Kelt Reconditioning: A Research Project to Enhance Iteroparity in Columbia Basin Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) – 2005 Annual Report
Abstract
Iteroparity, the ability to repeat spawn, is a life history strategy that is expressed by some species from the family Salmonidae. Rates of repeat spawning for post-development Columbia River steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss populations range from 1.6 to 17%. It is expected that currently observed iteroparity rates for wild steelhead in the Basin are severely depressed due to development and operation of the hydropower system and various additional anthropogenic factors. Increasing the expression of historical repeat spawning rates using fish culturing methods could be a viable technique to assist the recovery of depressed steelhead populations, and could help reestablish this naturally occurring life history trait. Reconditioning is the process of culturing post-spawned fish (kelts) in a captive environment until they are able to reinitiate feeding, growth, and redevelop mature gonads.
Authors
Citation
Branstetter, R., J. Whiteaker, D. Hatch, J. Blodgett, B. Bosch, D. Fast, and T. Newsome. 2005. Kelt reconditioning: a research project to enhance iteroparity in Columbia Basin steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) 2005 annual report. Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Technical Report 06-8. Portland, OR. 57p.