Status Review of Puget Sound Steelhead

137 Pages·2007·1.61 MB·English

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-81
Status Review
of Puget Sound Steelhead
(Oncorhynchus mykiss)
June 2007
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA Technical Memorandum
NMFS-NWFSC Series
The Northwest Fisheries Science Center of the National
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, uses the NOAA Techni-
cal Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC series to issue scientific
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may be cited in the scientific and technical literature.
The NMFS-NWFSC Technical Memorandum series of the
Northwest Fisheries Science Center continues the NMFS-
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Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which has since been
split into the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the
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cal Memorandum series is now being used by the Alaska
Fisheries Science Center.
Reference throughout this document to trade names does
not imply endorsement by the National Marine Fisheries
Service, NOAA.
This document should be referenced as follows:
Hard, J.J., J.M. Myers, M.J. Ford, R.G. Cope, G.R. Pess,
R.S. Waples, G.A. Winans, B.A. Berejikian, F.W. Waknitz,
P.B. Adams. P.A. Bisson, D.E. Campton, and R.R.
Reisenbichler. 2007. Status review of Puget Sound steel-
head (Oncorhynchus mykiss). U.S. Dept. Commer., NOAA
Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-81, 117 p.
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-81
Status Review
of Puget Sound Steelhead
(Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Jeffrey J. Hard, James M. Myers, Michael J. Ford,
Robert G. Kope, George R. Pess, Robin S. Waples,
Gary A. Winans, Barry A. Berejikian, F. William Waknitz,
Peter B. Adams,1 Peter A. Bisson,2 Donald E. Campton,3
and Reginald R. Reisenbichler4
Northwest Fisheries Science Center
2725 Montlake Boulevard East
Seattle, Washington 98112
1 Southwest Fisheries Science Center
110 Shaffer Road
Santa Cruz, California 95060
2 U.S. Forest Service
Olympic Forestry Sciences Laboratory
3625 93rd Avenue Southwest
Olympia, Washington 98512
3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Abernathy Fish Technology Center
1440 Abernathy Creek Road
Longview, Washington 98632
4 U.S. Geological Survey
Western Fisheries Research Center
6505 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115
June 2007
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
Most NOAA Technical Memorandums
NMFS-NWFSC are available online at the
Northwest Fisheries Science Center
web site (http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov)
Copies are also available from:
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Table of Contents
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables ..............................................................................................................................................vii
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................................xiii
Abbreviations and Acronyms ..................................................................................................................... xv
Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 1
Puget Sound Steelhead.................................................................................................................................. 3
Previous Determinations ........................................................................................................................ 3
Current Petition to List Puget Sound Steelhead ..................................................................................... 7
Review of Steelhead Life History Information............................................................................................. 9
General Life History............................................................................................................................... 9
Puget Sound Steelhead Life History....................................................................................................... 9
Genetic Studies..................................................................................................................................... 14
ESU Determination..................................................................................................................................... 15
ESU Configuration ............................................................................................................................... 15
Resident and Anadromous Life Histories............................................................................................. 15
Artificial Propagation of Puget Sound Steelhead ................................................................................. 17
The “Extinction Risk” Question ................................................................................................................. 23
Risk Assessment Approach .................................................................................................................. 23
Summary of Major Risks and Status Indicators ................................................................................... 29
Habitat Conditions................................................................................................................................ 32
Artificial Propagation ........................................................................................................................... 34
ESU Risk Assessment................................................................................................................................. 36
Risk Assessment Methods.................................................................................................................... 36
Resident Fish Considerations ............................................................................................................... 40
Risk Assessment Summary .................................................................................................................. 41
Washington Trout Analysis of Puget Sound Steelhead Productivity ................................................... 53
Risk Assessment Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 54
Spatial Structure/Connectivity.............................................................................................................. 57
iii
References................................................................................................................................................... 59
Appendix A: Survey of Steelhead Abundance ........................................................................................... 67
Appendix B: Hatchery Population Evaluation Procedure...........................................................................73
Appendix C: Hatchery Broodstock Review................................................................................................ 75
Puget Sound Steelhead Derived from Chambers Creek Hatchery ....................................................... 76
Chambers Creek Derivatives................................................................................................................ 78
Puget Sound Winter Run Steelhead Not Derived from Chambers Creek Hatchery............................. 92
Skamania Summer Run Steelhead Hatchery Derivatives..................................................................... 95
Appendix D: Artificial Propagation of Steelhead in Puget Sound............................................................ 101
Appendix E: Peer Review Comments on the Draft Status Review Update .............................................. 109
iv
List of Figures
Figure 1. Map of the Puget Sound steelhead ESU, denoting the major summer and winter run
populations identified by SaSI ...................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2. Releases of hatchery propagated steelhead from state and federal hatcheries in Puget
Sound from 1900 to 1925. .......................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 3. Total releases of winter run steelhead smolts in the Puget Sound Steelhead ESU from
1978 to 2003 ............................................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 4. Total releases of summer run steelhead smolts in the Puget Sound Steelhead ESU from
1987 to 2003 ............................................................................................................................................... 20
Figure 5. Harvest of steelhead in Puget Sound, 1889–1925 ...................................................................... 27
Figure 6. Trends in natural escapement and run size for steelhead in the northern Puget Sound
region of the Puget Sound ESU. ................................................................................................................. 44
Figure 7. Trends in natural escapement and run size for steelhead in the Hood Canal region
of the Puget Sound ESU ............................................................................................................................. 45
Figure 8. Trends in escapement and run size for steelhead in the southern Puget Sound region
of the Puget Sound ESU ............................................................................................................................. 47
Figure 9. Trends in escapement and run size for steelhead in the Strait of Juan de Fuca region
of the Puget Sound ESU. ............................................................................................................................ 48
Figure 10. Monthly values for the Pacific Decadal Oscillation index, which is based on sea
surface temperatures in the North Pacific ................................................................................................... 58
v
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List of Tables
Table 1. Timing of freshwater entry and spawning for native populations of steelhead in Puget
Sound and the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca.............................................................................................. 12
Table 2. Freshwater age at migration to ocean .......................................................................................... 13
Table 3. Ocean age at first spawning ......................................................................................................... 13
Table 4. Frequencies of life history patterns.............................................................................................. 13
Table 5. Hatchery category assignment by the Salmon Steelhead Hatchery Assessment Group
for steelhead hatchery programs releasing fish in Puget Sound.................................................................. 22
Table 6. Risk evaluation sheet for the Puget Sound Steelhead ESU. ........................................................ 25
Table 7. Geometric mean estimates of escapement for Puget Sound steelhead. ....................................... 43
Table 8. Estimates of temporal trends in escapement and total run size for Puget Sound steelhead. ........ 46
Table 9. Median short-term population growth rate estimates and their 95% confidence intervals
for Puget Sound steelhead........................................................................................................................... 51
Table 10. Means and variances of recruits per spawner, and estimates of the slope of the regression
of recruits per spawner on year for Puget Sound steelhead. ....................................................................... 52
Table A-1. Survey of steelhead abundance................................................................................................ 67
Table B-1. Summary of the hatchery program categorization system....................................................... 74
Table C-1. Distribution of hatchery allocation votes by the Salmon Steelhead Hatchery Assessment
Group for steelhead hatchery programs releasing fish in Puget Sound. ..................................................... 75
Table D-1. Artificial propagation of steelhead in Puget Sound ............................................................... 101
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