Redfish Lake Sockeye Salmon Captive Broodstock Rearing and Research, 2001 : Annual Report.

Abstract

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northwest Fisheries Science Center, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Bonneville Power Administration, has established captive broodstock and captive rearing programs to aid recovery of Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Captive broodstock and captive rearing programs are a form of artificial propagation that are emerging as an important component of restoration efforts for ESA-listed salmon populations that are at critically low numbers. Captive broodstocks, reared in captivity for the entire life cycle, couple the salmon's high fecundity with potentially high survival in protective culture to produce large numbers of juveniles in a single generation for supplementation of natural populations. The captive broodstocks discussed in this report were intended to protect the last known remnants of sockeye salmon that return to Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth Basin of Idaho at the headwaters of the Salmon River. This report addresses NMFS research from 1 September 2000 to 31 August 2001 on the Redfish Lake sockeye salmon captive broodstock and captive rearing program. NMFS currently has broodstock in culture from year classes 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 in both the more » captive broodstock and captive rearing programs. Offspring from these programs are being returned to Idaho to aid recovery efforts for the species. « less