COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL , 2015
3B
Warm water and disease: a
deadly combination that kills
juvenile summer steelhead at
Rock Creek Hatchery
FROM THE OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
Photo taken from Wikipedia
Steelhead fi ngerlings have been threatened by bacteria and parasite infections.
ROSEBURG, Ore. – High
water temperatures and re-
peated bouts of bacteria and
parasite infections beginning in
May have killed over 150,000
summer steelhead fi ngerlings at
Rock Creek Hatchery.
The hatchery began losing
fi sh in May when warm water
temperatures led to outbreaks
of both a bacterial infection
and external parasite common
in fi sh hatcheries, according to
Dan Meyer, ODFW hatchery
manager.
“We immediately treated the
fi sh and got them healthy, but
once we moved them to out-
side raceways, the disease broke
again and again,” Meyer said.
“However, the combination of
pathogens and unusually high
temperatures created a perfect
storm that we were never able to
get out in front of.”
Although the majority of the
fi sh died the week of July 9-17,
when Meyer estimates losses
were as high as 15 percent a
day, hatchery staff didn’t realize
the full extent of the loss until
a routine inventory in early Au-
gust. During much of June and
July, when the fi sh were under
constant treatment for infection,
they were not healthy enough to
withstand the sampling needed
to get a more accurate count.
According Craig Banner,
ODFW fi sh pathologist, colum-
naris (a bacterial infection) and
ichthyphthirius (an external par-
asite often known as “ick”) are
found in low levels in the North
Umpqua River, which supplies
water to the hatchery. When
water temperatures rise, patho-
gen levels can increase rapidly,
overwhelming a fi sh’s natural
defenses. Water temperatures
in the North Umpqua River ex-
ceeded 71 degrees in July, com-
pared to previous years where
highs were in the mid-60s.
Meyer said it will be diffi cult
to accurately estimate the total
extent of the loss until the fi sh
are larger and ready for release
in October. However, the loss is
signifi cant and Meyer estimates
it could reach 95 percent. The
impact on future fi sheries is also
diffi cult to predict. To meet the
objectives of the Coastal Multi-
species Conservation Plan, the
hatchery had increased its sum-
mer steelhead production this
year so there were more fi sh to
start with. Also, summer steel-
head in the Umpqua tend to re-
turn over a two year period so
any declines in returns could be
spread over time.
Buoy 10 Chinook season goes to
fi n-clipped only on Monday
The columbia River Buoy 10 Chinook fi shery has limited harvest to
keep the fi shery open through labor day
FROM THE OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
CLACKAMAS, Ore. – In
an effort to keep the Columbia
River Buoy 10 Chinook fi shery
open through the Labor Day
weekend, fi shery managers de-
cided today to limit Chinook
harvest to hatchery adipose
fi n-clipped fi sh only beginning
Monday, Aug. 24.
Thanks to excellent fi shing
early in the season, anglers are
quickly approaching the number
of allowable impacts on ESA-
listed wild tule Chinook, the
limiting factor for the Chinook
fi shery. Managers hope today’s
action will extend the Chinook
fi shery through Sept. 7 as origi-
nally scheduled.
“This year’s Buoy 10 fi shery
started out strong, with very
high catch rates and a near-re-
cord level of angler participa-
tion,” said Chris Kern, ODFW
fi sh division deputy administra-
tor. “Limiting harvest to hatch-
ery fi sh should allow Chinook
anglers to keep fi shing through
the holiday weekend.”
Catch in the Buoy 10 fi shery
through Aug. 20 includes 18,600
Chinook kept during 46,600 an-
gler trips, and mangers expect
the good fi shing to continue.
Under the rules adopted to-
day:
Effective Monday, Aug. 24
through Monday, Sept. 7 only
adipose fi n-clipped Chinook
may be retained.
The overall daily bag limit
will continue to be two adult
hatchery salmon or steelhead,
in combination, only one of
which may be a Chinook. All
wild steelhead, coho, and Chi-
nook salmon must be released.
As in all years, all jack salmon
caught between Tongue Point
and Buoy 10 must be released
through Sept. 30.
Anglers may transport un-
clipped Chinook salmon caught
in adjacent fi sheries (such as the
ocean or the Columbia River
above Tongue Point) through
the Buoy 10 area, but cannot fi sh
in Buoy 10 with an un-clipped
salmon on board.
All Chinook retention in
the Buoy 10 area is scheduled
to close Sept. 8-30. However,
managers will be monitoring
the fi shery and an earlier closure
is possible if effort and harvest
rates continue to be high. See
the ODFW web page for in-sea-
son updates.
In the meantime, managers
are predicting over half a mil-
lion coho will be returning to
the mouth of the Columbia and
anglers can look forward to
some good coho fi shing at Buoy
10, Kern said.
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