Growth Rate Modulation in spring Chinook salmon supplementation
Statement of Work and Budget FY2006

This proposal has four central objectives:
1) estimate the incidence of precocious maturation and characterize the related maturational physiology in wild Yakima spring chinook for comparison to the hatchery fish,
2) monitor the incidence of yearling precocious maturation in the hatchery population, and
3) conduct a series of growth modulation experiments to control precocious maturation in the Yakima hatchery population,
4) collaborate with tribal and state biologists in designing and implementing production scale growth modulation studies designed to reduce precocious male maturation while producing a successful smolt.  Our ultimate goal is to develop rearing protocols to produce fish with morphological, physiological, and life-history attributes similar to naturally reared cohorts.

There are two contracts (NOAA and University of Washington) under this project.  There are many duties associated with this project that are shared between the two contracts and they are noted in the description for specific work elements. In general,the University of Washington Contract is associated with data collection, fish rearing, maintaining hatchery, and laboratory sample analysis and the NOAA contract is used for work elements associated with permit preparation, experimental design, collaborator coordination, fish rearing and maintaining hatchery also, contract reporting, data collection, interpretation, analysis, and peer reviewed publication and presentation of results to the scientific community.

Background Information:
Recommendations of the Columbia River Basin Fish & Wildlife Program (Nov. 14, 2000) for artificial production state:  "naturally selected populations should provide the model for successful artificially reared populations, in regard to population structure, mating protocol, behavior, growth, morphology, nutrient cycling, and other biological characteristics."  This mirrors guidelines of the NMFS 2000 FCRPS Biological Opinion (9.6.5.3.4, RPA 184).  We compared the physiology and development of naturally rearing wild and hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon in the Yakima River Basin, and found substantial differences. The most serious difference was an approximately 50% incidence of early maturation of Cle Elum Hatchery-reared males (1+ year old jacks) (Larsen et al. 2004).  This is ten times our estimate of early male maturation in wild spring chinook salmon in the Yakima River. Apparently, the hatchery environment potentiates early male maturation.  Hundreds of thousands of the early maturing hatchery males may residualize in the basin after release and cause negative genetic and ecological impacts.  The ecological concerns include competition for space and food, food depletion and predation on emerging salmonids and other species.  Furthermore, early male maturation translates into a 25% reduction in anadromous adult production.  We have found recently in laboratory studies that modulation of growth rate and/or body energy stores at specific times of the year can reduce the incidence of precocious maturation.  Thus, growth rate modulation at the Cle Elum Supplementation Research Facility may reduce early male maturation to levels similar to natural wild fish.  


References
Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.  (2000). (www.nwppc.org/2000-19_toc.htm).
Cuisset, B., P. Pradelles, D.E. Kime, E.R. Kuhn, P. Babin, F.  Le Menn. 1994.  Enzyme immunoassay for 11-ketotestosterone using acetylcholinesterase as label.   Application to the measurement of 11-ketotstosterone in plasma of Siberian sturgeon.  Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology  108:229-241.
Larsen, D.A., Beckman, B.R., Cooper, K.A., Barrett, D., Johnston, M., Swanson, P., and Dickhoff, W.W.  (2004).  Assessment of high rates of precocious male maturation in a spring chinook salmon supplementation hatchery program.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.  133, 98-120.
National Marine Fisheries Service.  (2000).  Biological Opinion, Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation of the Federal Columbia River Power System, Hatchery  and Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA).  (www.nwr.noaa.gov/1hydrop/hydroweb/docs/Final/2000Biop.html).
Silverstein, J.T., Shearer, K.D., Dickhoff, W.W., and E.M. Plisetskaya.  (1998).  Effects of growth and fatness on sexual development of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) parr.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 55:2376-2382.