WAHLE and CHANEY: ESTABLISHMENfT OF NONINDIGENOUS RUNS OF SALMON 



Spawning Ground Surveys 



Achieving the production potential of natural 

 habitat in upper Wind River and its tributaries 

 was the companion goal to developing a self- 

 sustaining spring Chinook salmon hatchery pro- 

 gram at Carson Hatchery. Annual spawning 

 ground surveys for spring chinook salmon in 

 the Wind River and selected tributaries began in 

 1959. Surveys were conducted in late August and 

 early September; Table 4 contains data on the 

 1959-79 surveys. The largest number of spring 

 chinook salmon observed during that period was 

 1,476 fish in 1962; the largest number of redds 

 counted in the same period was 527 in 1964. 

 Figure 6 illustrates the general distribution of 

 spring chinook salmon spawners in Wind River 

 and tributaries based upon composite data from 

 several years' surveys. 



Table 4. — Spawning ground surveys of Wind River spring 

 chinook salmon, 1959-79. 



Catch Contribution 



In 1959 the first adult spring chinook salmon 

 adults resulting from progeny of the transplanta- 

 tion program returned to Wind River. Small 

 numbers of spring chinook salmon were reported 

 caught by steelhead fishermen in 1959-61. In 1962 

 a spring chinook salmon sport fishery developed in 

 the Columbia River at the mouth of the Wind 

 River. Based upon Washington Department of 

 Fisheries salmon creel census data submitted 

 voluntarily by fishermen, catches during 1964 and 



/ICINITY MAP 



Figure 6. — Generalized distribution of naturally spawning 

 chinook in the Wind River drainage. Stream widths exaggerated. 



1965 were estimated at 592 fish and 363 fish, 

 respectively (Nye and Ward 1968). 



In 1966 an intensive creel census specially 

 designed for small geographic areas^ provided 

 data to estimate the catch of Wind River spring 

 chinook salmon at the confluence of the Wind and 

 Columbia Rivers. Major features of the census 

 program included: creel census of boat and shore 

 fishermen twice daily 29 March-1 June, and hour- 

 ly census of boat and shore fishermen for 6 

 weekend days and 10 weekdays, including number 

 and species of fish caught and total hours fished. 

 Total estimated catch for the period 29 March- 

 1 June was 1,144 fish (Table 5). Based upon far 

 less precise, voluntarily submitted creel census 

 data, February-June 1964-75 Wind River spring 

 chinook salmon sport catches ranged from 34 fish 

 (1968) to 2,454 fish (1975) with an estimated catch 

 of 362 spring chinook salmon in 1966 (Nye and 

 Ward 1968; Nye et al. 1975, 1976). 



* Donald D. Worlund, Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center 

 Fisheries Data and Management Systems, National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, NOAA, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, 

 Seattle, WA 98112. 



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