APRE Summary
Program name:
Fall Chinook (Captain John)- Integrated
Subbasin:
Snake Hells Canyon
ESA status:
Threatened
Operator: WDFW
Co-operators
Role
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Lower Snake River Compensation Plan- Program
Funding & Oversight
Nez Perce Tribe
Co-Manager
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation
Co-Manager
National Marine Fisheries Service
Co-Operator/Operator of Adult Trap at Lower
Granite Dam
Idaho Power Company
Co-Operator/Mitigation Funds for Hells Canyon
Dam
Idaho Department of Fish & Game
Co-Operator/Rears Idaho Power Company
Mitigation Fish
Funding Source(s)
Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Mitigation Funds- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Annual Operating Cost*
$ 1,125,217
*Annual Operating Cost is reflected in dollars. The origin of this value is not consistent among programs, as it may reflect total
facility costs or multiple programs for a given species.
The purpose of this program is to contribute to: Harvest, Conservation/recovery and Research and/or education, as
mitigation for: Hydro impacts .
This is an integrated program.
Program description:
Location
Age Class
Maximum
Number
Fingerling 800000
Yearling 150000
Release
Date
Stream
65 (Mid April
release) and
55 (early
June
release)
June 1
and June
30
Snake River (17
miles south of
Asotin, WA)
263
Snake Hells
Canyon
Blue Mountain
10
April 15
Snake River (17
miles south of
Asotin, WA)
263
Snake Hells
Canyon
Blue Mountain
Size (fpp)
Release Point
(RKm)
Major
Watershed
Ecoprovince
Comment:
Broodstock holding and spawning facilities:
Broodstock are derived from on-station volitional adult returns, and adult trapping at the Lower Granite Adult
Trapping Facility. Fall chinook collected at Lower Granite Dam are held separately from those that voluntarily enter
the hatchery. Adults are held, maturated, and spawned at the LFH facility.
Incubation facilities:
The incubation room at LFH is designed to accept and incubate eggs from individual females through the eyed stage.
Each stack of Heath trays has its own water source. Water is single use flow through. Each female will be kept
separate until eye-up. After eyeing is complete and ELISA and virus sample results are received, eggs will be
combined, according to sample results, and placed in trays with substrate. Eggs with positive ELISA results will be
kept separate or destroyed, according to fish health/production protocol. Eggs will hatch in the incubation trays and
fry will be ponded in raceways at LFH.
Rearing facilities:
Initial fish rearing will occur in the south raceways (100 X 10 X 2.8 ft). Fish are separated into yearling and
subyearling production groups. The yearling production is retained in the south raceway units, and the subyearling
production are transferred to large raceways (18 ft wide x 150 ft long x 4.3 ft deep).
Acclimation/release facilities:
Yearling fall chinook will be transported to Capt. John Rapids by early February to allow rearing space for subyearling fish at Lyons Ferry. Acclimation on river water will occur for 6 weeks prior to a volitional release.
Sub-yearlings are transported to the acclimation facility between early May and early June, and are volitionally
released approximately three weeks later. Two groups of sub-yearlings (early June and late June release groups) are
acclimated, and released from Capt. John Rapids.
Broodstock source Snake River Fall Chinook (Threatened Species/Stock)
Broodstock collection location
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Snake Lower
(stream, RKm, subbasin)
Adult holding location (stream,
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Snake Lower
RKm, subbasin)
Spawning location (stream,
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Snake Lower
RKm, subbasin)
Incubation location (facility
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Snake Lower
name, stream, RKm, subbasin)
Rearing location (facility name,
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Snake Lower
stream, RKm, subbasin)
Broodstock Source
Origin
Snake River Fall Chinook N
Year(s) Used
Begin
1976
End
U
Status and goals for target stock:
= Low
= Medium
= High
Now
10-15 years
30-50 years
Biological
Significance
Viability
Habitat
Hatchery program performance indicators for the target stock:
Recruits per Spawner
Smolt-to-Adult Survival
Escapement and Hatchery Spawning
Total Catch
Consistency of hatchery program with the goals for the target stock:
The goal for this stock is to maintain its biological significance and improve its viability. The program has primary mitigation
goals of (1) recovery/supplementation and conservation of Snake River fall chinook and (2) harvest supplementation of fall
chinook for fisheries in the lower/mid Snake River, Columbia River/Estuary, and Pacific Ocean. The program is consistent and
compatible with management, conservation, and research goals of the stock and other stocks within the Snake Hells Canyon
Subbasin.
The program is tailored to address and perform according to stipulations and objectives set forth in the Lower Snake River
Compensation Plan for Lower Snake River hydroelectric projects and research/M&E activities.
The Annual Lower Snake River Compensation Plan agreement sets forth specific program performance indicators (fish size &
release numbers, survival, etc.) that are explicitly monitored and evaluated. The program is adaptively managed to adhere to
stated program performance standards
Guidelines for improving key operational elements to increase the likelihood of meeting goals
for the target stock:
Broodstock Collection

If the wild population has 150 fish or more, collection of wild broodstock should be limited to 30% of the population.
Adult Holding

Hatchery intake screening for the adult holding supply should comply with Integrated Hatchery Operations Team
(IHOT) and National Marine Fisheries Service facility standards.
Incubation


IHOT species-specific incubation recommendations should be followed for density parameters.
Hatchery intake screening for the incubation water supply should comply with Integrated Hatchery Operations Team
(IHOT) and National Marine Fisheries Service facility standards.
Rearing

Juvenile rearing density and loading guidelines used at the facility should be based on life-stage specific survival
studies conducted on-site.

Hatchery intake screening for the rearing water supply should comply with Integrated Hatchery Operations Team
(IHOT) and National Marine Fisheries Service facility standards.

The water used for rearing should provide natural water temperature profiles that result in fish similar in size to
naturally produced fish of the same species.


The program should use a diet and growth regime that mimics natural seasonal growth patterns.
IHOT juvenile rearing standards should be followed for predator control measures to provide the necessary security
for the cultured stock.
Release


Fish produced should be qualitatively similar to natural fish in growth rate.
Fish produced should be qualitatively similar to natural fish in behavior.
M&E


Goals for the program should be documented so that results can be adequately evaluated.

Adults from this program should not make up more than 30% of the natural spawning escapement (for the
species/race) in the subbasin.
Results of program evaluation should be reported/documented so that they can be taken into consideration when
determining whether hatchery operations should be changed.
These recommendations represent an opportunity to improve key operational elements for this type of program. Detailed
information on the benefits and risks of all operational phases as they affect the outcome of this program are available in APRE
Report for Fall Chinook (Captain John)- Integrated in the Snake Hells Canyon
Consistency of hatchery program with goals for other stocks:
Hatchery fish may affect other stocks in several ways. Naturally spawning populations may be subject to genetic interactions
through interbreeding. Ecological interactions through predation and competition may occur between the hatchery population
and other populations, and natural populations may be incidentally harvested in fisheries targeting a more abundant hatchery
stock. Abundant hatchery stocks may also mask the status of natural populations. Conversely an increase in the number of
artificially produced fish may improve the ecological function of a watershed through their contribution of marine derived
nutrients.
A number of factors are known to affect the likelihood and severity of such interactions, among them the abundance of the
hatchery population relative to other populations; the time, size and life stage at which hatchery fish are released; and the
quantity and quality of habitat available to the co-mingled stocks. The table below lists the current status of some of the
populations in the subbasin where the hatchery fish are released that might be vulnerable to these interactions.
Stock Name
Summer Steelhead - Natural
Fall Chinook (Captain John)Integrated
Fall Chinook (Pittsburg
Landing)-Integrated
Fall Chinook (IPC)- Integrated
ESA Listing
Threatened
Threatened
Viability
L
M
Biological Significance
H
H
Threatened
M
H
Threatened
M
H
Additional reviewer comments:
The program uses broodstock that is derived from fall chinook adults captured at the Lyons Ferry Hatchery and Lower Granite
Dam adult collection facilities.
The program fish are marked at a 100% rate.
Adult monitoring at the Lyons Ferry Hatchery and Lower Granite Dam adult trapping/monitoring facilities provide a mechanism
for discriminating returning program adults from Non-Snake River origin fall chinook. The discrimination of program adult
returns at the Lyons Ferry and Lower Granite Dam provides the ability to monitor and evaluate program adherence to the
integrated stock criteria, the integrity of Snake River fall chinook strain, and program performance standards.
Manager/operator response:
Per CTUIR: Program fish are not 100% marked. See other comments for Lyons Ferry.