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Two research 

 projects are 

 underway that will 

 help determine what 

 works and what 

 doesn 't in salmon 

 recovery. 



Recently, two studies were begun that could provide the first 

 statistically reliable infonnation about the effectiveness of 

 increased river flows and the need for spill . 



The first project - called the PIT Tag study -- will use 

 computer chips and a system of detectors to let scientists track 

 migrating salmon as they make their way down river. 



The PIT Tag project is the first large-scale attempt to update the 

 studies on travel time and survival conducted in the 1970s, 

 which most scientists consider to be flawed and outdated. 



The four-year study, coordinated by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, involves placing a computer chip - called a 

 Passive Integrated Transponder, or PIT Tag ~ inside the fish. 

 The chip and its antennae are about the size of a grain of rice 

 and are designed not to harm the fish. 



As the fish migrate, detector loops in the juvenile fish passage 

 facilities at four dams "read" the chip, allowing scientists to 

 measure survival and travel time with great accuracy. 



A Big Question Mark 



The first two years of the smdy will be spent testing the 

 technology and refining the methodology. Neariy 35,000 

 hatchery fish were tagged on the lower Snake this year, 

 according to NMFS study manager Robert Iwamoto. 



If the approach succeeds, wild salmon will be tagged during the 

 second two years. The preliminary' results, due in November, 

 are encouraging, Iwamoto said. 



"The study will show to what extent there's a statistical 

 correlation between travel time and survival," he said. "Right 

 now people assume you can increase survival by decreasing 

 travel time, but it's still a big question mark." 



Considering that this year's 10 million acre-feet fish flush was 

 based on that assumption, it's a big question mark indeed. 



Better Turbine Data 



A second smdy, this one on the mid-Columbia, focused 

 specifically on turbine mortality. In the Turb'N Tag study, 

 researchers at Chelan County PUD attached specially designed 

 balloons to 1,200 hatchery fall chinook. 



