Wild Winter Steelhead Run Timing

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Wild Winter Steelhead Run Timing    

• How It Has Been Reshaped by Fisheries
  Management  in Washington

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Questions Examined

• When did hatchery steelhead significantly enter
  the catch
• What proportion of historic catches were prior to
  March
• Has there ever been differential harvest
  opportunity
• Has a shift in wild steelhead run timing occurred
• What are the biological values of early run
  timing
• 
  
• Mid-Sauk River, Jan. 24, 2003

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Washingtons Historic Hatchery Steelhead

• Steelhead fry releases began 1903 fingerlings
  1936 not only was there little return but
  Ironically, steelhead runswere reduced by the
  hatcheries (Crawford 1979)
• 1937-1941 Green River tagging study Artificial
  propagation appears to contribute very little
  towards the maintenance of steelhead trout
  populations. (Pautzke Meigs 1941)
• 3.4 hatchery steelhead in Green River sport
  catch 1940 2 in 1941 (Pautzke Meigs 1940
  1941)

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Pautzke and His Supertrout From
Sports Illustrated Feb. 1955 In 1950 he planted
seven rivers. In 1953 he planted 760,000
fingerlings in 35 rivers
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Historic Wild Winter Steelhead
Run-TimingSport Catch 1955 1956 nine
Washington steelhead rivers WDG
summariesTribal Catch 1934-1959 nine
Washington steelhead rivers Taylor 1979 Sport
Catch 1954-1961 all Washington steelhead rivers
Royal 1972
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• Hoh River Tribal Steelhead Catch (1944-1959)
• Hoh River Sport Steelhead Catch (1955 1956)

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• Nisqually River Tribal Steelhead Catch
• (1935-1959)
• Nisqually River Sport Steelhead Catch
• (1955 1956)

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• Nooksack River Tribal Steelhead Catch
• (1951-1959)
• Nooksack River Sport Steelhead Catch
• (1955 1956)

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• Queets River Tribal Steelhead Catch
• (1934-1959)
• Queets River Sport Steelhead Catch (1955 1956)

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• Quinault River Tribal Steelhead Catch
• (1941-1959)
• Quinault River Sport Steelhead Catch
• (1955 1956)

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Return of Marked Hatchery Steelhead and Wild
Steelhead at 5 Rivers from Field Checks Royal
1972

• Chambers Ck. stock hatchery steelhead available
  to the sport fishery earlier than wild with
  substantial in December
• The differential run-time provides an essential
  management tool

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• Chambers Ck. stock hatchery steelhead available
  to the sport fishery earlier than wild with
  substantial in December
• The differential run-time provides an essential
  management tool

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• Chambers Ck. stock hatchery steelhead available
  to the sport fishery earlier than wild with
  substantial in December
• The differential run-time provides an essential
  management tool

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• Among the few Washington rivers that better fit
  the 1972 Royal model for potential differential
  harvest of hatchery steelhead were the 1956
  Skagit 1955 Dungeness River steelhead examples
  that were then largely wild
• Nevertheless 56 of the largely wild Skagit catch
  50 of the Dungeness largely catch were Dec
  through Feb

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Steelhead ConsequencesOf Misinterpreting History

• Today the majority of winter steelhead are caught
  in December and January and are as much as 90
  hatchery steelhead
• Crawford
  1979

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Hoh River Steelhead Management(30-35 years after
1962)

• Interaction between wild hatchery stocks is
  minimal because hatchery fish return earlier than
  wild are managed for high exploitation (up to
  95) in terminal sport commercial fisheries
  McHenry et al. 1996
• Given high hatchery fish exploitation rate of
  about 80, healthy wild spawner escapements,
  difference in spawn timing of hatchery fish
  (Jan/Feb) wild fish (mid Feb through May),
  potential for interbreeding is limited
  Washington State Salmon and Steelhead Stock
  Inventory (SASSI) 1994

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• Queets River sport steelhead catch in 1955 1956
  compared to 1995 1996 by monthly area of
  distribution
• Differences in hypothetical bell curves in wild
  winter steelhead return based on catch

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• Pysht River sport steelhead catch in 1955 1956
  compared to 2001 2002 by monthly area of
  distribution
• Differences in hypothetical bell curves in wild
  winter steelhead return based on catch

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Why Early Run Timing?

• Provides option for early spawning to increase
  overall fit to broadest range of temperature and
  flow patterns
• Can result in earlier emergence larger size into
  1st winter ability to migrate from/within
  intermittent streams
• Can provide more staggered emergence resultant
  staggered use of available food resources in
  critical 1st months
• Provides for destination adjustments to
  fluctuating basin conditions (rainfall,
  temperature, volcanic episodes, landslides, etc.)
  
• Provides males the opportunity for multiple
  spawnings over the broadest period of time
  broadest area

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Lower Clearwater Sub-basin of QueetsExamples of
Early Run Timing ImportanceCederholm 1984

• Spawning began in January in both the mainstem
  and tributaries but spawning peaked earlier in
  the tributaries
• Spawning peak varied by tributary potentially
  reflecting differing flow/temperature/scour
  patterns
• Warmest water year spawning peaked 39 days
  earlier than coldest year steelhead entry time
  remained same each year as indicated by tribal
  catch
• Late emergence small size going into 1st winter
  
• Early emergence large size going into 1st
  winter

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• Steelhead redds in 5 tributaries of the
  Clearwater Basin in 1978 (only year both Jan.
  Feb. trib surveys were made)
• Differing spawn times in each of 5 Clearwater
  Basin tributaries in 1978

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• Three Siuslaw Basin Tributaries on Oregon Coast
• Wild Steelhead Trapped on Creek Entry
• Lindsay et al. 1991 1992 1993 pers com Ken
  Kenaston ODFW
• Females thought to spawn within few days and
  leave
• Males remained longer, including two that
  averaged 35 days
• Early spawning may be needed to emerge prior to
  reduced flow

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• Studies at Snow Ck. demonstrate steelhead mating
  complexity that early arriving males are
  particularly successful
• (Seamons et al. 2003 2004)
• Variable dates of first steelhead arrivals
  December-March
• Males arrived avg. 15 days prior to female they
  mated with
• Females mated with males that arrived before
  them
• Males spawned with as many as 10 females
• Females spawned with as many as 5 males
• One early arriving male sired 40 of all YOY in
  study area

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Early-Run/Tributary Relation

• Skagit River Basin
• Phillips et al. 1980 1981
• 75 steelhead spawn in tributary streams
• Skagit River Basin
• Freymond 1984
• Skagit River tributaries in 1983 had 13.7
  redds/km mainstem 9.2 redds/km

• Rogue River
• Everest 1973
• Greatest spawning intensity in small tribs lt25
  sq mi lt50 cfs winter flow dry by mid-June
• Many support large populations from which fry
  must migrate soon after emergence

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The whole is the sum of its parts