219 



DRAFT 



The following statements were found to be inaccurate or misleading: 

 Coastal River Stocks (pages 29-30) 



'A similar evaluation of escapement data for the coastal river basins 

 collected between 1968 and 1984 (NPPC. unpublished) showed that of 

 1 73 populations, ..." 



It is not clear to which populations this paragraph and subsequent paragraphs refer. 

 The data are not presented in the report and are referenced as unpublished. 



Summary (p ages 30-31) 



"Similar decreases in escapement observed between coastal hatchery 

 populations and wild populations could be explained by Nickelson's 



(1986) findings that coastal hatchery coho salmon had low ocean 

 survival when hatchery smolt numbers were high. . . . The success of 

 hatchery fish in the Columbia River Basin appears to contradict 

 Nickelson's (1986) findings for coastal hatchery stocks that showed poor 

 ocean survival when released in large numbers. ' 



The paper by Nickelson (1986) is misrepresented. This paper did not find a 

 relationship between decreased survival of coastal hatchery coho salmon and numbers 

 released. In fact, just the opposite, the paper concluded that survival of hatchery coho 

 was unrelated to numbers of smolts released. The paper also didn't separate out coastal 

 hatchery stocks (except those released from private hatcheries). 



". ..annual number of coastal hatchery smolt releases has recently been 

 relatively low, 15 million to 20 million. . .smolt releases had been much 

 higher in the late 1970s and early 1980s when they exceeded 60 million 

 fish annually for coho salmon alone (Nickelson 1986). " 



The smolt release values are inaccurate. They are too high to be coastal hatchery 

 releases. The hatchery coho salmon smolt release numbers presented in Nickelson 

 (1986) were for all public hatcheries contributing to the Oregon Production Index area 

 (Columbia River and Oregon coastal combined) and for private hatcheries. The total of 

 these two groups never exceeded 60 million in any one year, as claimed. 



Page 32, 1.2.3. Escapement Goals 



Coastal Rive r Goals (page 33) 



'Annual estimates of coastal coho salmon spawning escapement are 

 derived in aggregate for the stock through spawning ground index 

 surveys of three coastal lake basins (Cooney and Jacobs, 1990). " 



A-13 



