UNIT 12 PACIFIC COAST SALMON FISHERIES INTRODUCTION Pacific salmon support traditional and important commercial and recreational fisheries in Washington, Oregon, and California. Salmon have been very much an integral part of the culture and heritage of the Pacific Northwest, having been harvested since time immemorial by Native Americans. Pacific salmon are anadro-mous species. They spawn in streams or lakes and migrate to the ocean where they may travel hundreds of miles offshore. Upon reaching maturity, they return to their home stream to spawn and complete their life cycle. For the period 1990-92 the average annual commercial salmon catch (7.9 million fish) gave revenues of about $140 million at dockside. Recreational catches are more difficult to value since the recreational experiences associated with their catch cannot be easily measured. If sport-caught fish are valued at a conservative $20 each, the 1990-92 average annual recreational catch of 1.3 million fish would be worth about $26 million. Management of this resource is complex, involving many stocks that originate from various rivers and several management jurisdictions: The U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), state fishery agencies, Indian management entities, and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC). Two species (chinook and coho) are managed by the PFMC's fishery management plan (FMP). The other three species (sockeye, pink, and chum) are managed primarily by the PSC and state and tribal fishery agencies. SPECIES AND STATUS There are five species of Pacific salmon: Chinook, coho, sockeye, pink, and chum. Salmon runs are inherently highly variable in abundance. Catches have fluctuated widely (Fig. 12-1, 12-2, 12-3), and all five species of salmon are overutilized (Table 12-1). Environmental variables tend to play a large role in salmon survival and abundance. For example, El Niño events of unusual warm ocean conditions devastated chinook and coho salmon survival in 1983-85. There are many competing user groups vying to catch salmon, and strict limitations are required to protect the stocks. Thus, salmon management issues are concentrated on catch allocations among user groups and adequate protection of spawning stocks and of juvenile salmon during their outbound migration from home streams to the ocean. Sockeye, Pink, and Chum Salmon Pink and chum salmon originate primarily from tributaries of Puget Sound. Chum salmon also originate from some coastal streams extending part way down the Oregon coast. Sockeye salmon originate from a few streams entering Puget Sound and the upper Columbia and Snake Rivers. Some U.S. catches of sockeye and pink salmon are dependent on stocks originating in the Fraser River of Canada. Although recent Fraser River salmon runs have been extremely large, their U.S. catch has been limited under the Pacific Salmon Commission. The average recent annual commercial catches for these species were 1.5 million sockeye salmon (1990-92 average), 3.1 million pink salmon (1987-91 average), and 1.2 million chum salmon (1990-92 average). Their recreational catches, which total 72,000 fish, though important, are minor when compared to recreational catches for chinook and coho salmon. U.S. stocks of pink and chum salmon appear to be fairly stable and are in fairly good condition; however, the Snake River stock of sockeye salmon has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act as of 1991. Chinook Salmon Major producers of chinook salmon are Puget Sound streams in Washington, the Columbia River, the Umpqua and Rogue Rivers in Oregon, and the Klamath and Sacramento Rivers of California. Chinook salmon stocks are labelled as spring, summer, fall, or winter depending on their time of migration from the ocean into fresh water. For the period 1990-92, chinook salmon commercial catches, both natural and hatchery produced, averaged 815,000 fish, while recreational catches averaged 354,000 fish. In recent years, a significant share of the catch has come from hatchery-produced fish. Production of chinook salmon tends to fluctuate widely due to varying escapement and ocean survival. Environmental conditions, such as El Niño events, tend to depress abundance. Some chinook salmon stocks are extremely depressed. The spring/summer and fall chinook salmon runs in the Snake River have been listed as threatened under the ESA; so has the Sacramento River winter-run chinook salmon. NMFS is now considering a petition to list the mid-Columbia River summer chinook salmon under the ESA. Other chinook salmon stocks like the Shasta River run, the Skagit River spring run, the Stillaguamish summer-fall run, the Snohomish summer-fall run, and the Rogue river runs have generally been depressed and have not met escapement goals in recent years. Coho Salmon For the period 1990-92, commercial catches of coho salmon averaged 2.18 million fish, while recreational catches averaged 864,000 fish. To an even greater extent than with chinook salmon, hatchery-produced coho salmon have become an increasingly important part of the catch, and in some areas, comprise over 80% of the catch. Coho salmon landings from the ocean fisheries peaked at over 5 million fish in 1976 and then declined rather drastically to around 1 million or less in recent years. This is in large part due to a shifting of most of the allowable catch from the ocean fisheries to inside fisheries, particularly north of Cape Falcon, Oregon. The shift mainly resulted from Federal Judge George Boldt's decision in 1974 to entitle Tribal fishermen up to 50% of the catch of returning salmon that migrated through their usual and accustomed tribal fishing areas. The NMFS was petitioned to list lower Columbia River natural coho salmon as endangered under the ESA. The release of hatchery-reared fish, degradation of salmon habitat, and overharvesting affected the wild population to such an extent that NMFS determined it did not represent a distinct population segment under the ESA. Consequently, the NMFS did not list the lower Columbia River coho salmon run. Other coho salmon stocks have been at low levels of production in recent years and have generally been the constraining stocks under stock management. In particular, these are the Queets River stock on the Washington coast and the Hood Canal and Skagit River stocks in Puget Sound. In addition, the Stillaguamish coho stock and the Oregon coastal natural coho salmon stock have failed to meet their escapement goals in recent years. Recently, NMFS has been petitioned to list all Washington, Oregon, and California populations of coho salmon under the ESA. ISSUES Habitat Concerns Worsening freshwater (spawning) habitat has been a significant cause of the salmon decline. This includes siltation problems and, particularly, the lack of water for spawning and fish passage. For example, serious fish passage problems at Columbia River hydroelectric dams have been a major factor in further declines. In California, the conflict is primarily between fish needs for water and farm irrigation demands. Owing to habitat losses, some salmon runs have already been listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA. These actions have profound implications for severely restricting salmon catches. Wild Vs. Hatchery Stocks Increased production by salmon hat-cheries, particularly of chinook and coho salmon, has raised concerns about the relationship between natural (wild) and hatchery-produced fish. Though hatchery fish supplement natural runs, they also compete with or even replace wild salmon. This potential problem has yet to be adequately addressed from a scientific and management point of view. To this end, NMFS has drafted an interim policy on how it will consider artificial propagation in the listing and recovery of Pacific salmon under the ESA. This policy provides guidelines to assist in the conservation of listed species and to help avoid additional species listings. Transboundary Stocks and Jurisdiction Salmon migrate over great distances where they can be intercepted by many fishermen from different nations. The problem of allocation and interception is compounded by dwindling stocks. The problems are addressed as they arise by the affected jurisdictions, but satisfactory solutions have not been easy to define. For example, the Pacific Salmon Commission has been set up to address the allocation of catch between the United States and Canada. Conflicts between treaty Indian and non-Indian fishermen continue to arise and have often been addressed by the Courts. In Washington state, a Federal court ruling that salmon must be managed to protect the smallest or the weakest stock has further curtailed ocean catches in recent years. Bycatch and Multispecies Interactions Some salmon, mainly chinook, are incidentally caught at sea in the Pacific whiting fishery (Unit 15). Though the numbers taken are small compared with catches in target salmon fisheries, this incidental catch is a politically sensitive issue when target salmon fisheries continue to be severely restricted. Progress For the stocks that have been listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA, recovery plans are being drafted for approval by NMFS in cooperation with various management and user groups. In addition, the Northwest Power Planning Council has developed a strategic plan for salmon restoration and management in northwest rivers. The plan incorporates the interests of a wide range of groups within the region and may go a long way towards improving the status of salmon resources. NMFS is actively engaged with the Department of Interior, EPA, and the State of California (among others) in the implementation of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. One of the major objectives of this act is to double the anadromous fisheries populations throughout central and northern California during the next decade.