94 



CHINOOK FRESHWATER 

 PRODUCTION 



Improving uprivcr production is one of the essential 

 elements of stock rebuilding and, ultimately, recovery. The 

 Team focuses on three general areas of action for improving 

 freshwater production. First, protection and restoration of 

 spawning and rearing habitat must receive high priority, 

 since the ultimate goal is recovery of naturally spawning and 

 propagatmg chmook salmon populations. Second, 

 institutional mechanisms that will ensure coordinated action 

 throughout the Snake River Basin must be put in place (and 

 ideally, they should embrace the Columbia River Basin as a 

 whole). Third, improvements must be made in hatchery 

 operations; though it is important to remember that the only 

 true measure of recovery is the viability of natural 

 populations. 



The Recovery Team believes that hatchery objectives and 



operations must be critically examined and revised where 



necessary to assist, not impede, natural salmon productivity. 



Some hatchery operations may need to be shifted to 



conservation objectives instead of concentrating on 



production. The reason for this is that hatchery operations 



have historically been highly uncoordinated. They are 



authorized under differing agencies (federal, state, ... 



and tribal) and they serve varying objectives. There 



is a need to establish a single authority for overseeing w 



all such operations in the Columbia and Snake River 'HkJ •, -;, 



basins. *54ll£Si 



The habitat assessment studies called for in the 

 spawning and rearing habitat recommendations 

 should be expanded to cover the long term. Studies 

 must be planned, funded, and carried out to quanlil\ 

 egg-to-fry and fry-to-smolt survival rates for each 

 stock and watershed. These data are essential for 

 establishing seeding rates and juvenile salmon 

 carrying capacity on a stock-by-stock basis. 



The Salmon Oversight Committee should have two 

 production subcommittees. One should address 

 natural production needs and problems; the other 

 should be concerned with hatchery programs and 

 operations. The Natural Production Subcommittee's 

 function should parallel that of the Basin Oversight Group 

 proposed by the Northwest Power Planning Council, and 

 these groups should either be merged or designed to be 

 closely interactive. A Hatchery Subcommittee should be 

 established immediately. It should be composed of experts 

 in relevant specialties including fish health, behavior, 

 genetics, experimental design, information management for 

 complex systems, and logistics of running hatcheries. The 



14 



Good habitat on the Imnaha River. 

 (Photo by Jeff Lockwood) 



Effects of mining. Note lighter patch of rocks in right 



center - which are covered with metal oxides 



precipitated out of the tailings bank to the back of the 



photo. (Photo by Nick ladanza) 



