1992 Annual Report
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Status of Oregon Coastal Stocks of Anadromous Salmonids Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Monitoring Report No. OPSW-ODFW-2000-3 FEBRUARY 2, 2000 Steve Jacobs Julie Firman Gary Susac Eric Brown Brian Riggers Kris Tempel Coastal Salmonid Inventory Project Western Oregon Research and Monitoring Program Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 28655 Highway 34 Corvallis, OR 97333 Funds supplied in part by: Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anadromous Fisheries Act administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Salmon Treaty administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and State of Oregon (General and Wildlife Funds) Citation: Jacobs S., J. Firman, G. Susac, E. Brown, B. Riggers and K. Tempel 2000. Status of Oregon coastal stocks of anadromous salmonids. Monitoring Program Report Number OPSW-ODFW- 2000-3, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, Oregon. CONTENTS SUMMARY................................................................................................................................. 1 Fall Chinook.............................................................................................................................. 1 Coho.......................................................................................................................................... 2 Chum......................................................................................................................................... 3 Steelhead .................................................................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 4 SURVEY PROGRAM DESIGN .................................................................................................. 4 SURVEY PROCEDURE............................................................................................................. 5 Assessment of Survey Conditions.......................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: FALL CHINOOK SALMON.................................................................................. 9 CURRENT MONITORING PROGRAM ...................................................................................... 9 ASSESSMENT UNITS ............................................................................................................. 10 METHODS ............................................................................................................................... 12 Survey Design ........................................................................................................................ 12 Measures of Spawning Escapement..................................................................................... 12 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION................................................................................................. 16 Assessment of Survey Conditions........................................................................................ 16 Spawning Timing ................................................................................................................... 16 Index of Spawner Abundance ............................................................................................... 18 Trends in Spawner Abundance............................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER 2: COHO SALMON................................................................................................ 24 ii CURRENT MONITORING PROGRAM .................................................................................... 24 ASSESSMENT UNITS ............................................................................................................. 25 METHODS ............................................................................................................................... 27 Measures of Spawning Escapement..................................................................................... 27 Estimates of Coho Salmon Spawner Population Abundance............................................. 29 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION................................................................................................. 34 Assessment of Survey Conditions........................................................................................ 34 Spawning Timing ................................................................................................................... 34 Measures of Spawner Abundance ........................................................................................ 39 Trends in Spawner Abundance............................................................................................. 40 Spawner Distribution ............................................................................................................. 41 Estimates of Spawner Abundance........................................................................................ 44 Occurrence of Hatchery Coho in Natural Spawning Grounds............................................ 52 CHAPTER 3: CHUM SALMON................................................................................................ 57 CURRENT MONITORING PROGRAM .................................................................................... 57 ASSESSMENT UNITS ............................................................................................................. 57 METHODS ............................................................................................................................... 58 Survey Design ........................................................................................................................ 58 Measures of Spawning Escapement..................................................................................... 58 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION................................................................................................. 58 Assessment of Survey Conditions........................................................................................ 58 Spawning Timing ................................................................................................................... 59 Index of Spawning Abundance ............................................................................................. 61 Trends of Spawner Abundance............................................................................................. 64 iii CHAPTER 4: STEELHEAD...................................................................................................... 67 CURRENT MONITORING PROGRAM .................................................................................... 67 ASSESSMENT UNITS ............................................................................................................. 67 STUDY OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................. 68 METHODS ............................................................................................................................... 69 Objective 1 Results (Survey Feasibility)............................................................................... 69 Objective 2 (Survey Reliability) ............................................................................................. 75 PLANS FOR 2000.................................................................................................................... 78 Smith River Objective 1 ......................................................................................................... 78 Smith River Objective 2 ......................................................................................................... 78 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ 79 REFERENCES......................................................................................................................... 79 iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an assessment of the status of adult anadromous salmonids inhabiting coastal basins of Oregon. Status is monitored through spawning surveys. Species or races monitored through these surveys are fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (O. kisutch), chum salmon (O. keta) and steelhead (O. mykiss). Assessments cover through the 1998 brood year for salmon and the 1999 brood year for steelhead. Status is generally assessed along two levels of geographic aggregation: Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs) and Gene Conservation Areas (GCAs). ESUs were defined by the National Marine Fisheries Service in conducting reviews for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. GCAs are usually subsets of ESUs and were defined by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife either as part of the implementation of the Wild Fish Management Policy or as part of monitoring associated with implementation of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. Fall Chinook The Oregon Coastal ESU includes fall chinook inhabiting coastal basins south of the Columbia River mouth through the southern portion of Cape Blanco. Indices of spawner abundance in this ESU show a significant increase over the past 49 years. There are four GCAs within the Oregon Coastal ESU. Spawner abundance trends are available