NATIVE FISH SOCIETY


P.O. Box 19570


Portland, Oregon 97280


503/ 977-0287








July 12, 1996





Mr. Rob Jones


National Marine Fisheries Service


525 NE Oregon Street


Portland, OR 97232





RE: Truck transportation of juvenile salmonids





Dear Mr. Jones:





	This letter is to follow up on a request I made on July 9, 1996 regarding 


updating evaluation of transportation of juvenile salmonids by truck from the Snake 


and Columbia rivers downstream for release below Bonneville Dam.





	I also appreciate your getting back to me when the person I had tried to 


reach was unavailable.





	Recent conversations with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 


biologists from The Dalles district office and information contained in their reports 


suggest that the stray rate of non-Deschutes River summer steelhead may be an 


artifact of mechanical transportation of juvenile steelhead from the upper Columbia 


River and Snake River.  According to the district biologist, the straying rate 


increased as transportation was developed in the Columbia River to pass fish 


around the dams.  This early transportation was, as I remember, mainly by truck.  


However, these are observations rather than findings based on evaluation and study.





	There are several issues I am concerned about: 1) trucked steelhead have 


impaired imprinting and therefore stray more than non-trucked steelhead, 2) 


trucking is mainly used to transport the leading and following edges of the bell-


curved shaped outmigration of juveniles which suggests mainly wild steelhead are 


being transported by truck, and 3) the effect of impaired imprinting and the resulting 


stray rate on other river populations such as the Deschutes native steelhead could 


have major genetic consequences for those native populations.





	Evaluation of transported steelhead and salmon took place in the late 


1970s, concluding in final reports in the early 1980s.  I am not aware of more 


recent evaluation of transported fish and straying.  Curiously, the finding of the 1982 


report by Emil Slatick did not cause changes in or further evaluation of transported 


fish and straying.  I have provided some information from the 1982 report below.





1982 TRANSPORTATION TEST RESULTS





	In reviewing the transportation program, I came upon a study by Emil 


Slatick, NMFS, in 1982 called: Imprinting salmon and steelhead trout for homing, 


1981.  This study was funded by the BPA, contract number DE-A179-81-


BP27891.  





	In this study Slatick, et al, compared transported fish survival to control fish 


that passed through the Columbia River.  On page 45 of this report, Slatick says, 


"Homing of barged fish was better than for trucked fish (steelhead) as indicated by 


the same rate of return for barged fish as trucked fish in the Indian fishery but a 


significantly higher rate of return for barged fish than trucked fish at Lower Granite 


Dam and at the hatchery (Dworshak Hatchery)."  Similar results were found for 


trucked fish from upper Columbia River sites as Wells and Levenworth.  Trucking 


of coho salmon was unsuccessful too.





	Slatick reported (p.26): "Control releases contributed significantly greater 


numbers of fish to the sport fishery than test fish; whereas test releases contributed 


significantly greater numbers to the Indian fishery than did control releases".  The 


Indian fishery is primarily in Bonneville Pool.  On page 23, the report states: "The 


adults from most of the various test groups returned to Bonneville Dam and the 


Indian fishery at a significantly higher rate than control fish.  The impaired homing 


above Bonneville Dam resulted in an accompanying delay in migration."





	At the time of this work I remember Mr. Slatick said to members of the 


Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission, that transported steelhead were a 


benefit to their tribal fisheries because they stopped migrating in Bonneville Pool.  


On page 22 of the report, Slatick says: "The ability to increase sport harvest in 


selected areas by providing a limited homing imprint and enhancing a useful tool for 


future management of these mid-Columbia stocks".  On page 20 of the report, Mr. 


Slatick said: "Recoveries of marked fish show that although some straying occurred 


from all transport groups; the only major number of strays were from the trucked-


to-Bonneville Dam test group".





	In reviewing fish transportation data from 12 June 1966 to 25 June 1996 


from the Fish Passage Center, the following information was found:





Lower Granite Dam Fish Transport





Bypassed steelhead		        0


Trucked steelhead		21,183


Barged steelhead		     100











Totals for Snake River and McNary Fish Transport





Bypassed steelhead		   3,590  


Trucked steelhead		 37,199


Barged steelhead		   2,082





	This information supports the point that truck transport is used during 


periods when there are low numbers of smolts outmigrating.





RECOMMENDATIONS





	I would like to know if transportation and the resulting straying has been 


further evaluated since 1982, and if it was, did the data reveal similar or different 


results.





	Given the information contained in the 1982 report, truck transportation 


should be discontinued.  Impaired imprinting of trucked fish has been shown to 


increase stray rates in steelhead, and since trucks are used to transport fish when 


outmigrant numbers are low, it may be the case that wild steelhead are primarily the 


fish exposed to impaired imprinting.  This is cause for concern given the declining 


runs of wild steelhead in the basin.  Also, since truck transported fish stray more, 


these strays have a genetic impact upon native steelhead in other subbasins such as 


the Deschutes River.  This effect is enhanced when low numbers of wild steelhead 


are exposed to high stray rates from non-native steelhead from the upper Columbia 


River.





	Straying rates from transportation should be a major concern and evaluated 


to determine how best to improve imprinting for transported fish.  It is possible that 


barge transported fish are moved downriver too fast, impairing their imprinting 


ability and causing elevated stray rates.  The NMFS should develop a policy on 


stray rates, setting biological objectives for strays from transportation and other 


management practices.





	Strays from transported fish during the late 1970s and 1980s were credited 


with the epidemic spread of virus throughout the Columbia Basin, especially IHNV, 


because of increased straying.  This effect of transportation must be further 


evaluated.





Sincerely,





Bill M. Bakke, Director








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