[env-trinity] NOAA STATUS REVIEW: NONE OF 28 ESA-LISTED PACIFIC SALMON/STEELHEAD STOCKS WARRANT STATUS CHANGE

Fri Jun 3 11:16:33 PDT 2016

NOAA Status Review: None Of 28 ESA-Listed Pacific Salmon/Steelhead Stocks
Warrant Status Change 
Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2016 (PST)
http://www.cbbulletin.com/436826.aspx

NOAA Fisheries completed its five-year status review for 28 Pacific salmon
and steelhead stocks last week. None of the fish stocks, all listed as
threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, warranted
a change in status.

NOAA is required under the ESA to review all ESA-listed stocks every five
years to determine if each should be delisted, reclassified from endangered
to threatened or threatened to endangered, or whether the fish should keep
its current classification.

"Many species have either improved or remained stable since the previous
review in 2011, but none of the species reviewed have declined significantly
or improved such that a change in listing status is warranted," NOAA said in
an announcement. "This means that the species' conditions have not
significantly declined but also that they have not improved enough to reach
the next threshold on the path to recovery."

The news for West Coast salmon is mixed, NOAA said. The good news is that
Oregon Coast coho salmon, mid-Columbia steelhead and Hood Canal chum, have
rebounded strongly from the lows of past decades, and highly endangered
Snake River sockeye are showing a "newfound promise" for recovery thanks to
a captive broodstock program.

Other fish have not fared as well. The California drought and high ocean and
stream temperatures in recent years hit many populations hard. Simply
sustaining imperiled fish through such trying conditions is an important
success, according to NOAA.

Drought conditions and high stream temperatures for Sacramento River winter
chinook reduced the 2015 survival of juvenile fish in the first stretch of
river to just 3 percent.

NOAA said it knows more since its previous 5-year review in 2011 about the
biological status and needs of some species, but other species still need
research.

"We are seeing significant progress, but, as anticipated in our recovery
plans, it is slow and steady," NOAA said. "Progress will be measured, and
achieved, over decades. This is because salmon are especially sensitive to
environmental conditions, they experience wide fluctuations in population
size, and the benefits from habitat improvements and recovery actions take
time to accrue."

NOAA identified several key findings:

-- habitat degradation and the lack of complex, cold water refuge continue
to threaten the survival and recovery of many populations; 

--hatcheries have successfully thwarted extinction for several species, but
maintaining the genetic integrity of wild stocks continues to be a
cornerstone of management efforts; 

--ongoing collection of monitoring data is critical for refining recovery
efforts on the ground; and 

--the recovery plans provide strong roadmaps to recovery, but more work
remains to implement them.

NOAA also identified new trend information:

--it had limited data on Snake River steelhead  in 2011, but after five
years of new monitoring data for populations in Idaho and Oregon, the
agency's ability to assess the abundance of wild fish and diversity across
Snake River steelhead populations has improved. Though a change in listing
status is not warranted at this time, NOAA said that Snake River steelhead
populations are "holding steady" since the previous review. 

--Southern Oregon and northern California data is less clear. Returns of
coho salmon to the Shasta River in 2014 and 2015 was very low, but there is
insufficient data to fully understand the trends for Southern Oregon and
Northern California coho.

Several environmental factors will influence salmon returns in the future
that will provide researchers the opportunity to track the resiliency of the
populations and their ability to handle the sort of natural environmental
variations that have always influenced salmon numbers.

Those factors are the warm expanse of water known as "the blob" along the
West Coast that began to show up in 2013 and then gave way to El Nino
conditions in late 2015. Such warm conditions often reduce ocean
productivity, including survivability of salmon and steelhead year classes
that are in the ocean.

All 28 five-year status reviews are available at the NOAA Fisheries website
at
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016_status_review.html>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016_status_review.html

For the Columbia River Basin:

--Upper Columbia River, Summary & Evaluation of Upper Columbia River
Steelhead and Spring-Run Chinook,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_upper-columbia.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_upper-columbia.pdf 

--Snake River, Summary & Evaluation of Snake River Sockeye, Spring-Summer &
Fall-Run Chinook, & Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_snake-river.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_snake-river.pdf 

--Middle Columbia River, Summary & Evaluation of Middle Columbia River
Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_middle-columbia.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_middle-columbia.pdf 

--Upper Willamette River, Summary & Evaluation of Upper Willamette River
Steelhead and Chinook,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_upper-willamette.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_upper-willamette.pdf

--Lower Columbia River, Summary & Evaluation of Lower Columbia River Chinook
Salmon, Chum Salmon, Coho Salmon, & Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_lower-columbia.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_lower-columbia.pdf 

Areas outside the Columbia River Basin:

Oregon Coast, Summary & Evaluation of Oregon Coast Coho Salmon,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_oc-coho.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_oc-coho.pdf

Southern Oregon & Northern Oregon Coast, Summary & Evaluation of Southern
Oregon/Northern California Coho,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_soncc_coho.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_soncc_coho.pdf

Puget Sound, Summary & Evaluation of Puget Sound Chinook, steelhead, & Hood
Canal summer-run Chum (link not yet available).

Lake Ozette, Summary & Evaluation of Ozette Lake Sockeye,
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_lake_ozette.pdf.

Sacramento River, Summary & Evaluation of Sacramento River winter-run
Chinook, (link not yet available).

California Central Valley, Summary & Evaluation of Central Valley Spring-Run
Chinook,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_cv-spring-run-chinook.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_cv-spring-run-chinook.pdf

Summary & Evaluation of Central Valley Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_cv-steelhead.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_cv-steelhead.pdf

California Coast, Summary & Evaluation of Central California Coast Coho,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_ccc-coho.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_ccc-coho.pdf

Summary & Evaluation of Central California Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_ccc-steelhead.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_ccc-steelhead.pdf 

Summary & Evaluation of California Coastal Chinook Salmon and Northern
California Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_cc-chinook_nc-steelhd.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_cc-chinook_nc-steelhd.pdf

Summary & Evaluation of South-Central California Coast Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_sccc-steelhead.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_sccc-steelhead.pdf

Summary & Evaluation of Southern California Coast Steelhead,
<http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_
steelhead/2016/2016_scc-steelhead.pdf>
http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_s
teelhead/2016/2016_scc-steelhead.pdf