CONTRIBUTION OF COLUMBIA RIVER HATCHERIES TO HARVEST OF 

 FALL CHINOOK SALMON (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) 



BY DONALD D. WORLUND,' ROY J. WAIILE,^ AND PAUL D. ZIMMER 2 



ABSTRACT 



A marking experiment was designed in which fall 

 Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from 12 

 Columbia River hatcheries were marked in 4 consecu- 

 tive years to estimate their contribution to the sport 

 and commercial fisheries. The study was planned and 

 is being executed by scientists of the Fisheries Research 

 Board of Canada, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and 

 fishery agencies of the States of Washington, Oregon, 

 California, and Alaska. 



Sampling for marked fish is being conducted in 

 most ocean fisheries for chinook salmon from Monterey, 

 Calif., to southeast Alaska, as well as on the Columbia 

 River. The l%3-66 returns from the first year's release 

 (1961 brood) of 5.4 million marked fish make it possible 



to obtain a preliminary estimate of the contribution 

 of the total hatchery releases as represented by this 

 marked group. 



The estimated catch of 1961-brood fish that originated 

 from the hatcheries under study was 287,326, or about 

 10 percent of the total catch of chinook salmon of that 

 brood in the fisheries sampled. The estimated net 

 value of this catch (to the fisherman) was about 

 $1,900,000, whereas the cost to produce them was 

 .$831,000. The benefit to cost ratio was 2.3:1. 



The net value of the catch of fall chinook salmon of 

 the 1961 brood that originated from all Columbia 

 River hatcheries (including those not participating in 

 the marking experiinents) was estimated at $2,055,000. 



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has financed 

 the Cohunbia I\i\er Fislierv Development Pro- 

 gram, a cooperative effort of tlie States of Oregon, 

 Washington, and Idaho, since its inception in ID-tD. 

 The Bureau of Connnercial Fisheries Columbia 

 Fisheries Program Office, Portland, Oreg., admin- 

 isters this project, which is designed to increase 

 Itroduction of salmon {Ottcorhi/nrhvii sjip.) and 

 steelhead trout {Salmo gairdiieri) in the Columbia 

 River. 



.V major accomplishment of the progi'am has 

 Ijeen the construction and modernization of 19 

 salmon producing hatcheries on the lower 290 km. 

 (ISO miles) of the river. Tliese hatcheries, man- 

 aged by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wild- 

 life and the States of Washington and Oregon, 

 were built primarily to offset the loss of natural 

 spawning and rearing areas for salmon and steel- 

 head trout caused by water development projects. 



' statistician, Bureau ot Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, 

 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, Wash. 98102. 



' Fishery Biologists. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Columbia Fisheries 

 Program Ollice, 811 Northeast Oregon Street, Portland, Oreg. '.17208. 



Releases of fall chinook salmon have varied 

 from less than 10 million fisii from 6 hatcheries in 

 1949 to about no million from 14 hatcheries in 

 19(;(). The contribution of these large releases to the 

 commercial and sport fisheries, however, is un- 

 known. Past marking experiments have demon- 

 strated that hatchery releases contribute to the 

 fisheries, but because such experiments were 

 limited and designed for other purposes, the con- 

 tribution has not been estimated. 



A marking ex|)eriment was undertaken in 1962 

 by the Columbia Fisheries Program Office to esti- 

 mate the contribution of hatchery-reared fall chi- 

 nook salmon to the fisheries. The experiment was 

 confined to 12 hatcheries that have propagated 

 about 90 percent of all fall chinook salmon arti- 

 ficially reared in the Cohunbia River. Data collec- 

 tion will be completed by the end of 1969; 

 however, sufficient information is presently avail- 

 able for preliminary estimates of the contribution 

 to the fisheries by one group (1961 brood) of 

 hatchery-reared fall chinook salmon. 



Published .^pril 1%9. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 67, NO. 2 



361 



