Expansion of the 2023 Hanford Reach fall Chinook Salmon Juvenile Coded Wire Tagging and PIT Tagging Project
Abstract
The Hanford Reach Upriver Bright Fall Chinook tagging study is a field project designed to capture and tag 200,000 juvenile natural origin fall Chinook Salmon. From June 1 through June 12, 2023, a total of 204,177 juvenile upriver bright (URB) fall Chinook were coded wire tagged. After accounting for mortalities and shed tags, the net number of coded wire tagged fish released was 191,967. The project was hampered by low wild smolt abundance and high hatchery fish abundance, especially in usual fishing areas upstream of the tagging trailer location. This required more extensive fishing downstream in Richland resulting in high mortality. Another negative impact throughout the project was the large number of Priest Rapids Hatchery (PRDH) juvenile Chinook present which were estimated to total more than 25% of the URB biomass captured by the project. In 2023, PRDH released three of their five raceways of fish prior to the end of the Hanford project, rather than waiting until the Hanford project ended as had been the case prior to 2017.
Authors
Citation
Fryer, J.K. 2024. Expansion of the 2023 Hanford Reach fall Chinook Salmon juvenile coded wire tagging and PIT tagging project. Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Portland, OR. 35p.