Management & Recovery Implications Of Wild/Hatchery Steelhead

Interactions Within A Large, Complex Watershed

Research Partners:WDFWSkagit River System CooperativeUpper Skagit Indian TribeSeattle City Light Funded By: Saltonstall-Kennedy (NMFS)

Interactions between non-listed hatchery steelhead and listed wild steelhead have been identified as a factor contributing to the decline of wild steelhead

• Genetic Impacts Through Interbreeding

• Genetic And Ecological Impact From Hatchery Steelhead Spawning Outside Hatchery

Wild/Hatchery Interaction Topics

Wild Origin & Hatchery Steelhead Background

Skagit Natural Origin Steelhead

• Puget Sound Steelhead Federally Listed 2007

• Escapement Floor – 6,000

• Escapement Level In Decline --15,000 (1960s) to 2,400 (2009)

• 8 of last 12 years have been below the escapement floor level

• Low point 2009 with 2,400

WDFW’s Marblemount Hatchery

• 50-year smolt production history •Segregated Winter Hatchery Program•Early Spawn Timing•Historic Smolt Production Range 60,000 – 600,000•Present Smolt Production Goal 250,000•Release Locations

• Early Years 5-6 (from hatchery & throughout basin)• Last Decade 2-3 (primarily from hatchery)

Management & Harvest Background

•Managed for wild production•Segregated Hatchery Program

•Adults caught or return to hatchery facility•Stray spawn time avoids overlap with wild origin

• Tribal & Sport harvest targets hatchery fish•Sport regs prohibit wild retention•Tribal wild harvest levels extremely low

Genetic Sampling Zones

•Establishing Hatchery & Wild Genetic Baselines •Recognizing Sources Of Genetic Introgression

Likely Genetic Introgression Sources

• Resident Mykiss• Out Of Basin Sources• Marblemount Hatchery

Marblemount HatcherySteelhead (Chambers)

Genetic BaselineZones

2009-2011 Skagit Steelhead Research

Finney Creek

BakerRiver

Suiattle River

Upper Sauk

UpperSkagit

StetattleCreek

Wild Non- Anadromous Juvenile Resident Rainbow Genetic Baseline Groups

2009-2011 Skagit Steelhead Research

Finney Creek

BakerRiver

Suiattle River

Upper Sauk

UpperSkagit

GoodellCreek

Adult Steelhead Genetic BaselineGroups

Wild Anadromous Juvenile Steelhead Genetic Baseline Groups

Evidence of Segregated Hatchery Steelhead Spawning Outside of the Marblemount Hatchery?

• Sport caught unspawned & kelts captured inFebruary-April

• Tribal harvest• Genetic

WDFW Olympia Genetics Lab

Microsatellite Results From 19 Collections of Steelhead Adults & Juveniles & Rainbow Trout Populations

Cascade RBT

Big Creek (Suiattle) RBT

Clear Creek (Sauk) RBT

• Three resident mykiss populations from non-anadromous regions demonstrated genetic separation•Steelhead collections were genetically homogenous

Ross Lake Rainbow TroutCollection

Marblemount Hatchery Collection

Chilliwack B.C Hatchery SteelheadCollection

Wild Adult Steelhead Collections

Microsatellite Results From 6 Skagit Adult Steelhead Collections, Marblemount Hatchery, Chillwack Hatchery (BC) & Ross Lake Rainbow

1 – Upper Skagit2 – Grandy Creek 20093 – Grandy Creek 20104 – County Line Ponds5 – Bacon Creek6 – Goodell 20097 – Goodell 20108 – Cascade 20099 – Cascade 201010 – Suiattle 11 - Sauk12 – Diobsud Creek13 – Finney Creek 200914 – Finney Creek 201015 - Marblemount Hatchery Adult

Percentage hatchery and natural origin ancestry of juveniles steelhead and Marblemount hatchery adult collections in the Skagit River basin from structure analysis

Hatchery Ancestry – redNatural Origin Ancestry - green

Hatchery Ancestry Observed Throughout the Basin inYOY

Skagit Natural Origin

Segregated Hatchery

Hatchery Ancestry Observed Throughout the Basin In Adults

Possible Implications:Spawning Habitat Use Genetic Impacts Through Interbreeding Rearing Habitat Use & CompetitionReduced Egg To Adult Survival

Natural & Hatchery Ancestry FromFinney Creek Young-Of Year 2010

11 of 50 (22%) YOY samples with >20% hatchery ancestry

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Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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91.9%

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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91.9%

Hatchery x Hatchery

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

*Not direct introgression

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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55.4%

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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55.4%

Hatchery x Wild

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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Direct Introgression

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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33.6%

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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33.6%

Back Cross H+W x Wild

Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY

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Hatchery Ancestry From Finney Creek Natural Origin Adults

19 of 53 (36%) Adult Samples with>20% Hatchery Ancestry

Hatchery Ancestry From Finney Creek Natural Origin Adults

Evidence Suggests A High Frequency Of Hybrid Survival To Adulthood

Finney Creek

Marblemount HatcherySegregation Of Wild FromHatchery Steelhead AppearsTo Be Working Effectively At 5% Level

Segregation Of Hatchery FromNatural Origin Steelhead AppearsTo Be Working Less Effectively

Statewide Steelhead Management Plan:Statewide Policies, Strategies, and Actions

February 29, 2008

Segregated programs implemented to enhance harvest opportunities (i.e. segregated harvest program) will result in an average gene flow of less than 2% from the hatchery to the wild stock.

“WDFW & Skagit Tribes will soon establish specific introgression levels for spatial collections of YOY and Adult Steelhead from this data”

Adult Steelhead Wandering Tendencies

Genetic data would suggest that hatchery and natural origin steelhead adults spatiallystray and/or wander from natal location

Receiver Locations

Tagging Location

Typical Direct Upstream Migration Progression

Suiattle River

Receiver Locations

Tagging Location

Atypical In-Direct Upstream Migration Progression

Suiattle River

108 Acoustically tagged natural origin adult steelhead were Tracked during their spawning migrations in 2009 and 2010

Upstream migration routes showed little evidence of wandering by taking indirect routes to spawning location.

Less than 1% (a single male) took an indirect route to spawning location

Scenario Fish Management

Tribal Treaty Rights

Sport Fishery Steelhead Recovery Efforts

No Change Introgression Levels and Hatchery Straying Unchanged

No Change To Hatchery Targeted Harvest Opportunity

No Change To Current Sport Fishing Opportunities

Introgression and ecological impacts continue at current levels

50% Reduction In Smolt Production

Introgression Levels and Hatchery Straying Reduced

Reduced Hatchery Targeted Harvest Opportunity

No Change To Current Sport Fishing Opportunities (Reduced #s)

Reduced hatchery straying & hybrid frequency

100% Reduction In Smolt Production

Introgression Levels and Hatchery Straying Eliminated

Eliminates Hatchery Targeted Harvest Opportunity

Eliminates Current Sport Fishing Opportunities

Eliminates hatchery straying & primary introgression source

Integrated Program New Harvest Management & Ecological & Genetic Issues

-No harvest?-Deferred?-Limited?

-No sport fishery?-Deferred?-Limited?

Dependent on program protocols

Questions