Integrating Fisheries Management Into Comprehensive Recovery Planning

1. Integrating Fisheries Management Into Comprehensive Recovery Planning Jeff Koenings, Randy Kinley Mike Grayum, Curt Kraemer, Kit Rawson

2. Washington's Goals forSalmon Recovery Statewide Strategy to Recover Salmon: “Restore salmon, steelhead, and trout populations to healthy harvestable levels and improve those habitats on which the fish rely.” Shared Strategy Objective: "Recover and maintain an abundance of naturally spawning salmon at harvestable levels"

3. Hatchery fish predominate in harvest In Puget Sound: 74% of coho & 85% of chinook caught are hatchery origin Wild chinook, coho, sockeye, pink and chum also contribute significantly to fisheries In the Columbia River: 95% of coho & 78% of chinook caught are hatchery origin February 5, 2003

4. Economic role of fisheries in Washington Washington commercial landing values average $145.3 million per year Washington ranks 7th in nation on commercial fishery landing values Washington sport fishers spend $854 million per year Washington ranks 8th in nation in spending by sport fishers February 5, 2003

5. Economic role of fish & wildlife in Washington • 48,107 related jobs* • $4.83 billion in relatedexpenditures perbiennium** * 2001, Washington Employment Security Department and Southwick Associates ** U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

6. Where have we been? Less than half of Snohomish chinook returned to spawn

7. Pacific Northwest Chinook Salmon are Widely Distributed Greatest mixture of stocks & species Less mixture of stocks & species Least mixture of stocks & species February 5, 2003

8. Salmon Management Forums are Coordinated Coastwide Coastwide: Pacific Salmon Treaty Ocean: Pacific Fisheries Mgmt. Council Puget Sound: WDFW & tribes February 5, 2003

9. WDFW & Tribal activities require ESA Authorization • State-tribal harvest management plans obtained ESA section 4(d) sanction for Puget Sound chinook salmon and summer chum, in addition to 3 concurrent Section 7 applications for fisheries affecting these fish & EIS. • Hatchery Management Plans: 128 plans submitted for state, tribal and co-operative hatchery operations, seeking section 4(d) determination, in addition to nine existing Section 10 permits & EPA permits. • Research authorization: Submitted for more than 50 fish research projects in Puget Sound & the Columbia River. • Fishery Management and Evaluation Plans: 3 plans submitted for 4(d) determination on non-salmon fisheries that could impact listed fish. • Section 6 cooperative agreement for hatchery & research impacts to bull trout.

10. Impacts on Puget Sound salmon have been substantially reduced Then Now  Less than 50% About 75%

11. Tools for Managing Fisheries Fishing location Timing & duration of seasons and openings Gear restrictions (mesh size, bait, lures) Special area ("bubble") fisheries Size limits Selective release (species, marked fish) Sub-area Closures Gear types (beach seines, traps, fish wheels, tangle nets, weirs)

12. Coded-Wire Tags provide critical scientific information • Chinook and coho stock identification • Help estimate migration routes, population size & fisheries impacts • Evaluate fisheries plans such as Comp. Chinook & PST

13. Puget Sound Hatcheries with CWT programs 19 Coho CWT programs 10 New chinook CWT Programs 2002

14. 51% of Listed Stocks Show Increasing Spawners 45 listed salmonid populations, representing 51% of those surveyed, showed improved spawner numbers in the period from 1996-2000 as compared with 1990-1995 averages. Has the number of progeny from these additional spawners increased?

15. Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) January 1925 - March 2003

16. PDO Up Close:January 1995 - March 2003

17. Oregon Coho Marine Survival Rate1971-2001

18. What does it all mean? • Fisheries are impacting fewer listed fish so more return to spawning grounds • ESA compliance concerns are being, or have been, addressed such that fisheries are not precluding recovery of listed salmon • Increasing marine survival through the PDO will deliver still more spawners over near term • Opportunity: Jumpstarting recovery

20. Integrating fisheries management into recovery planning • Aspects of salmonid life history that are fundamental to how we manage fisheries • How does the Puget Sound chinook harvest plan work? • How does harvest affect recovery? • The H's MUST work together!

21. Salmon are inherently productive Survival Under Good Freshwater Conditions Life Stage Survival 7 ~70% 3.5 returns per spawner 10 ~1% 990 ~22% 4,500 (based on Seiler, et al., April 1998, 1997 Skagit River Wild Chinook Production Evaluation, research funded by Seattle City Light; project ongoing 1989-present)

22. "Capacity" & "Productivity" Productivity: Proportion of fish that survive from one life stage to another: e.g., from egg to smolt or spawner to adult return Capacity: Number of spawners that fit into the spawning habitat

23. Productivity is affected at every life stage Life Stage Factor Fisheries Marine Survival Hatcheries, Freshwater & Estuarine Habitat

24. Freshwater conditions have dramatic effects on productivity Survival Under Good Freshwater Conditions Poor Freshwater Conditions Life Stage Survival 7 ~70% 10 <1 Less than 1 return per spawner ~1% ~1% 990 135 ~3% ~22% 4,500 4,500 (based on Seiler, et al., April 1998, 1997 Skagit River Wild Chinook Production Evaluation, research funded by Seattle City Light; project ongoing 1989-present)

25. Salmon populations are density dependent 1:1 Replacement Line healthy population Returning Adults Harvestable declining population Spawners

26. Key messages • Salmon are inherently productive • With good habitat conditions, sufficient fish are produced to provide harvest without reducing future production • Productivity is affected at every life stage • Health & capacity of habitat can dramatically affect population productivity & abundance • Fisheries must be responsive to a population's underlying productivity, which is dependent upon the quality & quantity of its habitat

27. What do we mean when we say “harvest" & "impacts” • Landed Catch • Fish that die as a result of their encounter with fishing gear: • Hooking mortality • Fish dropping out of nets All fishing-related mortality

28. What do we mean when we say “harvest" & "impacts” • Each fishery catches fish from many different streams • Impacts are examined at the scale of the population • E.g. Skagit coho impacts differentiated from Hood Canal coho impacts • Impacts are examined throughout migration (Alaska, Canada, southern U.S. coast, Puget Sound, instream)

29. Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Plan • To ensure that harvest does not impede recovery, need a plan that … • … Ensures sufficient spawners to maintain population stability, given current habitat productivity • … Sets maximum allowable recovery harvest rates • Plan must allow populations to expand as habitat improves

30. Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Plan Hypothetical Puget Sound Chinook Stock Proportion of adult population harvested Extreme low abundance Max. fishery restrictions Number of Spawners Low abundance threshold

31. Low Abundance Threshold • Low abundance threshold safeguards against extremely low numbers of spawners • Ensures sufficient spawner numbers to maintain population stability • Low abundance threshold triggers maximum fishery restrictions

32. Puget Sound Chinook Harvest PlanHypothetical Puget Sound Chinook Stock Rebuilding Proportion of adult population harvested Extreme low abundance Max. 30% harvest Max. fishery restrictions Number of Spawners Habitat productivity & capacity increases Current estimate of habitat productivity & capacity Low abundance threshold

33. Maximum harvest rates during recovery … • Provide sufficient spawners to take advantage of improving quality & quantity of habitat, & ... • Avoid risk of stock instability by employing population size (abundance) thresholds • Provide sufficient spawners to enable recovery even during worst-case marine survivals

34. Puget Sound Chinook Harvest PlanHypothetical Puget Sound Chinook Stock Recovered Rebuilding Proportion of adult population harvested Extreme low abundance Max. ?% harvest Max. 30% harvest Max. fishery restrictions Number of Spawners Recovery is achieved Habitat productivity & capacity increases Current estimate of habitat productivity & capacity Low abundance threshold

35. Snohomish Chinook"Then" & "Now" spawners % of Adult Population Harvested harvest 2001 maximum Source: Fishery Regulation Assessment Model, 2001 Calibration

36. Current harvest plan provides for recovery of wild salmon … • Ensures sufficient spawners to maintain population stability • Ensures sufficient spawners to take advantage of improving habitat during recovery • Avoids risk of stock instability by employing abundance thresholds • Accounts for all fishing-related impacts across all fisheries • Incorporates uncertainty in data & the environment, & minimizes risk

37. Total abundance of Snohomish chinook has declined despite stable spawner numbers Declining productivity Numbers of fish Source: Comprehensive Chinook Management Plan DRAFT Dec. 2000

38. photo

39. Natural Skykomish Chinook Catch

40. Natural Skykomish Chinook Spawners = 1 – (harvest rate)

41. North Fork StillaguamishSupplementation Program Spawners Supplementation Spawners

42. North Fork StillaguamishNatural Origin Spawners Natural Spawners

43. North Fork StillaguamishSupplementation fish increasing; Natural fish stable Natural Spawners Supplementation Spawners

44. North Fork StillaguamishSupplementation fish increasing; Natural fish stable Natural Spawners Supplementation Spawners

45. North Fork Skykomish Bull Trout Redds Number of redds

46. Key messages • Harvest can only be expected to do so much • Reduced harvest may buy additional time while we implement changes in the other "H's"

47. How does harvest management relate to local recovery planning?

48. Frequently asked questions Why should I cut back on fishing when there isn’t any decent place in the river for the fish to go to anyway?

49. Frequently asked questions Why should I leave a buffer when they aren’t letting any fish through the nets to use the river anyway?

50. How do harvest and habitat management work together for recovery? • Habitat condition determines height of the production curve • Harvest determines where you are on the production curve • Both must be managed • for recovery to happen