Comment on proposed FY 2006 budget

We request the renewal of the project 2003-009-00 for the Fiscal Year 2006. The budget of $250,000 recommended by the Bonneville Power Administration for the Fiscal Year 2006 is consistent with our expectations.

Accomplishments since the last review

1. Documented a relationship between first year ocean growth and salmon survival. This relationship varied among stocks, indicating that different stocks migrated to different areas of the ocean. 2. Documented that Columbia River Chinook salmon constituted a large fraction of the juvenile salmon inhabiting the coastal waters off British Columbia during summer, and that some stocks of Columbia River Chinook established residence in this area over winter. 3. Established a successful collaboration with the NOAA Fisheries to synthesize the research conducted by Fisheries & Oceans Canada and NOAA Fisheries on the ocean ecology of Pacific salmon in coastal regions extending from California to Alaska. 4. Published a series of manuscripts on the bioenergetics of Pacific salmon and on the effects of climate change on coastal marine ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean in peer-reviewed scientific journals, as well as technical reports on the ocean distribution and migration of Pacific salmon. 5. Documented the unusual appearance of Humboldt squid in coastal waters of British Columbia, possibly due to anomalous warm waters in recent years. Humboldt squid are voracious predators and are expected to consume large quantities of forage fish such as herring and sardines, and probably juvenile salmon, and thus, are anticipated to have a serious impacts on marine ecosystems.

FY 2006 goals and anticipated accomplishments

Funding is requested from BPA for Fiscal Year 2006 to conduct a research survey in coastal waters off British Columbia and southeast Alaska. Results from this survey will provide baseline data to identify regions of good or poor salmon growth in the ocean, to establish which specific stocks of salmon remain resident in the areas of poorest growth, and to develop some understanding of why marine survival may differ between different stocks of salmon in the ocean. Analysis of the data will include: 1. Physical, chemical, and biological characterization of the ocean environment encountered by juvenile salmon from the west coast of Vancouver Island to southeast Alaska; 2. Assessment of the stock of origin, the biological and physiological status of juvenile salmon in northern and southern regions of the Gulf of Alaska; 3. Identification of the physical and biological changes in the ocean that lead to reduced ocean survival through changes in growth; 4. Identification of the region of poor growth and the stocks occurring in these regions. This survey will be coordinated with those conducted by NOAA Fisheries to provide a coast wide description of the ocean conditions encountered by Columbia River salmon during their early marine life. Key regions and months that should be surveyed in a collaborative research effort by NMFS and Fisheries & Oceans Canada scientists will be identified. The data generated from this survey will be transferred through primary and secondary publications, and through presentations at workshops and professional symposia.

Subbasin planning

How is this project consistent with subbasin plans?

The research proposed in the present request for funding renewal in Fiscal Year 2006 is a continuation of a research and monitoring program focusing on the effects of ocean conditions and climate on the distribution, migration, growth, and production of Pacific salmon. As such, this work is not related to a subbasin plan, but falls rather under the Ocean Province of the Mainstem/Systemwide. In the 2000 Fish and Wildlife Program, the Council considered that the ocean environment was an integral component of the Columbia River ecosystem and recognized that marine ecosystems were variables in space and time. The timing of ocean migration also varies among salmon populations, which expose them to different ocean conditions. The Council concluded that a better understanding of the conditions experienced by salmon in the ocean environment and of the factors that are critical to their survival was required to provide insight on the actions that can be undertaken inland and in freshwater to enhance salmon returns to the Columbia River. Further, the results obtained from studying linkages between salmon survival and ocean variability can be directly incorporated into stock assessment to forecast salmon return and can help fishery managers to provide defensible harvest policies while preserving biodiversity and the productive capacity of ecosystems.

How do goals match subbasin plan priorities?

The research proposed in the present request for funding renewal in Fiscal Year 2006 is a continuation of a research and monitoring program focusing on the effects of ocean conditions and climate on the distribution, migration, growth, and production of Pacific salmon and is consistent with the primary strategy of the Biological Objectives on Ocean Conditions (2000 Fish and Wildlife Program, section C.8). It is also consistent with the Biological Opinion on Research, Monitoring and Evaluation which emphasize the necessity of “establishing causal relationships between habitat attributes and population response” (2000 Biological Opinion, section 9.4.2.8) and with RPA Action Item 190 and 195 (2000 Biological Opinion, section 9.6.5.3.5.1 and 9.6.5.3.6).

Other comments

In the 2000 Fish and Wildlife Program, the Council concluded that “while we cannot control the ocean itself, we can take actions to assure that the salmon of the Columbia River Basin are well prepared to survive varying [ocean] conditions”. The Council also recognized the necessity of focusing a research and monitoring program on the ocean ecology of salmon in order to distinguish ocean effects from the actions undertaken in the freshwater environment. By identifying the extent of the region of poor growth and survival, as well as the stocks occurring in these regions, the research proposed in the present request for funding renewal can provide a framework for understanding the effects of climate variability and ocean conditions on Columbia River salmon populations.