225 



DRAFT 



'Coho salmon outplanted into the lower Columbia River are the progeny 

 of numerous previous stock transfers over multiple generations and may 

 carry the genetic material of a broad spectrum of ancestral stocks, often 

 from different watersheds: some were not even of Columbia River 

 origin. ' 



Present ODFW lower Columbia River hatchery coho stocks were all derived from the 

 Early Toutle coho stock. This group of fish is regarded as a single unit. No attempts 

 are made to utilize native coho brood stocks from these hatchery streams as very few, 

 if any, native coho presently exist in these areas. In the late 1970' s, there were some 

 small experimental groups of tagged Late Cowlitz coho released in Scoggins Creek, a 

 tributary of the Willamette system. These releases were not successful and the practice 

 was discontinued. Small experimental crosses of 1979 brood coho at Big Creek 

 included stocks from the Smith and Soleduck Rivers. These experimental groups were 

 less than 10,000 fish per tagged group. The adults returning from these experimental 

 releases were destroyed and the experiments discontinued. Present hatchery practice is 

 to utilize native broodstocks for development of hatchery releases for ODFW hatchery 

 production. Stocks may be collected from a separate watershed, reared in a hatchery 

 and then returned to the parent stream for release. 



Outplanting of coho presmolts was extensively conducted due to legislative directive in 

 the 1980's. The practice was evaluated as unsuccessful and potentially harmful to the 

 native wild spawning populations so the practice was discontinued. 



The following passages are inaccurate: 



'Cramer et al. (1991), report that outplanting and subsequent spawner 

 abundance on 15 test and 15 control streams on the Oregon coast were 

 monitored for three years. " 



The study referred to was conducted over a period of 6 years (not 3 years) and was 

 published by Nickelson et al. (1986), not Cramer et al. (1991). 



"A major component of the ODFW coho restoration program, however, 

 is the supplementation of wild coho in coastal streams with hatchery 

 presmolts. . . " 



The "Coho Restoration Program" did use hatchery presmolts to supplement wild coho. 

 However, this program took place in 1980-82 and was terminated as a result of the 

 evaluation conducted by the Research Section of ODFW and reported by Nickelson et 

 al. (1986). 



Page 50, 1.3.7. Diseases 



'Hatchery fish act, during this low level of infection, as reservoirs of 

 pathogens that are released into the streams. ' 



A-19 



