FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 79, NO. 3 



Table 2.— Wind River Transplantation Program, 1955-79. 



'After a suflicient number of adults had entered hatchery holding ponds, 

 entrance to the hatchery was frequently blocked, forcing returning adults to 

 spawn in Wind River and tributaries. 



^First year released juveniles included progeny of nontransplanted adults. 



^Time of release study. 



"Included last juveniles from transplanted fish. 



^Last year of possible returns resulting from first generation progeny of 

 transplanted fish. 



resulting juvenile releases, and Wind River 

 spawTiing ground surveys provided the primary 

 means of evaluating results of the Wind River 

 spring chinook salmon introduction program. Sec- 

 ondary indicators were the amount of contribution 

 to catches and a surplus of eggs and juveniles 

 available from Carson hatchery for transplanta- 

 tion to other areas of the Northwest. 



Shipperd Falls Counts 



Counting of adult upstream migrant salmonids 

 began at Shipperd Falls fishway in 1954 and 

 terminated in 1966. Fish ascending the fishway 

 were trapped in a confined area of the upstream 

 exit facility, raised near the water surface by an 

 electrically operated false floor, identified, and 

 counted. An adjustable headgate was then opened, 

 allowing the fish to exit from the fishway and 

 continue upstream. 



Frequency of counting varied with the number 

 and rate of migration of spring chinook salmon 

 through the fishway. Counting was intermittent 

 during 1954-58, not conducted in 1959, and con- 

 ducted throughout the time of spring chinook 

 salmon migration in 1960-66. Spring chinook 



salmon counts ranged from 1 fish in 1957 to 5,429 

 fish in 1964 (Table 2). 



Hatchery Returns-Juvenile Releases 



Spring chinook salmon from any given brood 

 year returned to Carson Hatchery as 3-yr-old 

 precocious males (jacks) and 4-, 5-, and 6-yr- 

 old adults. Table 3 contains age composition 

 of spring chinook salmon from the 1963-73 broods 

 that returned to the hatchery. 



The first spring chinook salmon resulting from 

 the transplantation program returned to Carson 

 Hatchery in 1959: 99 jacks, 6 adult males, and 2 

 adult females. The first significant return, 522 

 spring chinook salmon in 1960, consisted of 331 

 adult females, 170 adult males, and 51 jacks. 



Transplantation of brood stock from Bonneville 

 Dam to Carson Hatchery terminated with the 

 completion of 1963 trapping and hauling opera- 

 tions. Thereafter, hatchery brood stock consisted 

 exclusively of adult fish returning as the result 

 of juvenile releases at the hatchery. 



From 1964 through 1979, about 49,000 spring 

 chinook salmon returned to Carson Hatchery 

 adult holding ponds. The annual average return 

 during that period was about 3,100 spring chinook 

 salmon. The peak return of 6,641 occurred in 1972 

 (Table 2). 



Table 2 displays the number of juvenile spring 

 chinook salmon released into the Wind River 

 at Carson Hatchery 1956-79. Releases during 

 1956-61 (brood years 1954-59) were exclusively 

 progeny of fish trapped at Bonneville Dam; 1962- 

 65 releases (brood years 1960-63) were from a 

 composite of adults transported and those return- 

 ing to the hatchery from earlier juvenile releases. 

 The approximately 26.6 million juveniles released 

 1966-79 (brood years 1964-77) were all progeny 

 of adult spring chinook salmon returning to the 

 hatchery. 



Table 3. — Age composition of 1967-73 broods of spring chinook 

 salmon returning to Carson National Fish Hatchery. 



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