U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Dworshak Fisheries Complex

Dworshak National Fish Hatchery Idaho Fishery Resource Office Idaho Fish Health Center Kooskia National Fish Hatchery When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra, June 1911

Spring Chinook salmon sac fry, one week old. USFWS Dworshak Located within the Clearwater River Hatchery Operations Fisheries Complex basin in north-central Idaho, the Dworshak hatchery raises cold-water Dworshak Fisheries Complex consists fish species: Clearwater River ‘B’ of Dworshak and Kooskia National run steelhead, spring Chinook and Fish Hatcheries, the Idaho Fishery coho salmon, and rainbow trout. Resource Office, and the Idaho Fish The hatchery is one of the world’s Health Center. largest combination producers of anadromous fish, meaning they Dworshak National Fish Hatchery hatch in freshwater, spend one to (NFH) is funded by the Army Corps four years in the ocean as adults, and of Engineers and co-managed by the then return to their freshwater birth U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and streams to spawn. All salmon and the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho. Both most steelhead die naturally Dworshak and Kooskia hatcheries after spawning. work together closely to ensure the return of salmon and steelhead Dworshak National Fish Hatchery from the Pacific Ocean to the is unique in that water temperatures Clearwater River. for steelhead-rearing ponds can be Dworshak controlled through recirculation and National Fish Dworshak NFH is located at the filtration similar to an aquarium. Hatchery confluence of the North Fork and Steelhead and lies below the main Clearwater River, just Chinook smolts Depending on the time of year, Dworshak Dam. below Dworshak Dam. The dam are released in April. hatchery water can either be heated blocked migrating steelhead and or chilled to the proper temperature salmon from reaching their natural for each fish species. Water flows spawning grounds on the North through biological filtration beds Fork of the Clearwater River, and where bacteria convert wastes into its height made it impossible to harmless by-products before the construct a fish ladder. water reaches settling ponds and, eventually, the river. Dwoshak NFH helps continue Steelhead are raised for the return of one year in water at or near salmon and 50° F to achieve optimum steelhead from health and quality prior the Pacific Ocean to their spring release at to the Clearwater a size of about 8 inches. River. The hatchery strives for ©2007 Kim Glennon increased growth rates in fish All hatchery ponds during the fall, which decreases the are protected from need for using heated recycled water predatory birds by wire netting. in the winter when fish are more susceptible to infections.

Chinook and coho salmon are raised in much colder water — 38-44˚ F — for up to 18 months prior to release.

Susan Sawyer/USFWS Fishing for steelhead below Dworshak Steelhead smolts hatchery on the main in Burrows pond.

ACOE/Walla Walla District Clearwater River. ©2007 Kim Glennon Idaho Fishery The Fishery Resource Office (FRO) Idaho Fish The Fish Health Center (FHC) was Resource Office is located at Dworshak National Health Center originally built in 1969 as part of Fish Hatchery. Established in Dworshak National Fish Hatchery. 1981, the FRO provides evaluation The FHC provides fish health and fish management planning services within Idaho, eastern for the three federal hatcheries Washington, and eastern Oregon. in Idaho: Dworshak, Kooskia, and Federally-funded National Fish Hagerman National Fish Hatchery. Hatcheries within Idaho, as well as FRO staff assesses how each of private fish growers, receive health these hatcheries is meeting their diagnostic and inspection services established mitigation goals. from the FHC. In addition, the FHC works in cooperation with other The primary goal of the FRO federal, state, and Tribal agencies to is to assist in management and survey, sample, and analyze hatchery evaluation of fishery resources that and wild fish populations. relate to federal issues, such as: ©2007 Kim Glennon ■ Fishery resources of Lab staff monitor hatchery steelhead Along with the Tribes, the FHC national significance coordinates with federal agencies ■ for health issues. Fishery mitigation for regarding involvement with species federal projects listed under the Endangered Species ■ Assistance to Native Act. Fish Health Center staff are American Tribes active participants in committees and ■ Other fishery projects as technical groups that govern policy called for under federal law and develop recommendations Activities under this goal support on salmon and steelhead in the protection, restoration and Pacific Northwest. Susan Sawyer/USFWS Susan Sawyer/USFWS Biologists check enhancement of anadromous Staff also conduct young steelhead fishery resources in the Lower wild fish health and salmon Snake River Basin. surveys in area for implanted tags The FRO also helps set up rivers. The FHC lab cultures fish prior to hatchery and design studies to evaluate parasites and bacteria to release. determine disease treatments. hatchery effectiveness and various management scenarios. This involves working with state, Tribal, and federal fishery offices to evaluate fish management programs throughout Idaho.

Unidentified parasites (myxosporea sp.) in fish gills. Ken Peters/USFWS

Biologists sample wild fish populations in area rivers.

USFWS Laura Kessel/USFWS Susan Sawyer/USFWS at Kooskiahatchery. manage fish production Nez Perce Tribal staff Fish Hatchery Kooskia National 8am -3pmdaily. welcome from Road. Visitors are Kooskia onToll 2 mileseastof is The hatchery groundwater supply. thelimited helping toconserve heated duringthewintermonths, Raceway watercanberecycledand critical tothefishproductioncycle. Creek andseveraldeepwellsis Abundant cleanwaterfromClear rearing, andrelease18monthslater. inthefallforhatching, are returned late August spawning.Fertilized eggs will remainthesame. production andcohoacclimation Existing goalsforChinooksalmon the USFWSinnearfuture. from management ofthehatchery the NezPerce Tribe willassume 2007 SnakeRiverBasinAdjudication, Complex in1978.Asaresultofthe Dworshak NationalFish Hatchery Kooskia NFHbecamepartofthe Columbia RiverBasin. water developmentprojectsinthe Chinook salmonlossesresultingfrom Tribal fishingandtomitigatespring built in1969toenhancesportand River.Clearwater was Thehatchery at themouthofClearCreekon Dworshak NationalFish Hatchery, is located35milesupriverfrom Kooskia NationalFish Hatchery wildlife. andresident views ofwaterfowl deckoffers 1877. Anobservation and hispeopleduringthewar of Glass ofChiefLooking the story entrance.Thetrailtells hatchery easy footpathisacrossfromthe brochures.Ashort, informational around thehatchery, alongwith A self-guided tourisavailable Dworshak NFHfor are transportedto May andJune, NFH fishtrapin totheKooskiareturn Chinook salmon Adult spring Susan Sawyer/USFWS

All: ©Aron Jackson/McSorley Elementary School and Education Information for areastudents. education andfun lessons provide Hands-on outdoor release themin the Clearwater River Clearwater Students raise steelhead and each spring. ■ ■ Program goalsinclude: Washington.Idaho andeastern and inlocalcommunitiesthroughout outreach programsathatcheries education, andyear-roundpublic comprehensive visitorservices, Education programprovides Dworshak’s Information/ ■ ■ ■ hatchery programs and services programsandservices hatchery guided tours,schoolprograms, a varietyofactivities,including Outreach goalsareachievedthrough activities Service understanding ofFish andWildlife wildlife resources awareness andeducationalactivities Providing information about Providinginformation Increasingvisibilityofhatcheries Fostering supportand Promotingtheregion’sfishand Developingeffectivepublic quality programs. groups toprovide and specialinterest agencies, nonprofits, Tribal, andstate partner withfederal, Education staff days. Information/ and youthfishing and presentations, information booths information Hatchery Life of Marked for Life. In early Steelhead and Salmon summer, young fish, Dworshak Fisheries Complex called parr, are moved to produces steelhead, spring outside rearing ponds. In Chinook salmon, coho the fall, they are fin-clipped salmon, and rainbow trout. or marked in the automated trailer. These marks Life Ends, Life Begins. Ripe are visible on adult Parr adult fish return to the hatchery fish, indicating ©Aron Jackson where they are euthanized they were raised in so that eggs and milt can a hatchery. be collected and mixed for fertilization. Mature female On Their Way. Each spring, juvenile steelhead produce an average fish or smolts are released into the of 6,500 eggs, while Chinook Clearwater River to begin their and coho females average downstream migration to the about 3,000. ocean. To aid the fish in their journey, dams on The fertilized eggs are then the lower Snake and incubated for one to three Columbia rivers often months until they reach the release water to increase “eyed” stage, when black river flows. Fish passage centers eyespots are visible. Eggs are at the dams can collect and transport then sorted, counted, and moved the smolts downstream for release to the larger nursery tanks. below Bonneville Dam on the Lower Columbia River. Smolt ©Sheri Erickson First Food. Steelhead and salmon fry hatch with yolk Coming Home. Adult fish enter Egg sacs attached, providing their the hatchery by a fish ladder or jar gate into a holding pond. Adult steelhead only source of food for the ©Andrew S. Nisbet first few weeks. Once the yolk The fish are 3 to 5 years is absorbed, the fry are fed old and weigh from 12 six to eight times daily for to 20 pounds. several months. Spawning Season. Steelhead return to Dworshak and Kooskia hatcheries between October and May and are spawned from January through April. Chinook salmon return from May to August and are spawned from late August to early September. The Nez Perce Tribe collects and spawns coho salmon from Sac fry BPA October to November.

Adult salmon and steelhead returning from the ocean enter holding ponds at Dworshak by swimming up a fish ladder. BPA Eyed eggs Cultural Connection Steelhead and salmon have played a key role in the cultural past of the native peoples who once lived in or near the Clearwater River basin. That tradition continues to this day. The Nez Perce people, known historically as the “Ni Mii Puu,” lived and thrived in this region for ages. The small town of Ahsahka, next to Dworshak National Fish Hatchery, was once the site of the largest inland fishing village for Native Americans

throughout the Pacific Northwest. Susan Sawyer/USFWS Each season, Tribes would gather Tribal biologists From simple raise coho at both bone hooks here and harvest from the abundant North Fork runs of Chinook and Dworshak and Kooskia and lines hatcheries. made of hair steelhead. They considered the fish to elaborately to be much more than a food source made willow or trade item. nets, the Ni Mii Puu employed Fish were, and still are, a sacred a variety of and significant part of many Tribes’ techniques to spiritual and cultural identity. For catch fish. some, the return of these fish also symbolizes the renewal of life.

Dworshak and Kooskia fish hatcheries have protected Tribal fishing grounds adjacent to each facility. Only Tribal members are allowed to use traditional or modern methods to harvest salmon and steelhead. When fish returns exceed hatchery goals, surplus fish

Illustrations, University of Idaho/ are collected by several different Cultural Anthropology Department Tribes for ceremonial and cultural purposes. Excess adult fish are often transferred to wilderness streams to supplement natural populations and to provide nutrients after spawning.

Today, Nez Perce Tribal members fill a variety of Present day Ahsahka, ID. fish culture, biologist, and on the North Fork of the maintenance positions within Clearwater River below Dworshak Fisheries Complex. Dworshak Dam. ACOE/Walla Walla District The Snake In 2007, Congress enacted a Frequently Asked Q—Why do salmon and steelhead River Basin landmark decision that settled a Questions travel back and forth from freshwater 20-year legal battle over water rights Adjudication to the ocean? between the Nez Perce Tribe, the state of Idaho, and the U.S. Fish A—A genetically inherited and Wildlife Service. instinct is responsible for the The Snake River urge to migrate to and from Basin Adjudication The SRBA defines the rights and the ocean. The ocean is a much agreement: richer feeding ground, allowing Providing water for responsibilities of all Idaho water Idaho’s people, land, users and provides funding for tribal fish to reach a larger size than and wildlife. water and fisheries projects. in freshwater. The same instinct urging fish to the ocean also Idaho’s Snake The agreement calls for Tribal signals the time to come home. River is a valuable co-management of Dworshak Scientists believe the fish use resource for National Fish Hatchery and full their keen sense of smell to follow recreation and management of Kooskia NFH. Fish © Aron Jackson the unique characteristics of their agriculture. production goals at both hatcheries McSorley Elementary School birth streams. remain the same. Young salmon and steelhead Q—What kind and how much fish A portion of the settlement provides imprint on their food do you use at the hatchery? freshwater birth a Tribal trust fund to protect and A—Fish are fed a specially restore fish habitat in the Salmon streams for up to two years. formulated diet of fish meal in powder and Clearwater River basins. Part or pellet form, complete with oils, of the agreement allows for multi- vitamins, grains, minerals, and in agency management of annual water some cases, medication. Each year, releases from Dworshak reservoir to Background photo shows about 450,000 pounds of food is used benefit fish passage and provide for the size of fish to raise 500,000 pounds of hatchery recreational use of the reservoir. food changes as fish to release size. hatchery fish grow during Q—Do you feed the adult fish after the year. they come up the ladder? Susan Sawyer/USFWS A—No, the adult fish have spent several years feeding in the ocean and are able to live off fats and proteins Because they’ve stored in their flesh until they spent years are spawned. feeding in the ocean, adult fish are Q—What happens with the not fed once they spawned fish? USFWS/NCTC reach the hatchery Mobile sprinklers use via the fish ladder. A—Steelhead carcasses are Snake River water to provided to the Nez Perce irrigate Southern Tribe for cultural purposes, to Idaho fields. universities for research, or Sport fishing for to captive endangered species steelhead on the feeding programs. Chinook Clearwater River carcasses in good condition boosts local economies. are placed in remote streams in the fall to enhance habitat nutrients. USFWS/NCTC S. Sawyer/USFWS Fun Fish Facts Q – Can fish see in color? A – YES! Fish see color almost as well as people. This is one reason that many fishing lures come in bright colors. Fish Finders Fish have the Q – Which Once salmon and steelhead smolts same five senses of their five leave the hatchery they swim for the as people! senses do ocean, where they can range from anadromous California to Alaska over their one

fish use to find Susan Sawyer/USFWS to four years of travel. The hundreds their way home? of miles they swim may take them A – Smell! Salmon and through various governing jurisdictions steelhead use this sense more than and fishery management boundaries. others to find their river or stream of birth or to return to the hatchery. In order to effectively track these Juvenile steelhead They remember the smells of the migratory fish and determine harvest are sorted prior water from when they traveled levels, a portion of each hatchery’s to marking in an downstream several years before. automated trailer. juvenile fish are marked or tagged primarily by two methods: coded wire Q – How do fish hold onto their food? tags and fin clipping. A – Teeth! Many fish have teeth on their tongues, jaws, the roofs of their Coded Wire Tag (CWT) mouths, and even in their throats. This procedure occurs when the fish These teeth make it much easier to are between 3 and 4 inches long and hold onto the wet and wiggling food under a light anesthesia. Coded Wire they eat in the water. Tags are inserted into the cartilage of a fish’s snout by an automated machine. Q – Can a fish drown? The CWT is a tiny hair-thin piece A – YES! A fish can drown if it’s of magnetized metal with a unique pulled through the water too fast by numeric code that can be detected its mouth or tail. To release a fish you when the fish returns to the hatchery have caught, keep it in the water and or is caught by fishermen. Data from remove the hook if possible. (If not, these tags are used to track fish cut the line close to the hook so it can movement, survival, and to manage rust out.) Gently cradle the fish under populations. Due to tag costs, only its belly, avoiding the gills, and move a sample group of hatchery fish are it back and forth slowly until it swims marked in this way. away on its own. Fin Clipping Q – Do fish burp? Most hatchery steelhead and Chinook A- YES! Fish have a swim bladder salmon smolts receive a fin clip prior they can fill by gulping air from the to release. The adipose fin on the water to help them fish’s back is removed so they can be float. They can identified as hatchery-raised when they release that air to return as adult fish. Only fin-clipped make them sink. fish can be legally harvested during sport fishing season or spawned at the hatchery. Adult fish returning to the hatchery without fin clips or tags are Juvenile spring returned to the river so they can spawn Chinook salmon in naturally. ©Charles Wandag an aeration jar. Dworshak Fisheries Complex 4147 Ahsahka Road Ahsahka, Idaho 83520–0018 208/476 4591, fax 208/476 3252 http://dworshak.fws.gov

Kooskia National Fish Hatchery 208/926 4272 http://kooskia.fws.gov

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 1 800/344 WILD http://www.fws.gov

Washington Relay Service TTY 1 800/833 6388 Voice 1 800/735 0644 Telebraille 1 800/833 6385

June 2009

Steelhead sac fry emerging from egg.

USFWS