturally produced portion of Chinook returns, detect trends, and gage effects of the supplementation efforts on boosting abundance of Chinook populations. Analyses of wild verses hatchery returns will be used for adapting and planning future approaches to the supplementation and broodstock programs.

The goal of our harvest management planning is to develop strategies that, when implemented, will protect ESA-listed salmonids, and produce regulations that ultimately benefit ESA-listed salmonids.
The harvest management planning, updates and analysis are suggested in approved recovery plans.

As noted in APPENDIX A, Puget Sound Chinook Salmon Recovery Plan, 2011 IMPLEMENTATION STATUS ASSESSMENT BY WATERSHED A Qualitative Assessment of Implementation of the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon Recovery Plan, funding for staff capacity is an ongoing need to work on the numerous policies, programs and additional planning and coordination needed to move the entire Recovery Plan forward.