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• 1. [Article] Status of the Pacific Coast Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery and Recommended Acceptable Biological Catches

  Abstract -- The Guidelines for Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) published by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) require that a stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report be prepared ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Status of the Pacific Coast Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery and Recommended Acceptable Biological Catches Abstract -- The Guidelines for Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) published by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) require that a stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report be prepared and reviewed annually for each FMP. SAFE reports are intended to summarize the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of the stocks, marine ecosystems, and fisheries being managed under federal regulation. Regional Fishery Management Councils use this information to determine annual harvest levels for each stock; document significant trends or changes in the resources, marine ecosystems, and fishery over time; and assess the relative success of existing state and federal fishery management programs. This is the eight Status of the Pacific Coast Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery SAFE document prepared for the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). Following NMFS guidelines, the purpose of this report is to briefly summarize aspects of the coastal pelagic species (CPS) FMP and to describe the history of the fishery and its management. Species managed under this FMP include: Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus), northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus), and market squid (Loligo opalescens). The SAFE report for Pacific Coast CPS fisheries was developed by the Council’s Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) from information contributed by scientists at NMFS, Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Included in this report are descriptions of landings, fishing patterns, estimates of the status of stocks (including stock assessments for Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel, Appendix 1 and Appendix 2), and acceptable biological catches (ABCs). The ABC recommendations, together with social and economic factors, are considered by the Council in determining annual harvest guidelines and other measures for actively managed fisheries (i.e., Pacific mackerel and Pacific sardine). Title: Status of the Pacific Coast Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery and Recommended Acceptable Biological Catches Abstract -- The Guidelines for Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) published by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) require that a stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report be prepared and reviewed annually for each FMP. SAFE reports are intended to summarize the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of the stocks, marine ecosystems, and fisheries being managed under federal regulation. Regional Fishery Management Councils use this information to determine annual harvest levels for each stock; document significant trends or changes in the resources, marine ecosystems, and fishery over time; and assess the relative success of existing state and federal fishery management programs. This is the eight Status of the Pacific Coast Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery SAFE document prepared for the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). Following NMFS guidelines, the purpose of this report is to briefly summarize aspects of the coastal pelagic species (CPS) FMP and to describe the history of the fishery and its management. Species managed under this FMP include: Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus), northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus), and market squid (Loligo opalescens). The SAFE report for Pacific Coast CPS fisheries was developed by the Council’s Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) from information contributed by scientists at NMFS, Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Included in this report are descriptions of landings, fishing patterns, estimates of the status of stocks (including stock assessments for Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel, Appendix 1 and Appendix 2), and acceptable biological catches (ABCs). The ABC recommendations, together with social and economic factors, are considered by the Council in determining annual harvest guidelines and other measures for actively managed fisheries (i.e., Pacific mackerel and Pacific sardine). Close

• 2. [Article] Recovery of Wild Coho Salmon in Salmon River Basin, 2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2009-10

  Abstract -- Recovery and conservation of naturally self-sustaining salmon populations is a central goal of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. In 1998, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Recovery of Wild Coho Salmon in Salmon River Basin, 2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2009-10 Abstract -- Recovery and conservation of naturally self-sustaining salmon populations is a central goal of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. In 1998, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) initiated a comprehensive program to monitor the status of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) populations and aquatic habitat in coastal drainages of Oregon (OWEB 2003). A 2005 assessment by ODFW concluded that Oregon coastal coho were viable at the scale of the Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) and demonstrated resilience in response to improving ocean conditions. Yet 7 of 21 (33%) individual populations within the ESU failed one or more of five criteria used to assess viability (Chilcote et al. 2005), and it is uncertain whether productivity levels across the ESU will recover sufficiently to withstand future periods of poor ocean conditions. The coho population in Salmon River was the only population in the ESU to fail all five viability criteria. Uncertainty remains about the response of Oregon coastal coho salmon to different combinations of freshwater and marine limiting factors, complicating recovery efforts (Lawson 1993; Lawson et al. 2004; IMST 2006). Such uncertainty cannot be resolved entirely by existing Oregon Plan monitoring programs, which target only a portion of the habitats and coho salmon life stages in large river basins, and with few exceptions (e.g., Johnson et al. 2005), were not designed to test population responses to individual management manipulations. In 2007, in response to the failure of viability criteria, ODFW managers discontinued releases of hatchery coho salmon into Salmon River as one of the primary management actions under the Oregon Conservation Plan for the Oregon Coast Coho Evolutionarily Significant Unit (hereafter “coho plan,” Nicholas 2006). This change affords the first opportunity in Oregon to monitor the results of a large scale experiment in removing hatchery coho salmon from a basin for at least four generations (twelve years). Hatchery production has been a centerpiece of salmon management for decades, but rarely has full recovery from hatchery influence been given a chance to succeed. Salmon River offers a test basin to explore whether an independent population of coho salmon can recover from a prolonged period of very low abundance following removal of the primary factor limiting productivity. Here we describe the first year of a study to monitor the dynamics of the coho salmon population in the Salmon River basin on the central Oregon coast and to determine whether management changes targeting both hatchery influence and stream habitat complexity improve population viability. This research will validate assumptions about factors limiting coho recovery and determine whether recovery measures proposed by the Coho Plan have been effective. Our research is designed to document changes in population abundance, distribution, and life history structure of coho salmon following the removal of hatchery coho salmon from the watershed. It integrates adult, juvenile, and habitat components to establish links and describe variability between juvenile performance and adult recovery. It also monitors the coho salmon population across habitat types and life history stages to identify population responses at a landscape scale. We will establish the link between productivity and survival at each salmon life stage and recovery of the adult population. From these indicators, we will determine the potential resiliency of coho salmon, detail the biological benefits/tradeoffs of returning the ecosystem to natural salmon production, and assess whether supplementation should remain an option in Salmon River. As a conceptual framework, our research design and analyses are guided by the “viable salmonid population” criteria identified by McElhany (2000) and modified by Chilcote et al. (2005) and Nicholas (2006), including abundance, productivity, distribution, diversity, and habitat quality. The results of our new research will be integrated with habitat survey and adult population data collected under the existing Oregon Plan monitoring program and coho salmon population and life history data available from previous Salmon River surveys (Mullen 1978, 1979; Cornwell et al. 2001; Bottom et al 2005; Volk et al. in review). Together these data will address four principal objectives: 1. Quantify viability of the coho salmon population before and after hatchery coho salmon are removed from Salmon River. 2. Assess whether viability of the Salmon River coho population is limited by quantity and complexity of stream habitat. 3. Describe the diversity of juvenile and adult life histories of coho salmon in the Salmon River basin and estimate the relative contributions of alternate juvenile life history to adult returns. 4. Determine salmonid use and benefits of restored tidal wetlands before and after hatchery coho salmon are removed from Salmon River. By synthesizing historic data with new information for the Salmon River basin, we will compare population structure during three distinct periods – pre-hatchery (1974-77), hatchery (1990-2008), and post-hatchery (2009-2013). This annual report discusses the activities and findings from 2008, the first year of the multi-year project, including coho salmon distribution and abundance on the Salmon River spawning grounds, juvenile abundance and distribution in the watershed and estuary, migration timing, and life history diversity. Title: Recovery of Wild Coho Salmon in Salmon River Basin, 2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2009-10 Abstract -- Recovery and conservation of naturally self-sustaining salmon populations is a central goal of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. In 1998, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) initiated a comprehensive program to monitor the status of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) populations and aquatic habitat in coastal drainages of Oregon (OWEB 2003). A 2005 assessment by ODFW concluded that Oregon coastal coho were viable at the scale of the Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) and demonstrated resilience in response to improving ocean conditions. Yet 7 of 21 (33%) individual populations within the ESU failed one or more of five criteria used to assess viability (Chilcote et al. 2005), and it is uncertain whether productivity levels across the ESU will recover sufficiently to withstand future periods of poor ocean conditions. The coho population in Salmon River was the only population in the ESU to fail all five viability criteria. Uncertainty remains about the response of Oregon coastal coho salmon to different combinations of freshwater and marine limiting factors, complicating recovery efforts (Lawson 1993; Lawson et al. 2004; IMST 2006). Such uncertainty cannot be resolved entirely by existing Oregon Plan monitoring programs, which target only a portion of the habitats and coho salmon life stages in large river basins, and with few exceptions (e.g., Johnson et al. 2005), were not designed to test population responses to individual management manipulations. In 2007, in response to the failure of viability criteria, ODFW managers discontinued releases of hatchery coho salmon into Salmon River as one of the primary management actions under the Oregon Conservation Plan for the Oregon Coast Coho Evolutionarily Significant Unit (hereafter “coho plan,” Nicholas 2006). This change affords the first opportunity in Oregon to monitor the results of a large scale experiment in removing hatchery coho salmon from a basin for at least four generations (twelve years). Hatchery production has been a centerpiece of salmon management for decades, but rarely has full recovery from hatchery influence been given a chance to succeed. Salmon River offers a test basin to explore whether an independent population of coho salmon can recover from a prolonged period of very low abundance following removal of the primary factor limiting productivity. Here we describe the first year of a study to monitor the dynamics of the coho salmon population in the Salmon River basin on the central Oregon coast and to determine whether management changes targeting both hatchery influence and stream habitat complexity improve population viability. This research will validate assumptions about factors limiting coho recovery and determine whether recovery measures proposed by the Coho Plan have been effective. Our research is designed to document changes in population abundance, distribution, and life history structure of coho salmon following the removal of hatchery coho salmon from the watershed. It integrates adult, juvenile, and habitat components to establish links and describe variability between juvenile performance and adult recovery. It also monitors the coho salmon population across habitat types and life history stages to identify population responses at a landscape scale. We will establish the link between productivity and survival at each salmon life stage and recovery of the adult population. From these indicators, we will determine the potential resiliency of coho salmon, detail the biological benefits/tradeoffs of returning the ecosystem to natural salmon production, and assess whether supplementation should remain an option in Salmon River. As a conceptual framework, our research design and analyses are guided by the “viable salmonid population” criteria identified by McElhany (2000) and modified by Chilcote et al. (2005) and Nicholas (2006), including abundance, productivity, distribution, diversity, and habitat quality. The results of our new research will be integrated with habitat survey and adult population data collected under the existing Oregon Plan monitoring program and coho salmon population and life history data available from previous Salmon River surveys (Mullen 1978, 1979; Cornwell et al. 2001; Bottom et al 2005; Volk et al. in review). Together these data will address four principal objectives: 1. Quantify viability of the coho salmon population before and after hatchery coho salmon are removed from Salmon River. 2. Assess whether viability of the Salmon River coho population is limited by quantity and complexity of stream habitat. 3. Describe the diversity of juvenile and adult life histories of coho salmon in the Salmon River basin and estimate the relative contributions of alternate juvenile life history to adult returns. 4. Determine salmonid use and benefits of restored tidal wetlands before and after hatchery coho salmon are removed from Salmon River. By synthesizing historic data with new information for the Salmon River basin, we will compare population structure during three distinct periods – pre-hatchery (1974-77), hatchery (1990-2008), and post-hatchery (2009-2013). This annual report discusses the activities and findings from 2008, the first year of the multi-year project, including coho salmon distribution and abundance on the Salmon River spawning grounds, juvenile abundance and distribution in the watershed and estuary, migration timing, and life history diversity. Close