Kelt Reconditioning: A Research Project to Enhance Iteroparity in Columbia Basin Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), 2005-2006 Annual Report.

• Main Authors: Branstetter, Ryan, Whiteaker, John, Hatch, Douglas R.
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: 13 HYDRO ENERGY; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; COLUMBIA RIVER; COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN; ENDANGERED SPECIES; FEEDING; FISH PASSAGE FACILITIES; FORMALDEHYDE; GONADS; JUVENILES; MONITORING; NUTRIENTS; OXYTETRACYCLINE; PARASITES; PELLETS; RIVERS; SALMON; TANKS; TRANSPORT; Chandler; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/903088; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/903088; https://doi.org/10.2172/903088

Iteroparity, the ability to repeat spawn, is a natural life history strategy that is expressed by some species from the family Salmonidae. Estimated rates of repeat spawning for post-development Columbia River steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss populations range from 1.6 to 17%. It is expected that currently observed iteroparity rates for wild steelhead in the Basin are severely depressed due to development and operation of the hydropower system and various additional anthropogenic factors. Increasing the current expression of repeat spawning rates using fish culturing methods could be a viable technique to assist the recovery of depressed steelhead populations, and could help reestablish this naturally occurring life history trait. Reconditioning is the process of culturing post-spawned fish (kelts) in a captive environment until they are able to reinitiate feeding, growth, and redevelop mature gonads. Reconditioning techniques were initially developed for Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and sea-trout S. trutta. The recent Endangered Species Act listing of many Columbia River Basin steelhead populations has prompted interest in developing reconditioning methods for wild steelhead populations within the Basin. To test kelt steelhead reconditioning as a potential recovery tool, wild emigrating steelhead kelts were placed into one of four study groups (in river release, direct capture and transport, short-term reconditioning, or long-term reconditioning). Steelhead kelts from the Yakima River were collected at the Chandler Juvenile Monitoring Facility (CJMF, located on the Yakima River at river kilometer 75.6) from 7 March to 8 June 2006. In total, 348 kelts were collected for reconditioning at Prosser Hatchery. Captive specimens represented 17.0% (348 of 2,002) of the entire 2005-2006 Yakima River wild steelhead population, based on fish ladder counts at Prosser Dam. Steelhead kelts were reconditioned in 20-foot circular tanks, and fed freeze-dried krill initially (first 2 months of long-term reconditioning) or for the ...