Dungeness River Chinook Salmon Rebuilding Project: Progress Report 1993-1999 PDF Format - [797KB] Acknowledgements Many people have contributed to the efforts described in this report. The staffs of the Hurd Creek and Dungeness River hatcheries and the South Sound Netpens have labored long and hard at both producing the fish and at collecting and maintaining the information needed to accurately report the project’s efforts. The members of the Dungeness River Wild Chinook Restoration Steering Committee have consistently maintained a focus on the goal of implementing this project in a way that was best for the fish whenever possible. WDFW biologists and technicians have continued their monitoring of spawning escapements, recovery and reading of tags, scales and otoliths. WDFW and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal staffs along with volunteers from the Olympic Outdoor Sportsmen’s Association, Wild Olympic Salmon and the North Olympic Salmon Coalition collected the pre-emergent fry/ eyed eggs which formed the basis of the brood stock. Members of these same organizations and others helped with spawning operations, the distribution of spawned out carcases into the watershed and numerous other project related efforts. Funding for construction of the acclimation pond and the cost of CWT marking of fish came from the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe. WDFW contributed the other operational and capital costs of the project. The Olympic Game Farm graciously provided access and a level of security for the smolt trapping operation. Owner, Lloyd Beebe, was particularly helpful. Paul Lorenz, Matt Gillum, and Dave Collins conducted most of the field work. The dedication, hard work, and experience provided by these scientific technicians were instrumental in making this smolt trapping project a success. An earlier summary of the captive brood stock program by Dan Witczak, Keith Keown, Andy Appleby and Dick Rogers of WDFW served as a basis for that section of the this report. We are grateful that Lauren Munday and Colleen Desselle always found a way to help in the production aspects of the report and that the many reviewers were willing to make the effort to significantly improve the document. The production of this report was funded through the Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project.

<<< Return to Wild Salmon Population Monitoring Dungeness River Chinook Salmon Rebuilding Project: Progress Report 1993-1999 By: Bill Freymond, Chris Marlowe, Robert W. Rogers and Greg Volkhardt January 2001 Abstract Fish production from the Dungeness River chinook captive brood stock project and associated evaluation and monitoring efforts are reported for the time period spring 1993 through the releases of the 1999 brood year fry and smolts in summer 2000. The annual average Dungeness system adult chinook spawner escapement estimates from 1986 through 1999 is 147, ranging from 45 to 335. Timing and location of redds by river sections are summarized for 1992 through 1999. The origins of the fresh water and sea pen chinook brood stocks; the maturation and spawning of the mature captive brood stock; the incubation, marking and releases of the brood stock progeny, and fish health monitoring and treatment efforts are reported. Through the 1999 brood year, 2,290 crosses were made which yielded 7,478,000 ponded fry over the five reporting years. Estimates of anticipated production levels are projected for the remainder of the project. Adult returns from the project in return year 1999 are reported. Fish health observations and treatments for the freshwater captive brood stock are outlined. Treatments administered to pre-spawning brood stock and results of pathogen screens done on all spawned fish are reported. Estimates are presented of the numbers of downstream migrant chinook progeny from the captive brood program made at a calibrated migrant fish trap which operated in 1996 and 1997. Detailed methods for enumeration of wild and project origin smolt from the trap data are described. Survival estimates from release site to the trap site for release groups in 1997 consistently ranged from 21 to 23%. Survivals in 1996 were much more variable, ranging from 2% to 32%. These results and possible explanations are provided.