FY 2016 Continued Salmonid Enhancement and Harvest Management Planning and Analysis

[EASTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA WORKSITE] NOTE: Work conducted by Point No Point Treaty Council (PNPTC) for this worksite under this ongoing project for this timeframe overlaps with previous allocation. Related PNPTC work for July-September 2017 was conducted and reported under 2015-JSKT-03. PNPTC utilized FY2016 funding during October 2017-December 2018. Ongoing work for January-June 2019 occurred under FY2017 allocation.

Treaty Council staff participated in multiple activities necessary for the exercise of tribal-treaty fishing rights, such as: continuing to work with state and Tribal co-managers on developing the Puget Sound Chinook Resource Management Plan, and participating in implementation, evaluation, and assessment of in-season harvest and hatchery management to meet ESA requirements for the protection of Puget Sound Chinook and summer Chum salmon. Staff participated in pre-season forecasts of abundance for Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca Chinook and summer chum and reviewed potential fishery impacts of proposed fisheries. The Treaty Council also updated information needed to update the implementation of the Summer Chum Salmon Conservation Initiative, which includes both harvest and artificial production management provisions.

Jamestown SKlallam Tribal staff also assisted with harvest management efforts as necessary for exercising tribal-treaty fishing rights or native-subsistence fishing of anadromous salmonids, such as attending harvest management planning meetings and/or reviewing fishery data for harvest management planning purposes, or other related efforts.

[DUNGENESS WORKSITE] NOTE: Ongoing work conducted by the Tribe for this worksite overlaps with previous allocation. Work conducted for this worksite utilizing FY2016 funding occurred between July 2018-June 2019.
The Tribe continued to assess the Dungeness Chinook Supplementation Program by 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, and using the information to adapt and plan future approaches to the supplementation/broodstock programs. The Tribe participated in meetings related to spawner surveys, broodstock collection, egg and fry growth/survival, etc. to discuss ways to improve future adult returns, as well as participating in North of Falcon pre-season forecast meetings.

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 recommended in approved recovery plans.