2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
Scent research could help salmon find their way home
Effort to stop
interbreeding
By JES BURNS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Apparently, salmon don’t
like the smell of watercress.
The aroma of shrimp doesn’t
pique their interest either. And
the fragrance, eu de steelhead?
A definite no-go.
“The fish did not like it at
all. We tried. They did not like
it,” said Oregon State Univer-
sity researcher Maryam Kam-
ran. “They’re very picky.”
It turns out, this could be
helpful information to know
when you’re trying to figure
out how to keep salmon raised
in hatcheries from interbreed-
ing with wild fish — a phe-
nomenon called “straying.”
It’s a problem that occurs
at salmon hatcheries every-
where in the West. But it’s par-
ticularly concerning on south-
ern Oregon’s Elk River, where
efforts are underway to pre-
serve the small population of
wild native Chinook salmon.
Things get a little hec-
tic around 9 p.m., when a
salmon hits the entanglement
net stretched across a cold and
windy stretch of the Elk River
Jes Burns/Oregon Public Broadcasting
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Austin Huff
inserts a radio tag into the stomach of an adult Chinook
salmon. The agency is tracking where the fish are moving
once they enter the Elk River.
near Gold Beach. The floats
on the choppy surface begin
to shake and bob as the fish
struggles to get free.
“We’ve got a fish!” yelled
Jenn Ambrose, a fisher-
ies technician with the Ore-
gon Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
Two of Ambrose’s col-
leagues on a salmon-tagging
team sprint into the water.
“Even after doing this for
five years, you still get that
adrenaline,” Ambrose said
from the gravel bank.
Using a headlamp to see in
the dark, they successfully free
the salmon and bring it over to
a live well on the riverside.
It’s a female fall Chinook,
still vivid silver from its time
in the ocean. Like all Pacific
salmon, it’s used a mix of
magnetic and olfactory — or
odor — information as a map
to get back to this river where
it was born and make the next
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
48
39
31
ALMANAC
51
40
Periods of rain
Cloudy with rain possible
First
Full
Dec 15
Salem
24/42
Newport
35/51
Coos Bay
37/55
Last
Dec 22
Dec 29
The Daily Astorian
Astoria City Councilor Cindy Price will
hold a quarterly constituent meeting from 6 to
7:30 p.m. on Monday at the Kala Gallery, 1017
Marine Drive.
The “Last Salonical” is an opportunity to
celebrate participation in local democracy, and
exchange ideas and information about ongoing
and planned city projects.
There will be complimentary snacks and
beverages. All are welcome to attend.
Price’s four-year term expires at the end of
the year.
Sarasue B. Berger
Walla Walla, Washington
Dec. 21, 1940 — April 6, 2018
La Grande
15/32
Baker
10/33
Ontario
19/34
Burns
0/27
Roseburg
31/49
Klamath Falls
14/36
Lakeview
14/35
Ashland
27/48
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
REGIONAL CITIES
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
6:54 a.m.
7:47 p.m.
Low
2.8 ft.
-0.7 ft.
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
29
32
54
42
46
35
49
45
48
54
Today
Lo
10
14
41
24
34
14
25
27
35
37
W
s
c
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
Hi
33
38
53
42
48
36
48
43
51
55
Fri.
Lo
16
25
46
35
42
23
31
33
43
46
W
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
sh
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
41
33
44
46
44
46
30
44
43
36
Today
Lo
21
18
29
31
24
31
18
25
26
18
W
s
c
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
c
Hi
42
33
43
49
42
48
30
46
43
34
Fri.
Lo
32
23
36
38
33
42
22
36
35
21
W
s
pc
s
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Hi
51
42
30
33
25
36
65
19
82
35
32
51
61
46
74
48
63
40
45
40
39
33
59
44
44
John Day
16/35
Bend
14/38
Medford
25/48
Tonight's Sky: New moon (11:20 p.m.)
Today
Lo
36
31
16
19
11
24
45
15
71
18
18
44
50
37
64
34
54
32
27
31
19
24
46
29
34
Prineville
14/38
Lebanon
24/45
Brookings
41/54
UNDER THE SKY
High
8.1 ft.
9.7 ft.
Pendleton
18/33
The Dalles
24/36
Portland
29/43
Eugene
24/42
Sunset tonight ........................... 4:30 p.m.
Sunrise Friday ............................. 7:44 a.m.
Moonrise today ........................... 6:52 a.m.
Moonset today ........................... 4:32 p.m.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
Mostly cloudy
Tillamook
30/48
SUN AND MOON
Time
1:25 a.m.
12:44 p.m.
52
41
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
31/48
Precipitation
Wednesday ....................................... 0.00"
Month to date ................................... 0.32"
Normal month to date ....................... 1.77"
Year to date .................................... 53.71"
Normal year to date ........................ 59.14"
Dec 6
MONDAY
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Wednesday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 46°/31°
Normal high/low ........................... 50°/37°
Record high ............................ 59° in 1908
Record low ............................. 22° in 2013
New
52
43
Sunshine and patchy
clouds; rain at night
Mainly clear
SUNDAY
ery fish a significant threat
to the native fish on the Elk
River.
“What’s changed is our pri-
orities and outlook. We’re col-
lectively paying more atten-
tion to conservation of native
runs of fish than we did,” said
Shannon Richardson, with
the Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s Coastal Chinook
Research and Monitoring
Program.
In the state’s most recent
management plan, Elk River
Chinook salmon were con-
sidered “nonviable,” in part
because of the high number
of strays from the hatchery.
The state immediately cut the
number of salmon the hatch-
ery could release. And it gave
the Elk River Hatchery a 2021
deadline to significantly cut
the stray rate, or face further
cuts.
And less fish for fishermen
to catch could be a hit for the
coastal economy on the south-
ern Oregon Coast, which relies
heavily on fishing and tourism.
Steps taken in the past few
years on the river have already
started bringing down the
average stray rate to about 42
percent. But the state’s target
is 30 percent. And that’s still a
pretty big gap to cross.
Price holds her final ‘salonical’
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
The Elk River Hatchery
was built back in the late 1960s
to generate more salmon for
fishermen — both commercial
and recreational. The effect the
hatchery would have on the
native run of fish on the river
wasn’t known or even a con-
sideration at the time.
And it turns out, there are
miles of fantastic spawning
grounds downstream of the
hatchery — something the
captive-reared fish immedi-
ately figured out.
The first year the hatchery
fish came back, the best avail-
able fish counts from the state
showed they outnumbered
the wild fish on the spawn-
ing grounds 2 to 1. Five years
later, that ratio was 4 to 1.
The numbers fluctuate
from year to year, sometimes
widely, but the percent of
hatchery salmon on spawning
grounds used by wild salmon
hit 80 percent as recently as
2002.
“We know that (hatchery)
fish, when they come back
and reproduce, they produce
fewer surviving offspring than
wild-origin fish,” said David
Noakes, of the Oregon Hatch-
ery Research Center.
The state considers the
interbreeding wild and hatch-
generation of Chinook in the
Elk River.
Team leader Austin Huff
checks to see if its fin is
clipped, indicating whether
it was born wild or at the Elk
River Hatchery about 12 miles
upstream.
“There’s no mark. It’s a
wild fish,” he said.
He then opens the mouth
of the salmon and smoothly
inserts a radio tracking tag into
the fish’s stomach.
“It’s a relatively noninva-
sive, you know, better than sur-
gery,” Huff said. “As they’re
hitting the river system, their
esophagus is actually closing
up. They’re finished eating for
their life in anticipation of their
spawning. And because of that
they will keep the tag within
their stomach cavity and carry
it all the way upriver.”
The team is tracking the
movements of wild and hatch-
ery Chinook salmon to see
where they travel and spawn
within the Elk River.
“The idea is to keep the
wild fish wild and hatchery
fish in the hatchery,” Huff said.
But in this river, there’s a
good chance this wild female
Chinook will end up mating
with a hatchery-raised fish.
Too good of a chance.
W
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
sf
pc
c
s
sn
c
sh
r
c
s
pc
pc
s
c
s
r
c
s
s
s
Hi
52
40
26
38
26
33
55
30
81
32
33
58
68
43
78
43
68
38
35
39
33
35
59
45
42
Fri.
Lo
39
19
17
22
14
22
44
21
71
17
21
40
50
37
69
32
59
26
33
23
22
25
45
37
27
On April 6, 2018, our beloved mother
and grandmother “Nattie” died peacefully at
home. She was born in Colorado, and later set-
tled with her family in Hillsboro, Oregon.
She is a graduate of Hillsboro High School,
and served as worthy adviser for Rainbow
Girls, while her future husband, Gary, served
as master counselor of DeMolay. They met on
a blind date, and he knew the moment he set
eyes on her she would be his wife. They were
married for 53 years at the time of his death.
She was a devoted homemaker and busi-
ness partner with her husband, owning the
Cannon Beach Bakery and Geri’s Seafood and
Chicken. She loved gardening, square danc-
ing, painting, rodeos and playing pinochle
with her friends at the Walla Walla Senior
Center.
In memoriam, donations in her name may
be sent to Walla Walla Community Hospice.
She was preceded in death by her brother,
Jerry Davis, of Hillsboro, Oregon, and her
husband, Gary, in 2013. She is survived by her
daughters, Trina Berger, of Walla Walla, Wash-
ington, and Edie Paden, of Walla Walla, Wash-
ington; grandson, Austin Paden, of Boise,
Idaho; and granddaughter, Jordan Schilling, of
Milton Freewater, Oregon.
ON THE RECORD
DUII
• At 11:32 p.m. Wednesday, Sean Thomas Rogers, 41, of Astoria, was arrested by Warrenton
police on U.S. Highway 101 and Harbor Drive and charged with driving under the influence of
intoxicants. His blood alcohol content was 0.15 percent.
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
pc
s
s
pc
s
c
r
c
sh
s
pc
pc
s
r
pc
c
c
s
i
s
pc
pc
pc
s
s
DEATH
Dec. 5, 2018
ABSHER, Samuel Everett, 82, of Gearhart, died in Portland. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation
Arrangement Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements.
BIRTH
Nov. 26, 2018
WATTERS, Andrea and Edward, of Cathlamet, Washington, a boy, Colton Ried Watters, born
at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. Grandparents are Gary and Terrie Howell of Cathlamet
and Albert and Mary Watters of Hoquiam, Wash.
LOTTERIES
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
CLATSOP
POWER
EQUIPMENT , INC.
SALES SERVICE RENTALS
•
•
OREGON
Wednesday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 3-1-7-6
4 p.m.: 6-8-0-3
7 p.m.: 0-9-6-0
10 p.m.: 1-1-2-0
Wednesday’s Lucky Lines: 02-
05-12-13-FREE-19-23-26-30
Estimated jackpot: $28,000
Wednesday’s Megabucks:
02-12-19-24-29-32
Estimated jackpot: $4.8
million
Wednesday’s Powerball:
09-11-36-37-38, Powerball: 11,
Power Play: 5
Estimated jackpot: $200
million
WASHINGTON
Wednesday’s Daily Game:
4-2-0
OBITUARY POLICY
The Daily Astorian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for veterans, a flag
symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 10 a.m. the business day prior.
Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Death notices and upcoming services
will be published at no charge. Notices must be submitted by 9 a.m. the day of publication.
Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at www.dailyastorian.com/obituaryform, by email at ewil-
son@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Daily Astorian office, 949 Exchange St.
in Astoria. For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext. 257.
The Daily Astorian
Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group,
949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-
325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria,
OR 97103-0210
www.dailyastorian.com
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
34912 HWY 101 BUS • ASTORIA
503-325-0792 • 1-800-220-0792
Wednesday’s Hit 5: 12-21-22-
32-35
Estimated jackpot: $220,000
Wednesday’s Keno: 01-02-05-
09-13-18-19-28-31-38-39-41-45-
55-60-61-62-63-68-75
Wednesday’s Lotto: 02-12-18-
24-28-46
Estimated jackpot: $1.2 million
Wednesday’s Match 4: 07-10-
13-20
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for
republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper.
SUBSCRIBER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Effective July 1, 2015
HOME DELIVERY
MAIL
EZpay (per month) ................$11.25
EZpay (per month) ............... $16.60
13 weeks in advance ........... $36.79
13 weeks in advance ........... $51.98
26 weeks in advance ........... $70.82
26 weeks in advance ......... $102.63
52 weeks in advance ......... $135.05
52 weeks in advance ......... $199.90
Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211
Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR
ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP
All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Daily Astorian become
the property of The Daily Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use
without explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT ©
Entire contents © Copyright, 2018 by The Daily Astorian.
Printed on recycled paper