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Simulated Growth and Production of Endangered Snake River Sockeye Salmon: Assessing Management Strategies for the Nursery Lakes
Author(s) -
Luecke Chris,
Wurtsbaugh Wayne A.,
Budy Phaedra,
Gross Howard P.,
Steinhart Geoff
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
fisheries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1548-8446
pISSN - 0363-2415
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8446(1996)021<0018:sgapoe>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - oncorhynchus , broodstock , endangered species , juvenile , fishery , ecology , environmental science , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , aquaculture , habitat
We examined the potential of employing a series of lake management strategies to enhance production of endangered Snake River sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) in its historical nursery lakes in central Idaho. We used a combination of limnological sampling, experimentation, and simulation modeling to assess effects of lake fertilization and kokanee reduction on growth and survival of juvenile sockeye salmon. Juvenile sockeye salmon from a broodstock of this endangered species are being introduced into the lakes from 1995 to 1998. Results of our analyses indicated that several lakes were suitable for receiving broodstock progeny. Field experimentation and simulation modeling indicated that lake fertilization, coupled with a program of kokanee reduction, provided the management option most likely to enhance the survival of stocked juvenile sockeye salmon. Simulation models that encompass physiological requirements, ecological interactions, and life‐history consequences could be used as templates to help develop recovery plans for other endangered fishes.