Management & Recovery Implications
Of Wild/Hatchery Steelhead
Interactions Within A Large, Complex
Watershed
Research Partners:
WDFW
Skagit River System Cooperative
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe
Funded By: Saltonstall-Kennedy (NMFS)
Seattle City Light
Interactions between non-listed hatchery steelhead and
listed wild steelhead have been identified as a factor
contributing to the decline of wild steelhead
Wild/Hatchery Interaction
Topics
• Genetic Impacts Through Interbreeding
• Genetic And Ecological Impact From
Hatchery Steelhead Spawning Outside
Hatchery
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 (200
• 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
Marblemount Hatchery
Steelhead (Chambers)
•
•
•
Resident Mykiss
Out Of Basin Sources
Marblemount Hatchery
2009-2011 Skagit Steelhead Research
Genetic Baseline
Zones
Stetattle
Creek
Baker
River
Upper
Skagit
Finney
Creek
Suiattle
River
Upper Sauk
2009-2011 Skagit Steelhead Research
Goodell
Creek
Baker
River
Upper
Skagit
Adult Steelhead
Genetic Baseline
Groups
Finney
Creek
Wild Anadromous Juvenile
Steelhead Genetic Baseline
Groups
Wild Non- Anadromous
Juvenile Resident Rainbow
Genetic Baseline Groups
Suiattle
River
Upper Sauk
Evidence of Segregated Hatchery Steelhead
Spawning Outside of the Marblemount Hatchery?
• Sport caught unspawned & kelts captured
February-April
• Tribal harvest
• Genetic
WDFW Olympia Genetics Lab
Microsatellite Results From 19 Collections of
Steelhead Adults & Juveniles & Rainbow Trout
Populations
Cascade RBT
Clear Creek (Sauk)
RBT
Big Creek (Suiattle) RBT
• Three resident mykiss populations from non-anadromous
regions demonstrated genetic separation
• Steelhead collections were genetically homogenous
Microsatellite Results From 6 Skagit Adult Steelhead
Collections, Marblemount Hatchery, Chillwack Hatchery (BC)
& Ross Lake Rainbow
Marblemount Hatchery
Collection
Ross Lake
Rainbow Trout
Collection
Wild Adult Steelhead
Collections
Chilliwack B.C
Hatchery Steelhead
Collection
Percentage hatchery and natural origin ancestry of juveniles
steelhead and Marblemount hatchery adult collections in the
Skagit River basin from structure analysis
1 – Upper Skagit
2 – Grandy Creek 2009
3 – Grandy Creek 2010
4 – County Line Ponds
5 – Bacon Creek
6 – Goodell 2009
7 – Goodell 2010
8 – Cascade 2009
9 – Cascade 2010
10 – Suiattle
11 - Sauk
12 – Diobsud Creek
13 – Finney Creek 2009
14 – Finney Creek 2010
15 - Marblemount Hatchery Adult
Hatchery Ancestry – red
Natural 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 & Competition
 Reduced Egg To Adult Survival
Natural & Hatchery Ancestry From
Finney Creek Young-Of Year 2010
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
11 of 50 (22%) YOY samples
with >20% hatchery ancestry
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
91.9%
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
Hatchery
x
Hatchery
91.9%
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
*Not direct introgression
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
55.4%
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
Direct Introgression
Hatchery
x
Wild
55.4%
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
33.6%
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Possible Mating Types - Finney Creek YOY
Back Cross
H+W
x
Wild
33.6%
1
0.9
% Hatchery Ancestry
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
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
Marblemount Hatchery
Segregation Of Wild From
Hatchery Steelhead Appears
To Be Working Effectively At
5% Level
Finney Creek
Segregation Of Hatchery From
Natural Origin Steelhead Appears
To 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 spatially
stray and/or wander from natal location
Typical Direct Upstream Migration Progression
Suiattle
River
Receiver Locations
Tagging Location
Atypical In-Direct Upstream Migration Progression
Suiattle
River
Receiver Locations
Tagging Location
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