Smolt monitoring at the head of Lower Granite Reservoir and Lower Granite Dam, 1998

摘要

This project monitored the daily passage of chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, steelhead trout O. mykiss, and sockeye salmon smolts O. nerka, during the 1998 spring outmigration at migrant traps on the Snake and Salmon rivers. All hatchery chinook salmon released above Lower Granite Dam 19 1998 were marked with a fin-clip. Total annual hatchery chinook salmon catch at the Snake River trap was 226% of the 1997 number and 110% of the 1996 catch. The wild chinook catch was 120% of the 1997 catch but was only 93% of 1996. Hatchery steelhead trout catch was 501% of 1997 numbers but only 90% of the 1996 numbers. Wild steelhead trout catch was 569% of 1997 and 125% of the 1996 numbers. The Snake River trap collected 106 age-0 chinook salmon. During 1998, for the first time, the Snake River trap captured a significant number of hatchery sockeye salmon (1,552) and hatchery coho salmon O. kisutch (166). Differences in trap catch between years are due to fluctuations not only in smolt production, but also differences in trap efficiency and duration of trap operation associated with high flows. Trap operations began on March 8 and were terminated for the season due to high flows on June 12. The trap was out of operation for 34 d during the season due to high flow and debris. Hatchery chinook salmon catch at the Salmon River trap was 476% and wild chinook salmon catch was 137% of 1997 numbers and 175% and 82% of 1996 catch, respectively. The hatchery steelhead trout collection in 1998 was 96% of the 1997 catch and 13% of the 1996 numbers. Wild steelhead trout collection in 1998 was 170% of the 1997 catch and 37% of the 1996 numbers. Travel time (d) and migration rate (km/d) through Lower Granite Reservoir for PIT-tagged chinook salmon and steelhead trout, marked at the head of the reservoir were affected by discharge. For fish tagged at the Snake River trap, statistical analysis of 1998 detected a significant relation between migration rate and discharge. For hatchery and wild chinook salmon there was a 2.0- and 2.6-fold increase in migration rate, respectively, between 50 and 100 thousands of cubic feet per second (kcfs). For hatchery steelhead trout there was a 2.6-fold increase in migration rate between 50 kcfs and 100 kcfs. For fish marked at the Salmon River trap, statistical analysis of the 1998 data detected a significant relation between migration rate and discharge for hatchery and wild chinook salmon hatchery and found a 3.3- and 2.6-fold increase in migration rate, respectively, between 50 and 100 kcfs. A significant relation between migration rate and discharge was not detected for hatchery steelhead trout. Insufficient numbers of wild steelhead trout were PIT-tagged at the Salmon River trap to estimate travel time and migration rate to Lower Granite Dam.