Fish Research Project Oregon; Umatilla Hatchery Monitoring and Evaluation, 1992 Annual Report.

Abstract

The Northwest Power Planning Council`s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program authorized construction of the Umatilla Hatchery in 1986. Measure 703 of the program amended the original authorization for the hatchery and specified evaluation of the Michigan type of rearing using oxygen supplementation to reach production goals of 290,000 lb of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus nzykiss). The hatchery was completed in the fall of 1991. Partial justification for the hatchery was to develop considerable knowledge and understanding of new production and supplementation techniques. The use of the Michigan raceways in rearing at Umatilla Hatchery was selected because it could increase smolt production given the limited hatchery well water supply and allow comparison of Michigan raceways with the standard Oregon raceways. Results of testing the Michigan raceways will have systematic application in the Columbia Basin. The Umatilla Hatchery is the foundation for rehabilitating chinook salmon and enhancing steelhead in the Umatilla River and is expected to contribute significantly to the Northwest Power Planning Council`s goal of doubling salmon production in the Columbia Basin. Hatchery production goals and a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan were presented in the Umatilla Hatchery Master Plan . The Comprehensive Plan for Monitoringmore » and Evaluation of Umatilla Hatchery was approved by the Northwest Power Planning Council as a critical adaptive management guide for fisheries rehabilitation in the Umatilla River. Monitoring and evaluation will be used to increase knowledge about uncertainties inherent in the fisheries rehabilitation and will complement the developing systematic monitoring and evaluation program. This report covers the first four years of the monitoring of the hatchery.« less