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A Natural‐origin Steelhead Population’s Response to Exclusion of Hatchery Fish

Dec 12, 2019

Abstract

It is asserted that reduction or elimination of hatchery stocking will increase natural‐origin salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and steelhead O. mykiss production. We conducted an analysis of steelhead population census data (1958–2017) to determine whether elimination of summer steelhead stocking in the upper Clackamas River in 1998 increased the productivity of natural‐origin winter steelhead. A Bayesian state–space stock–recruitment model was fitted to the adult steelhead data set, and productivity was estimated as a function of hatchery‐origin spawner abundance as well as other environmental factors. When used as a predictive variable in our model, the abundance of hatchery summer steelhead spawners (1972–2001) did not have a negative effect on winter steelhead recruitment. However, spill at North Fork Dam (the gateway to the upper Clackamas River basin) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (an index of ocean conditions) were both negatively associated with winter steelhead recruitment. Moreover, winter steelhead abundance in the upper Clackamas River basin failed to rebound to abundances observed in years prior to the hatchery program, and fluctuations in winter steelhead abundance were correlated with those of other regional winter steelhead stocks. Our assessment underscores the need for studies that (1) directly quantify the effects of hatchery fish on the production of natural‐origin salmon and steelhead, (2) empirically test published theories about mechanisms of hatchery fish impacts on natural‐origin populations, and (3) document population responses to major changes in hatchery programs.

Authors

Ian Courter, Garth Wyatt, Russell Perry, John Plumb, Forrest Carpenter, Nicklaus Ackerman, Robert Lessard, and Peter Galbreath

Citation

Courter, I.I., G.J. Wyatt, R.W. Perry, J.M. Plumb, F.M. Carpenter, N.K. Ackerman, R.B. Lessard, and P.F. Galbreath. 2019. A natural‐origin steelhead population’s response to exclusion of hatchery fish. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 148(2):339-351. Online at https://doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10140.

Date

2019/03/01

Report No.

JournalPost_Courter_etal2019

Media Type

Journal Article