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Author Topic: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?  (Read 9133 times)

CohoJake

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Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« on: September 02, 2016, 03:01:03 PM »

I was reviewing the release database for the Chilliwack hatchery, and I noticed that this year, they only released about 100,000 coho smolt, as opposed to about 900,000 in a normal year.  These are the fish that will constitute next year's hatchery coho run.  Does anyone know what happened?  Any chance this is a typo and it is supposed to say 1 million?   ;D
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Steelhawk

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2016, 03:32:40 PM »

That better be a typo. Given the history of importance of the coho as a main food fish targeted by myriads of fishermen both local and afar, cutting so much stalking will only encourage poaching of the wild stock. That will be a disaster indeed for both the wild fish and the fishing community. A lot of town folks will stay home or fish locally such as the Cap of the Stave or simply hang up for the fall Coho. The tackle shop people will be hurt definitely. It will certainly result in a lot less license sales as a lot of fishermen won't buy a license for chum and white spring. LOL.
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fisherforever

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2016, 04:21:36 PM »

Don't know about a typo but fish released this year will return in 2020 not next year.
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Tylsie

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2016, 05:21:00 PM »

Wouldn't the Coho Smolts that were released this year be the off spring of the 2014 spawn, making them return in 2018? It varies by river but Coho smolt in about in 18 months (in general).

Regardless, hope it is a typo!
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CohoJake

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2016, 06:24:56 PM »

I used to think the chilliwack coho were on a 4 year cycle, but I believe there have been multiple thread discussions on this forum where it was authoritatively proven they are a 3 year cycle.  Regardless, it means some season soon will really suck!
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Rodney

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2016, 06:54:23 PM »

That's correct. These offsprings will be returning as adult spawners in fall 2018.

CohoJake

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2016, 07:03:22 PM »

I just noticed the Chehalis releases are also very low for 2016 - 400,000, which is half or less than half of normal amount for that river.  No relief there either!  I assume that all of the 2016 releases are done for the year, but might I be wrong?  Might these be only partial numbers for the year?
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CohoJake

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2016, 07:27:28 PM »

This document from DFO explains that the Chilliwack coho follow a three year life cycle:

"Chilliwack coho, like most coho stocks, generally follow a 3 year life cycle, illustrated in Figure 1. While some Chilliwack coho return at age 2 (~6 out of every 100) and a few return at age 4 (less than 1 in 1000), the examples and illustrations in this handout use only the 3-year life cycle for simplicity."

www.fishingwithrod.com/fishy_news/file/051005.pdf 
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buck

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2016, 09:36:34 AM »

Typo error. Releases have been reduced to 800,000 from 1 million in order to be able to feed 2 million chum fry to 1 gram. In the mid eighties the hatchery was releasing 1.8 -2.2 million coho. The facility is only operating at half capacity. Reduce white chinook production and increase coho. Hatchery released a late experimental timing group and that may have been the 100k.
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mojo7

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #9 on: September 08, 2016, 09:07:47 AM »

Typo error. Releases have been reduced to 800,000 from 1 million in order to be able to feed 2 million chum fry to 1 gram. In the mid eighties the hatchery was releasing 1.8 -2.2 million coho. The facility is only operating at half capacity. Reduce white chinook production and increase coho. Hatchery released a late experimental timing group and that may have been the 100k.

Obviously budget cuts have forced decisions to be made as to where the $$$ are to be spent. How does the hatchery make decisions on production quotas for the various salmon species? Do they give the most $$$ to the most endangered specie relative to historical records?

Why less coho/chinook for more chum? I have noticed, notwithstanding last year which I saw lots of chum, that there have been far fewer chum in the C/V in recent years compared to the past.
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CohoJake

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #10 on: September 08, 2016, 10:56:57 AM »

Obviously budget cuts have forced decisions to be made as to where the $$$ are to be spent. How does the hatchery make decisions on production quotas for the various salmon species? Do they give the most $$$ to the most endangered specie relative to historical records?

Why less coho/chinook for more chum? I have noticed, notwithstanding last year which I saw lots of chum, that there have been far fewer chum in the C/V in recent years compared to the past.

Chum and Pink are relatively cheap to produce because the are released as fry, at which time they immediately migrate out of the river.  Chinook, coho and steelhead are more expensive because most of them are released at the smolt stage (they must be a certain size to clip their adipose fin).  They require space for rearing, food, and sufficient water and/or power to maintain cool water in their pools.  As between chinook and coho, I had heard that the white chinook stock was chosen because they out-migrate sooner, and there isn't sufficient nutrients in the river for a stock that would stick around in the river longer.  I would guess one consideration with hatchery coho would be making sure the hatchery fish aren't out-competing the wild stock.  In terms of $ per kg of fish that return, I'm guessing that chinook are cheaper to produce than coho.

In the ocean at least, I would guess that chinook (even white) have a higher value to the sport and commercial fisheries than coho.  I believe someone on another thread mentioned that the Chilliwack chinook production by DFO was primarily to enhance ocean fisheries, and that may be the case with all DFO hatcheries.  In Washington, some hatcheries are federally funded and were intended to help certain stocks overcome the dams on the Columbia system (and are funded from taxes on the power generated by the dams), and some are funded primarily to enhance tribal fishing opportunities (some hatcheries are run by the tribes themselves).   
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Knnn

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #11 on: September 08, 2016, 01:26:15 PM »

Thanks for the very enlightening reply.  Nothing is ever as simple as it seams.
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CohoJake

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #12 on: September 08, 2016, 02:17:39 PM »

I wonder if one reason for the decrease in coho releases is the fact that they must all be clipped now?  I believe it was the late 1990s when they started doing that.  Maybe they are limited by the number of fish they can clip with their current staffing?
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SilverChaser

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #13 on: September 08, 2016, 03:56:49 PM »

That's so brutal.
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dobrolub

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Re: Chilliwack Hatchery Coho 2016 releases way down - what happened?
« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2016, 05:22:03 PM »

I never thought of that... Clipping a 1 000 000 smolts seems a herculean task. Makes me appreciate the hatchery workers a lot more.

https://youtu.be/qhjZjV42gMw

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