Proposal for 2010 Fast Track review

The project would no longer address captive broodstocks of endangered Chinook, and the ISRP assumes that the earlier work of the project has been wound down or wound up—but it’s not explicit in the proposal. The previous work has had a considerable influence on hatchery management due to the project’s timely, rigorous record of reporting results. By investigating a radical change in historical salmon hatchery practice—production of older, age 2 smolts—in an effort to integrate hatchery populations with natural populations in a way that minimizes effects on natural populations this research would make a useful contribution to hatchery reform. However, as the ISRP noted in its 2007 review, an array of incrementally achievable improvements of fitness over traditional hatchery methods may not add up to a workable strategy for restoration through integrated hatchery programs. The proposed research would not be a holistic examination of hatchery reform. Such incremental improvements of fitness in hatchery-origin salmon might not ameliorate, and indeed might exacerbate, detrimental effects on naturally reproducing populations, such as the effects described on coastal Oregon coho in Biol. Conserv. 142:2249. What would be the improvement in survival likely to be realized from this reformed practice? Would it have practical benefit? 1. Technical Justification, Program Significance and Consistency, and Project Relationships The project's components are being proposed within the context of hatchery reform. The project's three primary objectives are focused on research aimed at comparing the efficacy and effectiveness of steelhead smolts released in their second year (S2) as opposed to current approaches that release smolts in their first year (S1). The objectives focus on relative fitness responses, domestication, and physiology. The proposed work is at an operational scale will benefit from collaboration and cost-sharing with USFWS (WNFH), USGS, and NOAA (NWFSC/MS). The coordination, collaboration, and cost-sharing with other agencies and participants are an important requirement for the success of this project's broader goals and individual work elements. For example, a key part of evaluating the relative performance of the S2 v. S1 strategies is the mark and recapture monitoring by collaborators. As the proponents note coordination with Project 201003300 in particular will be crucial to the success of this research. 2. Project History and Results Previous work undertaken within the project has had considerable influence on hatchery management due to its strong record of reporting results. The project reports consistent annual accomplishments providing information aimed at the key uncertainties identified for the project. The proposed work would change the project to focus on hatchery culture of steelhead, under a new team of researchers. 3. Objectives, Work Elements, and Methods The project identifies three primary objectives 1) testing the efficacy/effectiveness of S2 smolts for increasing population fitness; 2) evaluating suites of behavioral traits altered by domestication; and 3) evaluating physiological indicators for abundances of precocial males. Each of the three have been often identified as important and are consistent with identified RPAs; however, the proposers do not make the case that these are the only or most important uncertainties for the role of integrated supplementation in UCB steelhead conservation, restoration, and management. Omitted in the design is the inclusion of some kind of "wild" production reference. The ISRP recognizes the complexity and technical challenges such inclusion would require, yet for some of the data sets including such a reference set would be appropriate (e.g., age-dependent growth, residualism rates, smolt age patterns, jacking rates, and such).