PART II – TYPE OF REARING PROJECT AND OBJECTIVE

Fish Species to be Reared: Fall Chinook

Intent of Rearing Project (check only one): Type 1. Increase fishing and harvest opportunities Type 2. Enhance existing natural production Type 3. Restore fish to vacant habitat Type 4. Develop broodstock

Note: OAR 635-009-0125 defines STEP fish propagation projects as the following: Supplementation – A project involving continued planting to maintain or increase fish abundance where natural production is insufficient to meet management objectives (Type 1 above). Rehabilitation – A project in which fish are released to rebuild a currently depressed run (Type 2 and 3 above). Broodstock Development – A project in which reared fish are released and the resulting adults return to a recapture facility to provide an egg source for management program (Type 4 above).

Project Start Date: 6/16/16 Project End Date: 6/15/21

Project Duration: If Type 1 (see above): If Type 2,3, or 4 (see above): 5 years Coho salmon 3 years Chum salmon 4 years Chinook salmon 5 years Steelhead 4 years Trout 4 years

Note: Projects that continue beyond the above-listed time periods must apply for renewal at the end of that time period.

Describe how the proposed project (please answer all that apply): (a) Addresses ODFW fish management needs as outlined in subbasin fish management, species, recovery or conservation, or other plans (please cite specific plan, goal, objective, etc).

The main objective of this proposal is to raise 100,000 fall Chinook salmon pre-smolts at the Millicoma Interpretive Center and release these fish into Pony Slough. The purpose of all hatchery fall Chinook releases into the Coos Basin are for harvest augmentation. According to the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan (CMP), hatchery programs, consistent with their original intent, are vital to providing fishing opportunity and supplementing harvest of wild fish. Under the CMP, Management Areas have been defined for the coastal river systems and the level of hatchery fish releases for each Management Area has been identified. The Coos Bay estuary, defined as the Coos Bay Frontal Management Area in the CMP, is allowed to release up to approximately 2.1 million hatchery fall Chinook annually.

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Under House Bill 3489 – Plan to Reform Department Operated Fish Hatcheries on the Oregon Coast, the harvest goal for the Coos Basin is 4,000 adult fall Chinook annually. Another objective of the project is to provide educational opportunities to hundreds of students each year. This facility provides valuable “hands on” teaching techniques that are unique to this region. Student groups are involved in all aspects of the operations of the facility.

Will contribute to fisheries. Identify the fisheries and note any current special regulations such as “adipose fin-clipped only” that would affect the proposed project operation.

The resulting Chinook from this proposal will contribute to both ocean and in-river recreational fisheries. The in-river recreational fishery for this release group will be concentrated in the lower Coos Bay estuary especially near the mouth of Pony Slough. The current goal is to fin mark 100% of all hatchery fish releases within the Coos Basin. Currently there is no mark-selective Chinook fishery in the Coos Basin. Because virtually all hatchery Chinook released into the Coos Basin are 100% fin marked, fish produced by this project would be available for harvest in times of restricted wild Chinook harvest, as may occur under the CMP.

Addresses the factors limiting adequate natural production in the basin (lack of spawning habitat, poor rearing habitat). Also, please cite any information that supports that determination. The history of the Coos River watershed is that the three main rivers were systematically splash- dammed starting in 1887 and occurred until 1958. During this era over 4,000 logs, root wads, and boulders were removed from the South Coos River channel by dynamite (Jim Sedell, USFS). Splash- damming was very detrimental to the stream bed and riparian destroying the spawning habitat in the basin to the point that the Oregon Fish Commission biologists believed that the fall Chinook in the basin went extinct. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists now believe that a small number of Chinook survived to founder the current population.

The Coos Estuary is approximately 10,000 acres and is the largest estuary in Oregon. Estuarine habitat in the basin has been altered by dredging, filling, and diking that has occurred since the late 1800s, with salt marshes suffering the most serious losses (Coos Basin Plan, 1990). Even with the loss of some estuarine habitat, the Coos estuary is believed to still have a tremendous potential to rear juvenile salmonid and marine fishes. Because of past splash dams, Chinook spawning habitat is limited in the watershed.

This project does not address the loss of spawning or estuarine habitat but it does provide hatchery Chinook for harvest in ocean and in-river fisheries.

(b) Contributes to other STEP, OPSW, and salmon and/or watershed recovery needs (education, citizen participation, other social benefit, etc).

This project also addresses the goal of the STEP program as outlined in the OARS (635-009- 0100 2a): Provide the greatest possible opportunity for citizen involvement in achieving the Department's fish management objectives. This project also addresses goal 2d of the same OAR by conducting educational programs. Student groups and the general public are an integral part

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of the operation of the Millicoma Interpretive Center rearing project each year. Outreach and education is a key component of these programs

(c) Is addressed under an existing Hatchery Genetic Management Plan or Hatchery Management Plan.

The Millicoma Interpretive Center rearing program is addressed in the completed Coos Fall Chinook HGMP, submitted to NOAA in November, 2014 and currently being updated (June 2016).

(d) Is consistent with the goals of the Hatchery Management Policy and the NFCP (please answer all that apply): a. Fosters and sustains opportunities for sport, commercial, and tribal fishers consistent with the conservation of naturally produced native fish.

Hatchery Chinook produced from this rearing program have contributed well to ocean and in-river fisheries. Ocean contribution is based on coded-wire tag recoveries while contribution to the in-river recreational fishery is based on creel surveys conducted in 2009-2013.

b. Contributes toward the sustainability of naturally produced native fish through the responsible use of hatcheries and hatchery-produced fish.

The Millicoma Interpretive Center is located on the West Fork Millicoma River. The West Fork Millicoma has the smallest population of wild Chinook of the three main river forks entering the Coos Bay estuary. Due to concerns of hatchery Chinook released from Millicoma Interpretive Center straying throughout the Coos Basin, the decision was made through the CMP process to continue to rear these fish on site but acclimate and release the Chinook pre-smolts into Pony Slough.

c. Maintains genetic resources of native fish spawned or reared in captivity.

The naturally produced Chinook population is robust and in recent years has been above average levels. The genetic resources of the naturally produced Chinook in the basin have been and will continue to be maintained.

Due to the objectives of the program, certain behavioral/physical differences may exist between hatchery and wild smolts. Fish size and timing at migration for hatchery smolts is more uniform than that observed for wild smolts. Other behaviors, such as surface feeding and aggression may be different between hatchery and wild smolts.

Since the inception of the broodstock development program for Chinook in the basin, efforts have been made to mimic the naturally produced Chinook in the basin. This has been accomplished through incorporation of wild brood fish each generation. The program strives to incorporate 30% wild broodstock into each year’s egg take but most years end up short of the goal. Hatchery (trapped in river and some hauled from Morgan Creek Hatchery) and wild Chinook (trapped in the river) are spawned throughout the entire run to maintain diverse genetic aspects of the population that may be associated with run timing.

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d. Minimizes adverse ecological impacts to watersheds caused by hatchery facilities and operations.

The proposed number of pounds of fish reared in this proposal is small and should have minimal impacts to the West Fork Millicoma River. A total of 1,333 pounds of Chinook are produced at this rearing facility. Programs that exceed 20,000 pounds are subject to NPDES permits.

Pre-smolts from this program are released at an average fork length of 7 cm. This is approximately 2 cm larger than the majority of wild Chinook in the basin at the time of release. However, there is little known difference in size between hatchery and wild Chinook once they reach the lower estuary. Most years, district staff conduct estuary monitoring from May through September, tracking wild and hatchery Chinook from upper tidewater to ocean entrance.

Releasing pre-smolts is also done to minimize interaction with listed coho. The hatchery-produced fall Chinook are released into a tidewater slough during the late spring and summer when coho rearing in the estuary is minimal. Also, the wild coho smolts in the estuary will be larger in size and more aggressive than the pre-smolt fall Chinook released into tidewater areas.

Carcasses from Millicoma Interpretive Center, which provide marine derived nutrients, are placed back into the West Fork Millicoma River. These carcasses are believed to have a positive impact on the ecology of the streams within the Coos Basin.

PART III – LOCATION OF REARING PROJECT OR FACILITY

County: Coos Basin or Watershed: Coos Stream: West Fork Millicoma and one of the following: Road address River or stream mile 12 Legal (Township/Range/Section) T24 R11 Sec 16 NW ¼ SW ¼ UTM coordinate

***Please include a map showing the project location within the watershed***.

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PART IV – OPERATION

Please explain the proposed operation including the following (where applicable) or attach a copy of the existing Hatchery Genetic Management Plan (HGMP) or Hatchery Management Plan (HMP): (a) Source of broodstock. The broodstock source is the Coos River stock. Most of the needed broodstock would be from returning adults to one of the three STEP facilities in the basin. Naturally produced Chinook would be obtained from traps on the either the South Coos or West Fork Millicoma rivers. Occasionally entanglement netting is used to collect naturally produced Chinook for broodstock. The goal is to have an average of 30% of the broodstock be composed of naturally produced parents.

(b) Number of eggs needed.

A total of 120,000 eggs are needed to produce the 100,000 pre-smolts.

(c) Number of broodstock (males and females) needed.

On average, a minimum of 800 pairs of Chinook are needed to fulfill the egg take goal each year for the combined Coos Basin hatchery fall Chinook program. Many more Chinook are spawned to maximize genetic variability within the hatchery population. On most spawning days only a portion of the eggs from each hatchery female are utilized. The portion of the eggs may be as low as 1/17 of the eggs from a female. Eggs from naturally produced Chinook collected in trapping or netting operations are fully utilized. The mating strategies at these stations are extremely labor intensive and may involve over 30 volunteers on a single day. The actual number of family groups incorporated into the egg take in the Coos River Basin in the course of a season may exceed 3,000.

(d) Mating procedures.

The sperm and eggs from the adults and jacks are kept in individual bags. Keeping sperm and eggs in separate bags prevents the fertilization of more than one female by one male. Gametes are transferred to Bandon Hatchery where fertilization occurs. Each group of eggs is then placed in an incubator tray to water harden in an iodophore solution based on the current direction from ODFW’s Fish Health section. Eggs are then eyed and inventoried at Bandon Hatchery.

(e) Number of fry needed. A total of 110,000 fry are needed for this program (f) Number of fingerling needed. A total number of 105,000 fingerlings are needed for the program at Millicoma. (g) Number of pre-smolt needed. A total number of 100,000 pre-smolt Chinook are needed for the production goal (h) Number of smolt needed. No smolts reared at this station. (i) Anticipated or historical losses at each stage.

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The water supply to the facility comes from three streams that originate in the Elliot State Forest. Each of these streams are spring fed. Stream flows for the combination of these streams is 6 cfs in the winter and 60gpm in the summer. Flow data is based on measurements of water flowing over a “sharp-crested weir” (Francis Formula).

(c) Incubation, rearing, and/or broodstock holding facilities - dimensions, capacity, water required, etc.

All stages of incubation, rearing, broodstock holding and harvest of mature gametes are performed or closely monitored by an ODFW biologist or an experienced STEP member.

Incubation:

Incubation to the “eyed stage” is not conducted at the facility. All eggs are eyed at Bandon Hatchery. Eggs are then transferred to the Millicoma Interpretive Center where eggs are placed into hatchboxes. Eggs are then incubated to the “swim-up” stage and ponded.

Rearing:

At “swim-up” the fry are transferred to rearing containers on site. The fry are not immediately ponded in the raceway because the raceway is also used for holding adult steelhead broodstock and then as an acclimation pond for steelhead. The station is equipped with dissolved oxygen meters that volunteers use regularly. Fish cultural guidelines dictate that not more than 7 lbs of fish be reared for each gallon per minute (GPM). The holding capacity is also based on the area of the containers. Fish cultural guidelines dictate that there shall be no more than 7 tenths of a pound of fish per cubic foot of water. Fingerlings cannot be moved into the main raceway until the mid-April after the steelhead smolts are released.

Broodstock holding facilities:

In the fall of the year the raceway is converted to an adult holding pond. The raceway is 80 feet x 20 feet x 4 feet. Water flow is variable in the fall and is closely monitored for dissolved oxygen. Supplemental pumps and aerators are used if needed. In recent years, surplus adults and jacks have not placed into the holding pond but have been taken out of the trap and dispatched for placement in streams for nutrients. Fish are sorted and spawned on a schedule, or as needed based on the rate of returning fish. Most Chinook return to Millicoma Creek in a very mature state and are quickly spawned. Adults and jacks are held at a rate of no more than 10 pounds of fish per gallon of water per minute into the holding pond. There has not been a loss of broodstock at this station due to water availability.

(d) Adult trapping, holding and handling facilities.

Chinook returning to Millicoma swim up the outlet stream over a series of artificial weirs. The Chinook enter a fishway that leads to the adult trap. At the lower end of the trap is a finger weir. Several feet above the finger weir is a fyke that also traps the fish. The trap is 20 X 8 feet and is blocked by an aluminum fence that prevents the movement of Chinook farther upstream into the adult pond. Volunteer and ODFW staff net and sort the fish from this compartment as needed. Sorting may occur more than twice a week if fish are entering the trap in high numbers.

The adult holding pond is a concrete raceway that is 20X70 feet. This pond has a center dividing wall that provides for the sorting of broodstock as needed.

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(e) Water treatment (if applicable) and discharge process. Please also note whether a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) Permit is required.

No permit is required because this facility produces under 20,000 pounds of fish during the course of a year.

(f) Known existing or potential disease issues or considerations.

Enteric redmouth disease was isolated one time in the 20 years that fish have been reared at this site.

(g) Process for disease monitoring.

While the Chinook are being reared at the station, both live and dead fish are examined routinely for diseases by a trained biologist. Each group of fish reared at the station are examined by the Fish Health specialists for a pre-liberation disease check. No fish are released from this station without a disease clearance from the Department’s Fish Health Section.

Adult Chinook are also sampled for viruses. Standard viral sampling protocols are used at Millicoma to prevent the transmission of viral diseases.

(h) Anticipated facility operation and maintenance costs.

There are only three costs to operating this facility. Fish food costs about $2,100 to rear the Chinook in 2016. The annual power bill is about $1,200 annually. There is a phone at the facility that costs about $600.

A grant from the Restoration and Enhancement has been supplying the funds for fish food. Corporate donations and the annual salmon derby provide financial support for the electricity and power.

Documents attached that demonstrate legal access to the site or property rights: Lease(s) Access agreement Option(s) Water right Easement Other written authorization

Attach a written statement from the appropriate local planning authorities of the county or jurisdiction within which the proposed facility is located stating whether the proposed operation is in compliance with all local comprehensive land-use and/or estuary plans.

Note: It is the responsibility of the project sponsor to obtain all water rights, access agreements, easements, use permits or any other permits needed to undertake the project.

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PART VI – PROJECT MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Please explain how this project will be monitored and evaluated and by whom (volunteer, ODFW, or other) including: (a) Monitoring for disease.

While the Chinook are reared at the station, both live and dead fish are examined routinely for diseases by a trained biologist. Each group of fish reared at the station are examined by the Fish Health specialists for a pre-liberation disease check. No fish are released from this station without a disease clearance from the Department’s Fish Health Section.

(b) Monitoring of juvenile survival and/or distribution (if applicable).

A primary method to evaluate the potential impacts of hatchery Chinook on naturally produced Chinook is through estuary seining. In recent years, District staff has attempted to monitor the number of wild Chinook in the upper tidewater before and after the release of hatchery Chinook.

In recent years District staff have taken lengths and weights from a sub- sample of juvenile Chinook captured while seining in the lower estuary. The estuary seining will also be used to monitor the marked-to-unmarked ratio of juvenile Chinook in the estuary. The total abundance of Chinook juveniles in the estuary can be roughly estimated using this ratio. This would be valuable in ascertaining the ratio of hatchery fish to naturally produced fish in the estuary. (c) Monitoring of adult returns to this or other collection facilities (if applicable).

Monitoring adult returns to all trapping facilities will be conducted through enumerating each fish that is trapped and examining each fish closely for fin clips. Coded-wire-tagged fish will all be sampled for the tag and processed through standard ODFW protocols.

(d) Monitoring of adult returns to natural spawning areas (if applicable).

Straying of hatchery Chinook from Morgan Creek into naturally produced Chinook spawning areas will be evaluated through two methods. The first method will be conducting standard and random salmon spawning ground surveys. The surveys that are conducted throughout the basin have the opportunity to sample numerous Chinook for fin clips. Supplemental surveys were also conducted by District staff mainly in the South Fork Coos River basin from 2009 through 2013.

The second method used to evaluate the rate of straying from Coos Basin hatchery facilities is the operation of traps on the South Fork Coos River and West Fork Millicoma River. The Dellwood Fish Trap, located on the South Fork Coos River, is the primary trap used for this evaluation. The Dellwood Fish Trap has been in operation since 1987, for research and/or broodstock collection.

The Pacific Salmon Treaty Research Project operated the Dellwood Fish Trap to conduct a Peterson Mark-Recapture Population Estimate on the South Fork Coos River for three years (1998-2000). Each year, the project trapped and tagged about 900 fall Chinook. An estimate of the percentage of hatchery Chinook in the recovery was about 8% of the total number of Chinook

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trapped. This was based on the expansion of observed fin clipped Chinook. The percentage of hatchery Chinook that were fin clipped in the late 1990s and early 2000s was low.

In 2009 -2013, District staff also used the Dellwood Fish Trap to conduct a Peterson Mark- Recapture Population Estimate on the South Fork Coos River. Hatchery stray rates were estimated to range from 2.3% - 14.7% in the South Fork Coos River sub-basin during these years. In 2015, no Mark-Recapture was conducted but a stray rate of about 50% was estimated from standard and random spawning surveys conducted by the Department’s Corvallis Research staff. Avoidance of excessive straying of hatchery fish into naturally produced Chinook spawning areas must be documented to monitor compliance with the CMP. If, through spawning ground surveys and/or the operation of the Dellwood Fish Trap, the observed stray rates are consistently 10% or greater in prime Chinook spawning areas, then the number of hatchery fish released from Morgan Creek and other STEP facilities may be need to be reduced or modified in order to meet CMP criteria.

(e) Contribution to sport or commercial fisheries (if applicable).

Contributions to ocean fisheries will be conducted through standard state and provincial sampling. Recreational fisheries contribution will be evaluated through periodic in-basin creel surveys (1998, 1999, 2009-2013) and annual salmon derbies. (f) Estimated monitoring costs.

Statistical creel surveys cost approximately $35,000 per year for two creel samplers. The cost for conducting the Peterson Mark-Recapture Population Estimate is approximately $50,000 per year. Other monitoring costs for disease sampling and standard/random spawning surveys would be paid for from the respective project budgets

If this is a project renewal, please identify or provide a summary of past monitoring information including: (a) Results of disease monitoring (please attach appropriate reports).

Bacterial and protozoan diseases have rarely been isolated at the facility in the 20 years of operation. Viral diseases have not been documented.

(b) Results of any surveys (juvenile, adult trapping, spawning, creel, etc).

Creel surveys

Creel surveys have been conducted in 1998, 1999, 2009-2013. Adult hatchery Chinook contribution to the fishery for these years ranged from 20% to 81%. The adult hatchery Chinook estimated exploitation rate ranged from 16% to 48%. From 2009 - 2013, the estimated exploitation rate on wild Chinook was calculated to range from 12% to 21%.

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Commercial harvest

Hatchery Chinook released from the Coos Basin contribute to ocean commercial fisheries, most heavily in the North Pacific Ocean. For the 2006-2008 broodyears, there were a total of 523 CWT recoveries (expanded for sampling rates) from ocean fisheries. Oregon ocean fisheries made up only 8.7% of the total recovered while Alaska and Canada combined made up 69.7%.

Spawning survey stray rates

In 2009-2013, District staff and ODFW’s Biometrician estimated the number of spawning Chinook and number of hatchery Chinook strays in the South Fork Coos River by conducting a Peterson Mark- Recapture Population Estimate.

2009

We estimated that the number of adult Chinook Salmon spawning in the South Fork Coos Basin above the Dellwood Fish Trap was 4,430 (Standard Deviation [SD] = 391.4) (894 marked [M], 499 carcasses recovered [C], and 100 recaptures [R]) and the number of jack Chinook Salmon was 1,425 (SD=433.4) (227 M, 49 C, and 7 R). On the spawning grounds, 548 Chinook Salmon carcasses were sampled of which only 0.4% of adults and 2.0% of jacks were fin clipped. When expanded for unmarked hatchery fish this would be a 2.4% stray rate for adults and 6.7% stray rate for jacks in the South Coos Basin above Dellwood Fish Trap (Table 1).

2010

We estimated that the number of adult Chinook Salmon spawning in the South Fork Coos basin above the Dellwood Fish Trap was 6,766 (SD = 426.1)(1,255 M, 1,098 C, and 203 R) and the number of jack Chinook Salmon was 111 (SD=140.8) (92 M, 55 C, and 9 R). On the spawning grounds, 1,153 Chinook Salmon carcasses were sampled of which 3.8% were fin clipped. When expanded for unmarked hatchery Chinook Salmon there was a 13.5% stray rate for adults and a 50.5% stray rate for jacks in the South Coos Basin above Dellwood Fish Trap (Table 1).

2011

We estimated the number of adult Chinook Salmon spawning in the South Fork Coos basin above the Dellwood Fish Trap was 9,404 (SD=316.6) (2,191 M, 2,895 C, and 674 R) and the number of jack Chinook Salmon was 1,174 (SD=318.1) (122 M, 104 C, and 10 R). On the spawning grounds 2,981 Chinook Salmon carcasses were sampled of which 3.0% were fin clipped. When expanded for unmarked hatchery Chinook Salmon there was a 14.7% stray rate for adults and a 21% stray rate for jacks in the South Coos Basin above Dellwood Fish Trap (Table 1).

2012

We estimated the number of adult Chinook Salmon spawning in the South Fork Coos basin above the Dellwood Fish Trap was 5,505 (SD=493.1) (720 M, 816 C, and 106 R) and the number of jack Chinook Salmon was 337 (SD=109.1) (37 M, 61 C, and 6 R). On the spawning grounds, 989 Chinook Salmon carcasses were sampled of which 2.9% were fin clipped. When expanded for unmarked hatchery Chinook Salmon there was a 7.2% stray rate for adults and an 18.7% stray rate for jacks in the South Coos Basin above Dellwood Fish Trap (Table 1).

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Studies by Jose Marin Jarrin (previously with Oregon State University) have indicated Chinook are in the ocean surf zone at Bastendorff Beach, just outside of the mouth of Coos Bay, from July through September. The Chinook juveniles captured in the ocean surf have measured 90 mm or larger.

(c) Reports, management plans, technical documents, or journal articles that reference the project.

Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan, ODFW Information Report - Coos Basin Fall Chinook Salmon Monitoring and Evaluation (draft)

Please identify any potential social consequences resulting from project returns and how those will be monitored or evaluated.

The fish that are reared from Millicoma Interpretive Center contribute well to the bay fishery. This is based on creel surveys and spot surveys as well as salmon derbies. These fish provide additional angling opportunity to the community.

Fish that are produced at Millicoma Interpretive Center have a substantial educational value as well. The Chinook that return to Millicoma are collected, sorted, and spawned by student groups from throughout the region. The eggs and juveniles are used in numerous schools in Coos County. Thousands of students each year learn about how to support salmon restoration programs and develop ownership in this precious and invaluable natural resource of Oregon.

PART VII – OTHER SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Please attach additional documents or provide information that details the project history, how the project may have evolved from the original design, or any changes/improvements that have been made to the operation.

Attachments: Map of Coos basin hatchery Chinook rearing and release locations Coos River Basin Fish Management Plan MIC – IRS letter MIC – Coos County Planning letter MIC Hatchery diagram

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