The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program 2014 Annual Report

The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program is comprised of both operations and maintenance of the Chief Joseph Hatchery, located near Bridgeport, Washington and the monitoring and evaluation of natural- and hatchery-origin Chinook salmon in the Okanogan Subbasin. In 2014, the Chief Joseph Hatchery released 44,267 yearling and 186,050 subyearling integrated Chinook from the Omak acclimation pond, and 265,656 subyearling segregated Chinook from the hatchery. Full production potential was not met at the hatchery for brood year 2014 because of higher than anticipated pre-spawn mortality in the broodstock. The total Chinook spawn in 2014 included, 132 hatcheryorigin Spring Chinook (66 male, 66 female)(21% of full program), 498 natural-origin summer/fall Chinook (250 male, 248 female)(83% of full program), and 453 hatcheryorigin Summer/Fall Chinook (223 male, 230 female)(92%). Two hundred thousand Spring Chinook parr were received in late October at the Riverside Acclimation Pond from the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery (100% of full production). These fish will be released in the spring of 2015 and mark the beginning of implementation of the non-essential experimental population under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act.

Monitoring and evaluation consist primarily of operating rotary screw traps on the Okanogan River to monitor juvenile production and outmigration, beach seining and PIT tagging operations at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers, the operation of an adult pilot weir on the Okanogan River, and redd and carcass surveys on the Okanogan and Similkameen rivers. In 2014, the rotary screw traps captured 22,073 natural-origin Chinook, and estimated total juvenile outmigration was 3,265,309 (95% C. I. = 1,809,367- 4,721,251). Via the beach seine, 9,133 juvenile Chinook were captured, and 8,226 were released with an implanted PIT tag. 2,324 adult Chinook were encountered in the weir trap, of which 318 were hatchery-origin and 2,006 were natural-origin. All natural-origin fish were released upstream of the weir unharmed, except for 76 which were taken for broodstock. All but four of the hatchery-origin fish encountered in the trap were removed for pHOS management. Redd surveys detected 4,253 Summer/Fall Chinook redds, which led to a spawner escapement estimate of 12,164 Chinook. 2,452 carcasses were recovered (2,123 natural-origin and 329 hatchery-origin), and the proportion of hatchery-origin spawners was 0.12.