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Returns of Hatchery Steelhead Relative to Site of Release below an Upper‐River Hatchery
Author(s) -
Slaney P. A.,
Berg L.,
Tautz A. F.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1993)013<0558:rohsrt>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - hatchery , homing (biology) , fishery , stocking , fish <actinopterygii> , environmental science , zoology , biology , ecology
Steelhead smolts Oncorhynchus mykiss reared at the Chilliwack River Hatchery in southwestern British Columbia were tagged, transported, and released at four (1982) or six (1983, 1984) locations along the Chilliwack River. Returning adults were recovered from the sport fishery within three 10‐km reaches (lower, middle, and upper) situated downstream of the upper‐river hatchery. Percent recoveries were highly correlated with mean smolt size at stocking (range, 61–115 g), and most returning adults were caught within the lower river. There were small but significant effects of release location on the distribution of adult steelhead recoveries in two of three reaches. Within the lower‐river catch of adults, the percentage of all lower‐release recoveries was 10.3 percentage points higher than the percentage of all middle‐release recoveries and 10.7 points higher than the percentage of all upper‐release recoveries. In the upper‐river catch, the percentage of all upper‐release recoveries was 5.5 and 11.4 points higher than the percentage of all middle‐ and lower‐release recoveries, respectively. Middle‐river recoveries were not disproportionately higher for any release‐reach group. Similarly, among adults that returned to the hatchery channels in the upper river, on average, 43% were from the upper, 30% from the middle, and 27% from the lower reaches of release; thus, homing was strongly influenced by the rearing location. In a steelhead fishery associated with an upper‐river hatchery and dependent on wild and hatchery‐reared fish, transport and release of smolts affected homing of adults, but there was substantial dispersal of lower‐river fish to the upper river. These findings have implications for selective management of augmented steelhead stocks.