Oregon Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative |
This plan describes the activities that will be undertaken by
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff during 1997
to implement the measures in the Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative
(CSRI). Activities identified as Phase 2 require additional funding
or staff before the activity can be accomplished. The main body
of this plan describes general activities; more detailed actions
to be taken by field staff in the coastal fish districts are provided
in appendices. Activities are numbered to correspond to the measures
in the CSRI plan.
ODFW-I.A.1 - Establish New Escapement Goals.
Summary of Measure: Establish new interim wild coho adult
spawner escapement goals for each of four new disaggregated subunits
encompassing Oregon coastal river basins and lakes.
Background: In recent years, coho salmon escapement was
estimated on the basis of total returns to all coastal drainages
as a single aggregate known as the Oregon Coastal Natural (OCN).
Escapement targets for the purpose of managing ocean fisheries
were defined as 42 fish per mile in standard index sites within
the entire OCN aggregate. The description of four separate Gene
Conservation Groups (GCG) within coastal coho salmon, a shift
in escapement estimation approach to stratified random surveys
to estimate actual numbers rather than indices, and concern over
continued depressed status of many coastal runs has led to the
disaggregation of the OCN into four sub-aggregates. This approach
is intended to lead to more precise assessment of run strength
in smaller areas more closely similar (not identical) to the GCGs,
yet still large enough to allow effective management of the mixed
stock ocean fisheries.
There is also reason to define escapement targets for individual
river basins and to define specific thresholds for particular
purposes (e.g. , to define critical conservation levels, populations
suitable for reinitiating fisheries, and levels equivalent to
fully recovered or fully seeded). At this time, the Spawner Rebuilding
Criteria establish escapement levels suitable for adjusting fisheries.
Additional efforts will be required to define other important
levels and to apply targets to individual basins.
Goal: Establish meaningful goals for spawner escapement
to facilitate managing fisheries and to assure population recovery.
Objectives
Responsible Staff: Don McIsaac, Interjurisdictional (IJ)
Team Leader, is responsible for establishing the new sub-aggregates
and fishery adjustment criteria.
District Biologists are responsible for establishing basin-specific
escapement targets and monitoring plans.
Results: The OCN aggregate has been separated into four
components, and separate escapement targets (Spawner Rebuilding
Criteria) have been proposed for each. This approach was included
in the first draft of the CSRI plan, and has been revised to relate
directly to the habitat based coho production model. The Mid-coast
districts are presently working on establishing individual population
targets for each mid-coast basin.
Future: We anticipate that this approach to estimating
run strength targets for the purpose of regulating ocean fisheries
will be the basic approach used into the foreseeable future.
Any future adjustments to the geographic scope of the sub-aggregates
or to escapement targets will be made with input from our management
partners. Individual escapement targets for each coastal basin
will be made over the next few years.
Funding: This has been accomplished with existing ODFW
funding.
1997 Work Schedule
Job: Define new sub-aggregates and develop escapement targets.
Complete: Completed
Job: Finalize recommendations following public and peer review
of CSRI plan.
Start Date: Underway
Complete: With completion of final draft of CSRI plan by end of
February 1997.
Job: Establish basin-specific objectives in Mid-Coast districts
and develop monitoring plan.
Start Date: Underway
Complete: December 1997
ODFW-I.B.1 - Adult Escapement And Juvenile Coho
Salmon Production Assessment.
Summary of Measure: Collect critical information on the
status and distribution of wild adult escapement and juvenile
coho salmon production on federal, non-federal, and private lands
with information summarized and presented using GIS.
Background: Accurate estimates of adult coho escapement
and production are necessary for determining population size and
trend, regulating allowable fishery harvest, determining the response
of populations to restoration efforts, and measuring attainment
of population targets.
Goal: Annually estimate adult coho escapement individually
for the major river basins, the sub-aggregate areas, and for the
entire Oregon coast; also, annually determine the abundance of
juvenile coho salmon in representative stream reaches.
Objectives
Responsible Staff