Sockeye Reintroduction I

The Yakama Nation started trapping at Priest Rapids Dam on June 28th, 2010. At that time the counts was approaching 95,000 sockeye at Bonneville Dam. The YN, to start, trapped 50 fish on the first day. The trapping concluded early due to the large number of sockeye entering the trap. The YN trapped and hauled on 488 sockeye to Cooper Lake on July 6th, 7th and 8th. The number of sockeye retrieved for this year reintroduction increased from 1000 to 2488. We put 2000 sockeye in Cle Elum Lake and the rest in Cooper. The amount of time it took the trap increased the last week of trapping. YN started tracking radio tags the week of July 26th and ended December 28,2010 (using other funding sources). The first group of sockeye started to migrate from Cle Elum Lake up into the watershed on September 10-December 02, 2010. Tracking continued through the end of December.

YN continued to track and monitor sockeye movement through December (using other funding sources). Total number of Sockeye counted during spawner ground surveys in 2010:
• 2007 total number counted.
• 18 pit tags recovered out of 27
• 891 mort found on spawning grounds

Sockeye that were placed in Cooper Lake 4 of the 7 tags were located in the Cle Elum River below the lake. Reintroduced Sockeye in Cooper Lake were never located above the Lake.

OAKANAGA NATION ALLIANCE BROODSTOCK COLLECTION, OLIVER CANADA (These activities were paid for another another funding source)

Andrew Lewis, Yakama Nation Tech III and Brian Paul Saluskin, Cle Elum Fish Passage Biologist YN, help the ONA collected their broodstock for their sockeye reintroduction into Skaha Lake in Canada. This two man crew spent 10 days in Canada not only offered their help but also learned all they can of the ONA process. The ONA reintroduction of Sockeye is the main reason for the dramatic increase in numbers in the Columbia River over the past 3 years.
The ONA process can be broken down into four different parts. The YN crew participated in all four parts of this process. Part 1.) Broodstock collection: The River was filled with sockeye salmon and this process did not take long to do on a daily basis. A beach seining net was stretch out, with assistance of a field tech crew from the ONA, across the river and the river broken down in reaches. Only one stretch of the river was disturb on a daily basis, to better maximize the undisturbed habitat for natural production. A pass was made corralling the sockeye into the net on one shore of the river. Males and females were separated to be placed in bags for transportation to holding pins. Only ripe females and clean healthy looking males were sampled. Each bag was placed on pvc constructed square rack and floated down river by one of the tech’s to the holding area. Part 2.) Another crew would separate the ripe females from the green ones and then would continue to sacrifice them one at a time. Each female was sacrificed, dipped in iodine, bleed and hung to dry for over an hour. After the hour was completed each female had their gills and mouths stuffed with paper towels to avoid any blood transfer to other fish or egg take sample. Part 3.) Egg and Milt take: The females would be transferred over to the egg take area one at a time. An orange circle cutting device was used in this process. This cutting device was inserted and one cut was made up the center of the female and all her eggs fell out into a pre-sanitized Tupperware container. Eggs were cleaned of any blood or undeveloped roe. A sample of ovarian fluid was taken from every other female to be tested. The lid was placed on the container and then placed into a half tote. Each half tote consisted of layers. The layers consisted of foam, ice, Tupperware container, more ice and foam again. This is how the eggs and milt were transported three hours every day to the hatchery.

Sockeye salmon are the preferred species for reintroduction above the storage reservoirs. Sockeye salmon are the only species of salmon whose juveniles are obligatory lake-dwellers prior to smoltification. This species was present in all of the natural lakes in the Yakima system before the storage dams were constructed.
The reintroduction will be utilizing forty miles of pristine habitat and reintroducing a species that will reconnect the ecosystem that has been disconnected for over a hundred years.