ANNUAL REPORT
TRINITY RIVER SALMON AND STEELHEAD HATCHERY, 2001-2002
By
Gary R. Ramsden
Fisheries Programs Branch
North Coast, Northern California Region
ABSTRACT
This report describes the operation of Trinity River Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery for
the period July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002. Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha), coho salmon (O. kisutch), and steelhead (Salmo gairdnerii gairdnerii) were
reared.
Tables present the numbers of adults spawned, eggs produced, and fish planted. The
appendix tables present the numbers of eggs and fish liberated and received, and fish
trapping data for the fiscal year.
_________________________________
1/ Inland Fisheries Administrative Report No.
Submitted
INTRODUCTION
This is the forty-fourth consecutive fiscal year report covering operation of the Trinity
River Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery, located near Lewiston, Trinity County. The
hatchery was constructed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to compensate for
spawning and rearing areas lost to the Trinity River Project. The California Department
of Fish and Game began operation of the permanent installation on May 15, 1963.
Operation and maintenance costs are paid by the Bureau to mitigate this loss. This report
describes operation of the hatchery from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002.
-2-
PRODUCTION SUMMARY
The ladder was opened on September 7, and spring run chinook salmon began entering
the hatchery trap. The spring run continued through October 11, of which time the
majority of the salmon arriving were fall run. The fall run continued until December 26,
2001.
Coho salmon were trapped from October 11, 2001, through January 15, 2002. Steelhead
entered the hatchery from September 10, 2001, through March 12, 2002.
TABLE 1. Production Summary 2001-2002
________________________________________________________________________
Species
Number
Trapped
Number
Eggs Taken Number
Number
Total
females
fingerlings yearlings
pounds
spawned
planted
planted
planted
________________________________________________________________________
Spring run
chinook
salmon
6,955
1,005
3,302,168
1,032,548 401,743
50,854
Fall run
chinook
salmon
18,200
1,809
5,936,774
Coho
salmon
10,790
420
1,129,819
2,084,069
872,666
97,631
530,285
79,771
Steelhead
2,371
774
3,642,370
624,650
158,389
________________________________________________________________________
Total
38,316
4,008
14,011,131
3,116,617 2,429,344 386,645
-3Hatchery Operations
During the 2001-2002 spawning season, both chinook races and coho run satisfied
established egg allotments and thus production goals for both smolt and yearling
programs. The winter steelhead egg allotment of two million green eggs was exceeded.
Over 3.6 million eggs were collected from the run. A contrast from the previous year, the
steelhead yearling program of 800,000 will be met.
After hatch, all salmon were nutritionally started on Bio-Moist Grower mash, and then
continued on Bio-Moist Feed pellet until liberation. Steelhead were initially fed BMG #1
starter mash to a size of 50 fish per pound, and then converted to Bio-Dry 1000. Our
demand feed system, exclusive to steelhead, dispersed the feed upon the will of the fish,
until April release into the Trinity River. Salmon were presented feed by means of a
mechanical blower or at times, by hand.
A combined total of 444,960 pounds of feed produced 386,645 pounds of fish for both
smolt and yearling programs of all four fish varieties. Feed poundage was divided into
284,960 wet and 160,000 dry feed, produced by Bio-Oregon, Inc. of Warrington, Oregon.
The conversion rate was calculated at 1.15 (pounds of feed required to rear one pound of
fish).
There were no serious outbreaks of disease during this time frame. An assertive plan of
quarantine and sterilization during spawning and egg handling, plus regular pond
cleaning, has proved health effective. Prophylactic procedures and low pond densities
have been essential to disease control including viral Infectious Hematopioetic Necrosis.
Production yearlings were not vaccinated with Yersina Ruckeri Bacterin, an enteric
redmouth disease treatment. Department of Fish and Game regional pathologists have
determined this past treatment was successful and to abandon the costly process while
monitoring the health of all production fish. Coho were spawned in two female egg lots
and each lot tested for Bacterial Kidney Disease. Overall, Trinity River Hatchery fish
health assessment was very good.
The Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries monitor fish migration and population studies as part
of their management role in the Klamath River Basin. Data, from coded wire tagging,
trapping sites, and hatchery statistics, is collected for run characteristics and regulation.
“Constant fractional marking”, a stastical strategy, has been implemented in cooperation
with Humboldt State University to track hatchery releases. To calculate our chinook
production, both smolt and yearling, were inventoried prior to the coded wire tagging
process. The inventory involves hand weighing fish in ten pound increments with
frequent fish counts on designated bucket intervals. This operations modification
effectively enumerates hatchery salmon production for release estimation. Prior ponding
-4-
procedure relied on eyed egg counts from incubator tray to series or early pond to pond
inventories.
Visitor counts to the installation totaled 6,095. This was a 6% decrease from the previous
year. Guided tours were provided to schools or other interested groups upon request.
Work experience and job shadowing opportunities were utilized by career seeking
individuals, through sponsoring agencies, in all facets of our fish rearing operation.
Approximately 1,392 fly fishers used the Trinity River fishing access in waters adjacent
to the installation, from late April until mid September, a 22% usage increase.
Chinook Salmon Maintenance Program
The History of the 2001 Run
Chinook salmon began arriving at Trinity River Hatchery in mid May. The ladder and
trap were opened for salmon entry on September 7, and sorting started on September 10.
Eggs were collected through December 13.
Spring Run
A total of 6,955 spring run chinook were trapped between September 7 and October 11,
2001. This total included 3,613 females, 2,795 males and 547 grilse. Fish less than 55
cm, FL, were considered and counted as grilse. Spring females produced 3,302,168 green
eggs, an average of 3,286/female. Egg size averaged 93/ounce.
Fall Run
During November and through December 26, 2001, the fall-run numbered 18,200 fish.
This total included 9,093 females, 8,904 males and 703 grilse. Spawned females
produced 5,936,774 green eggs, an average of 3,281/female. Egg size averaged
83/ounce.
-5Planting 2000 Brood Year Chinook Salmon
We planted a total of 1,274,409 chinook yearlings this fiscal year. (Table 2).
Table 2. Yearling Chinook Salmon Planted 2001-2002.
Date
Fish/lb.
10/1-10/01
7.9
12.7
Race
Release site
Spring
Fall
TRH
TRH
Number
401,743
872,666
Total
1,274,409
Planting 2001 Brood Year Chinook Salmon
A total of 3,116,617 chinook salmon fingerlings were planted in 2002 (Table 3).
Table 3. 2001 Brood Year Fingerling Chinook Salmon
Date
Fish/lb.
Race
6/3-12/02
39.0
45.0
71.0
86.0
126.0
Spring
Spring
Fall
Fall
Fall
Release Site
TRH
TRH
TRH
TRH
TRH
Number
730,727
301,821
994,923
1,015,058
74,088
__________
Total 3,116,617
COHO SALMON MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
History of the 2001 Run
Coho salmon entered the hatchery from October 11, 2001 to January 28, 2002. We
trapped 10,790 fish: 4,844 males; 4,960 females; and 986 grilse. Coho females averaged
2,690 eggs @ 92/ounce. A total of 1,129,819 eggs were taken.
-6-
Planted 2000 Brood Year Coho Salmon
Table 4. Coho Salmon Yearling Planted in 2002
Date
Size/lb.
Race
3/15-22/02
5.0
4.5
11.0
Trinity
Trinity
Trinity
Release
TRH
TRH
TRH
Number
125,530
136,080
268,675
________
Total 530,285
STEELHEAD MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
History of the 2001-2002 Run
The first steelhead entered the hatchery on September 10, 2001. We trapped through
March 12, 2002, collecting 2,371 fish: 1,432 males and 939 females. Between January
02, 2002 and March 12, 2002, we spawned 253 females. They produced 3,642,370 eggs,
with an average of 4,706/female. Eggs averaged 247/ounce.
Steelhead Planted
We planted a total 624,650 yearling steelhead in FY 2001-2002. (Table 5)
Table 5. Steelhead Planted in 2001-2002 FY
Strain &
brood year
TR-01
Date
3/15-22/02
Fish/lb.
4.0
3.75
4.2
Mark
Release
site
Ad
Ad
Ad
TRH
TRH
TRH
Number
219,948
246,555
158,147
_________
Total 624,650
-7-
Appendix Table 1. Weekly Adult Salmon and Steelhead Trapping Dates for 2001-02
Chinook
Adults
Grilse
Date
9/10/01
9/17/01
9/24/01
10/01/01
10/09/01
10/29/01
11/05/01
11/13/02
11/19/01
11/26/01
12/03/01
12/10/01
12/17/01
12/26/01
12/31/01
01/07/02
01/14/02
01/22/02
01/28/02
02/04/02
02/11/02
02/19/02
02/25/02
03/04/02
03/11/02
Totals
S
S
S
S
S
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
Coho
Adults
Grilse
Steelhead
Male Female
547
1,334
1,799
1,679
1,049
3,948
5,241
4,486
2,567
786
754
190
25
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
37
112
177
160
61
46
69
57
24
3
1
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
396
830
1,907
1,343
644
1,671
1,279
464
519
627
88
31
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
118
164
271
93
51
104
79
19
33
48
4
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
6
8
3
8
17
6
2
2
1
3
31
308
239
189
96
59
38
148
108
87
46
24
2
2
5
9
11
1
5
21
7
7
1
0
1
13
131
132
133
111
78
75
97
37
50
21
0
24,405
750
9,800
986
1,431
950
-8Appendix Table 2. Summary of Fish Runs to Trinity River Salmon and Steelhead
Hatchery
Chinook
Dates
1958-59
1959-60
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1966-67
1967-68
1968-69
1969-70
1970-71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
1974-75
1975-76
1976-77
1977-78
1978-79
1979-80
1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
1984-85
1985-86
1986-87
1987-88
1988-89
1989-90
1990-91
1991-92
1992-93
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
Males
1,269
1,716
1,493
885
1,308
1,569
1,974
477
1,052
1,620
1,797
624
773
3,648
5,217
2,483
4,547
2,958
2,845
1,841
4,478
1,138
2,745
2,214
1,874
2,764
1,923
6,548
13,109
12,374
19,391
8,218
1,677
1,837
2,237
1,483
4,394
9,740
Females
1,744
2,833
1,287
1,613
1,608
2,627
3,042
1,077
1,002
1,250
2,102
832
725
4,645
4,825
1,152
2,840
3,405
1,901
1,318
5,135
1,480
2,271
2,514
1,683
3,256
1,157
2,821
9,376
8,593
12,594
7,728
2,166
2,088
2,452
1,744
3,078
13,879
Coho
Grilse
878
2,701
4,130
2,899
6,535
2,539
1,287
1,521
2,876
1,746
873
1,130
2,946
928
339
1,577
677
860
2,878
2,562
1,287
1,452
2,242
1,146
4,112
903
664
14,533
5,462
5,273
4,401
426
413
447
1,110
997
5,313
623
Steelhead
Males
Females
240
49
84
158
7
32
23
2
45
287
3
153
1,410
28
28
3,808
33
68
1,171
381
580
1,241
753
830
1,686
223
574
3,729
1,309
9,165
5,713
2,509
666
1,430
1,157
1,136
69
2,091
343
44
54
160
0
40
25
1
173
519
1
132
1,396
11
30
3,787
22
109
1,414
317
995
1,547
1,070
1,164
2,112
256
676
3,919
1,593
11,243
5,802
2,324
706
1,056
1,084
920
43
2,414
Grilse
33
26
70
37
9
11
2
9
807
59
34
1,711
341
8
2,612
468
40
2,060
223
1,230
2,080
1,253
1,500
2,529
1,000
227
7,611
4,138
5,230
2,930
1,301
136
263
202
1,351
138
76
276
2,880
2,071
3,526
3,243
1,687
894
6,941
992
135
232
554
241
87
242
271
162
372
175
13
285
683
382
2,019
1,007
715
603
142
461
3,780
3,007
817
4,765
927
350
551
882
376
646
-9-
Appendix Table 2. Summary of Fish Runs to Trinity River Salmon and Steelhead
Hatchery – continued
Dates
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
Totals
Chinook
Males
Females Grilse
4,902
6,229
571
5,185
4,500
1,712
8,397
7,226
3,790
2,216
2,973
1,980
20,509
17,061
1,650
11,699
12,706
750
191,148
176,538 103,139
Males
4,895
398
1,950
1,264
1,699
4,844
57,921
Coho
Females
4,682
458
1,862
1,783
1,763
4,960
63,010
Steelhead
Grilse
538
1,731
1,036
396
932
986
47,650
4,046
419
438
1,584
842
2,381
56,826