Steelhead
Winter Steelhead
Background
Winter steelhead are native to the Coquille River system. These fish may spend from 1 to 4 years in fresh water and an additional 1 to 4 years in the ocean with a life span ranging from 3 to 8 years. Fish that spend two years in fresh water and two years in the ocean predominate in the spawning population. Spawning occurs throughout the system in tributaries of all the major forks and their tributaries from late December through June. A small portion of the run (3% to 10%) do not die after they spawn. They migrate back to the ocean after spawning and return to spawn the next year.
The population of winter steelhead in the Coquille River has been affected in the past by commercial gillnet fishing, splash dams, and logging practices that have reduced habitat. Commercial gillnet catches ranged to a high of almost 10,000 fish. Splach dams created barriers to migration and caused sluicing of stream structure and spawning gravel. Loss of woody structure has deqraded rearing habitat and has greatly affected overwintering juvenile populations. There is also concern about excessive commercial removal of gravel from the South Fork of the Coquille River and potential effect on spawning and general stability of the stream bed.
The total annual recreational catch of winter steelhead for the entire Coquille River system based on punch card data averaged 4,482 fish from 1976-77 to 1087-88 with a catch range of 754 to 9,463 fish.
Maintenance of the wild stock is a biological necessity to ensure long-term stability of both wild and hatchery stocks of winter steelhead. Unfortunately, the wild stock appears to be in relatively poor shape and inundated by a large hatchery program. Recent scale analysis (1983 through 1988) indicates 83% of the recreational harvest of winter steelhead is composed of hatchery fish. With the high hatchery-to-wild ratios and no apparent separation of spawning sites, we are likely having impacts on the wild stock with the hatchery program. Although we do not have good data on the spawning areas, we are not likely in compliance with the Wild Fish Management Policy.
We do not know the carrying capacity or seeding level for winter steelhead in the Coquille River for either spawning adults or rearing juveniles. We need to collect more inventory data on juvenile carrying capacities, seeding levels throughout the system, adult spawning escapement, and success of natural reproduction. The only knowledge of spawning habitat for winter steelhead in the system is the observation of winter steelhead during coho salmon spawning ground surveys. Specific surveys need to be established for winter steelhead.
Concern has been expressed about a perceived poor size and quality of hatchery fish. Hatchery fish have been used to supplement the wild run starting initially in 1948 and then continuously since 1968. The average release of winter steelhead smolts in the Coquille River basin per year has averaged 133,000 since 1980. The Alsea stock was imported and used exclusively from 1968 until 1986. We have been especially concerned about the impact of Alsea River hatchery stock on the wild run. Therefore, local wild stock from the Coquille River was incorporated into the hatchery program starting in 1985 and the stock conversion was completed in 1987. In 1990, futher segregation of stocks within the basin was initiated with the South Fork stock isolated from the North Fork and East Fork stocks in rearing ponds at Bandon Hatchery. Because of the geological and habitat diversity in the Coquille River, we believe that steelhead should eventually be managed on a fork-by-fork basis. Limitation in pond arrangements at Bandon Hatchery have precluded that option. This broodstock separation into stocks from the South, North, and East forks should make the hatchery fish genetically similar to the wild stock in the Coquille River and allow hatchery-to-wild mixing rates up to 50% of the total run in the respective spawning areas.
In addition to changing our thinking about stocks in the hatchery program for the Coquille River, we are also changing our strategy of hatchery releases to include acclimation ponds at selected sites. These acclimation ponds are placed in locations that should continue to give anglers good opportunities to catch returning hatchery adults while at the same time reducing the mixing rate of hatchery fish by drawing the bulk of the returning hatchery spawners to isolated area away from primary natural spawning areas. The straying of some hatchery adults from these acclimated releases will likely continue upstream to provide additional recreational fishing in traditional areas, but hopefully enough hatchery fish will home to the acclimation ponds to reduce the hatchery-to-wild mixing ratios on the spawning grounds to below 50%.
We had considered the possibility of ending the release of steelhead smolts at Bandon Hatchery in Ferry Creek because these fish are not available to any fishery. However, returns to Bandon Hatchery may provide an important source of information on ocean survival of winter steelhead without the influence of a fishery a minimum of freshwater mortality on the smolts because these fish are released almost directly into the estuary. All other releases are far upstream at acclimation sites in areas that will provide the highest catch of hatchery fish possible. A delicate balance is needed to assure an upstream fishery on hatchery stocks but not extensive mixing of hatchery fish with the wild fish on spawning areas.
We are in the process of developing creel-census surveys and spawning surveys along with increased sampling at trapping facilities to evaluate the success of the new hatchery-release strategies. If little straying occurs from the acclimation sites, then new sites farther upstream will be evaluated to increase opportunities for the recreational fishery to harvest additional hatchery fish while continuing to protect the wild stock. Steelhead are probably the most difficult species of salmonid to achieve compliance with the Wild Fish Management Policy and still maintain a strong recreational fishery in traditional areas. The potential approaches to achieve policy compliance that are available to us at the time include: 1) catch and release of wild fish, 2) moving hatchery releases downstream, 3) construction of acclimation ponds, 4) trapping and removing hatchery adults from the spawning population, and 5) reductions in the total release of smolts. We will continue to explore variety of options and opportunities over the next 10 years as we test various approaches to meet out objectives(ODFW, 1992).
Releases of hatchery winter steelhead smolts into the Coquille system for the years 1948 through 1990.
Year Number Released Stock
1948 185,560 Coos
1968 99,979 Alsea
1969 98,611 Alsea
1970 90,056 Alsea
1971 99,675 Alsea
1972 94,076 Alsea
1973 117,449 Alsea and Umpqua
1974 113,638 Alsea and Umpqua
1975 99,750 Alsea
1976 90,630 Alsea
1977 148,742 Alsea
1978 139,912 Alsea
1979 148,000 Alsea
1980 151,000 Alsea
1981 140,000 Alsea
1982 132,340 Alsea
1983 122,375 Alsea
1984 140,000 Alsea
1985 132,340 Alsea and Coquille
1986 122,375 Coquille and Alsea
1987 106,697 Coquille
1988 106,728 Coquille
1989 140,958 Coquille
1990 140,775 Coquille
Release Sites for hatchery Smolt
East Fork (China Creek) 20,000
North Fork (LaVerne Park) 25,000
South Fork (Beaver Creek) 40,000
South Fork (Woodward Creek) 30,000
Total Smolts 115,000 100% Ad-clipped
Unfed Fry Program as needed
Hatch Box (North Fork)
Hatch Box (South Fork)
Brood Stock Collection
Brood stock collection depends on the ODFW netting wild fish. On the South Fork, Rick Howard has contributed many wild fish from his guided fishing trips. High Schools and the STEP association have helped out on collection. Our goal is to collect at least 50% wild for our hatchery program.