Dungeness River Chinook Salmon Rebuilding Project: Progress Report 1993-1999

Fish production from the Dungeness River chinook captive brood stock project and associated evaluation and monitoring efforts are reported for the time period spring 1993 through the releases of the 1999 brood year fry and smolts in summer 2000.

The annual average Dungeness system adult chinook spawner escapement estimates from 1986 through 1999 is 147, ranging from 45 to 335. Timing and location of redds by river sections are summarized for 1992 through 1999.

The origins of the fresh water and sea pen chinook brood stocks; the maturation and spawning of the mature captive brood stock; the incubation, marking and releases of the brood stock progeny, and fish health monitoring and treatment efforts are reported. Through the 1999 brood year, 2,290 crosses were made which yielded 7,478,000 ponded fry over the five reporting years. Estimates of anticipated production levels are projected for the remainder of the project. Adult returns from the project in return year 1999 are reported.

Fish health observations and treatments for the freshwater captive brood stock are outlined. Treatments administered to pre-spawning brood stock and results of pathogen screens done on all spawned fish are reported.

Estimates are presented of the numbers of downstream migrant chinook progeny from the captive brood program made at a calibrated migrant fish trap which operated in 1996 and 1997. Detailed methods for enumeration of wild and project origin smolt from the trap data are described. Survival estimates from release site to the trap site for release groups in 1997 consistently ranged from 21 to 23%. Survivals in 1996 were much more variable, ranging from 2% to 32%. These results and possible explanations are provided.