[env-trinity] More on Klamath Water/Hatchery Issue

[Patrick Higgins]

Hi Again Tom,

In addition to the disease reference in the flow and hatchery related 
article you sent out, there is also a troubling request to not only hold 
more Iron Gate Hatchery chinook to yearling size but "letting loose the 
ones that are released farther down in the river." Out-planting, as they 
call it in the hatchery business, can increase returns by diminishing 
competition and increasing survival by shortening the length of the river 
journey. It also has the potential to cause a ton of straying, which will 
have the effect of homogenizing stocks on Klamath River tributaries, 
including the Scott and the Shasta. The last stock transfer at Iron Gate 
was 1985-1988 with coho in planted in Middle Klamath tribs. A experiment to 
increase returns of Trinity River Hatchery steelhead by out-planting in the 
1980's lead to massive straying.

This policy is against what is recommended in the Klamath Long Range Plan 
and was disapproved by a committee of agencies and Tribes when 
Klamath-Trinity Hatchery policy was last reviewed in the early 1990's. The 
review was in response to a stock collapse, which may have been related to 
over-production of juvenile chinook in high return years in the mid- to 
late 1980's. I sat on a PFMC sub-committee that delved into reasons for low 
returns ("below the 35,000 wild fish floor") from 1990-1992, and hatchery 
operation was one of the few factors that appeared to stand out as a 
potential causal mechanism. Hatcheries, if operated inappropriately, can 
have a confounding effect on recovery of wild stocks.

Any one wishing more information on the problems related to stock transfer 
can skim Chapter 5 (starts on p. 215) of the the Long Range Plan for 
restoring the Klamath 
(http://www.krisweb.com/biblio/gen_usfws_kierassoc_1991_lrp.pdf) or the SF 
Trinity Action Plan (Chapter 8), both of which I co-authored. Chapter 8 in 
the latter is specifically on the potential side effects of large scale 
hatchery operation: 
http://www.krisweb.com/biblio/sft_usbor_pwa_1994_sftplan/pwa27.htm#PotentialImpacts.

The Humboldt Chapter of the American Fisheries Society passed a resolution 
in 1988 to try to curb California stock transfers of anadromous fish, which 
I could provide for anyone with a burning interest in the topic.

Cheers,

Pat Higgins




At 08:09 AM 5/24/2004 -0700, Tom Stokely wrote:
>It is rumored that there is a juvenile fish kill on the mainstem Klamath 
>River from Ceratomyxa.  Can anybody provide additional information on this?
>
>Tom Stokely
>530-628-5949
>
>Salmon release date questioned
>Klamath Falls Ore. Herald & News - 5/20/04
>By Dylan Darling, staff writer
>
>Millions of hatchery-produced chinook salmon fingerlings are set to start 
>their swim to the Pacific Ocean down the Klamath River.
>
>But Bureau of Reclamation officials are asking if some of the salmon can 
>wait until fall to swim.
>
>The California Department of Fish and Game planned to release a million of 
>the tiny fall-run salmon into the river from the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery 
>today. Another million are set to swim on May 24 and another 3 million on 
>May 31.
>
>On May 13, the Department released its first million fingerlings. The 
>fingerlings are ready for release when about 90 of them weigh about a 
>pound together, said Mike Rode, staff environmental scientist for the 
>department.
>
>The state hoped to release the salmon soon because flows in the Klamath 
>River will be sharply curtailed in June, Rode said.
>
>The river flows will be less than expected because of a change in the U.S. 
>Bureau of Reclamation's water year type for the river because of a drop in 
>inflow to Upper Klamath Lake. The Bureau regulates how much water goes 
>down the river by guiding PacifiCorp's management of its Klamath 
>hydroelectric project dams.
>
>Dave Sabo, manager of the Klamath Reclamation Project, said he was in 
>discussions with the department this morning about the possibility of 
>holding a million of the salmon back until next fall and letting loose the 
>ones that are released farther down in the river.
>
>"But we didn't get an answer from them," he said.
>
>The Bureau offered to pay $65,000 for the holding of the salmon until 
>fall. Bureau officials are waiting for a response and should get it today, 
>Sabo said.
>
>Reports of a disease spreading among salmon between I-5 and the Scott and 
>Shasta rivers, prompted the request for a lower release spot.
>
>Concerned about the release of the salmon, the Klamath Water Users 
>Association wrote a letter to the department's regional manager.
>
>In it, the water users ask a number of questions about how the department 
>manages the salmon and suggests that the department coordinate its 
>releases with the Bureau's flows.
>
>Dan Keppen, water users executive director, said the water users are 
>concerned about the releases because when things go wrong with salmon on 
>the river, the Klamath Reclamation Project and its irrigators usually get 
>the blame. #
>
>
>KLAMATH RIVER BASIN
>Klamath farmers, fish short on water
>Less-than-expected mountain runoff spurs fears of an irrigation shut-off 
>and a fish kill.
>Associated Press - 5/21/04
>
>KLAMATH FALLS — The amount of water running out of the Cascade Range 
>snowpack has fallen below expectations, leading federal water authorities 
>to scale back releases for Klamath River salmon and urge farmers to 
>conserve on irrigation.
>
>The water shortage has revived fears that farmers could face another 
>irrigation shut-off like 2001 and the Klamath River could see another 
>massive fish kill like the one in 2002.
>
>"People are obviously going to tighten up their belt as much as they can, 
>but I’m not sure what else we can do," said Dan Keppen of the Klamath 
>Water Users Association, which represents farmers on the Klamath 
>Reclamation Project.
>
>Tribes along the Klamath River in California are concerned that lower 
>flows this fall could re-create conditions that killed 33,000 adult salmon 
>in September, 2002.
>
>"We’re really concerned, basically because we’re setting ourselves up for 
>a similar situation," said Toz Soto, fisheries biologist for the Karuk Tribe.
>
>The lack of runoff prompted the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to reclassify 
>2004 as a dry year, reducing by about a third the amount of water mandated 
>for threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River while leaving full water 
>deliveries to farmers on the Klamath Project in place.
>
>The bureau has been sending extra water down the river this spring to help 
>young salmon make their migration to the Pacific Ocean.
>
>Earlier this month, the Bureau of Reclamation paid farmers to tap private 
>wells for crops after realizing that Upper Klamath Lake, the primary 
>reservoir for the Klamath Project, was not filling. The water table has 
>since fallen in parts of the arid basin.
>
>"I’m real nervous about how this is going to turn out," said Dave Sabo, 
>Klamath Project manager for the bureau. "It’s critical that people pay 
>attention to what they’re using" for irrigation.
>
>Runoff from the mountain snowpack was originally predicted to be close to 
>average levels, leading to more water being released downstream through 
>the winter and early spring. Projections have since fallen to 38 percent 
>below average, Sabo said.#
>
>
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