The primary objectives of this study are to estimate a predation rate by harbor seals on steelhead smolt in Puget Sound, and determine whether predation by harbor seals differs by region. Nisqually River steelhead will be acoustic tagged, and 12 - 18 seals will be fitted with GPS/acoustic receiver instrument packs. Tag detection capabilities will be expanded by i) monitoring harbor seals in South and Central Puget Sound and Admiralty Inlet, ii) placing stationary receivers at seal haulouts and at random locations not frequented by harbor seals, iii) conducting mobile tracking to locate tags remaining in Puget Sound after the smolt outmigration period. Seal time at depth and locations will be quantified in such a manner that estimates the amount of time seals spend at haulout locations to estimate the probability that a tag consumed by a harbor seal would be defecated near a haulout site. Data on harbor seal abundance, behavior, steelhead tag locations, and smolt abundance will be combined to estimate the predation rate and total number of smolts consumed by harbor seals. In addition, recent fish health assays indicate high infection prevalence (87-100%) and intensity (800-2500 cysts/fish) of Nanophyetus salmonica in steelhead outmigrating from Central (Green) and South (Nisqually) Puget Sound Rivers. South and Central Puget Sound steelhead populations generally experience lower early marine survival rates than those from North Puget Sound rivers, where Nanophyetus infections in assayed steelhead were absent. High infection intensity among freshwater outmigrants could contribute to rapid mortality shortly after seawater entry. This study will use acoustic telemetry to evaluate differences in the early marine survival (near river mouth to Pacific Ocean) of specific pathogen-free (SPF) and Nanophyetus-infected Puget Sound steelhead smolts. This approach will help us understand effects of Nanophyetus infection at different stages of the steelhead smolt migration through Puget Sound. Steelhead smolt locations.

The Hood Canal Steelhead Project is a 17-year before-after-control-impact experiment that tests the effects of supplementation on natural steelhead populations in Hood Canal. There are three supplemented and four control (non-supplemented) populations that are being monitored for adult and juvenile abundance, life history, and genetic diversity. The project also quantifies early marine survival and behavior and ecological interactions between hatchery- and natural-origin steelhead. Project data, parr and smolt data set from 2007-2015.

Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits have experienced a long history of commercial fishing activity. Although much of this fishing activity no longer takes place, there remains lost and abandoned fishing gear throughout Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits. Derelict gear has the potential to impact marine fauna through entanglement and trapping. Collaborative work of federal, state and tribal agencies with local and regional non-governmental agencies, specifically the Northwest Straits Foundation, has recovered thousands of derelict nets and pots since 2002 and documented their impacts on marine fauna, many of which are of commercial and/or conservation concern. Marine fauna.

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This project has two objectives: 1. Estimate the amount of rearing habitat available to juvenile Chinook salmon currently and historically (i.e., ~1850s) throughout the Puget Sound region 2. Estimate the carrying capacity of the habitat in the region to support juvenile Chinook under current and historical conditions. Krista Bartz is the principal investigator for the project, and most of the analytical work is complete (as of May 2012). The remaining work involves completing a manuscript describing the work. Specific product for this project is a manuscript (likely the North American Journal of Fisheries Management). Audience for the project was initially intended to be NWFSC staff involved in parameterizing a Puget Sound-wide life-cycle model for Chinook salmon. Since ~2008, when that effort stalled, there has been a resurgence in interest in developing such a model. This is a one-time, stand-alone with soft deadlines in October 2012 to send the manuscript for internal review and December 2012 to send the manuscript to the journal. Estimates of changes in Chinook salmon juvenile rearing capacity in rivers and estuaries throughout Puget Sound, using pre-settlement conditions as the baseline.

Steelhead in Pacific Northwest hatcheries are typically reared for release as 1-year-old smolts, rather than the 2¬and 3-year-old smolt life history patterns found in nature. High growth rates associated with accelerated hatchery rearing to a 1-year-old smolt life history may contribute to maladaptive behavioral traits and reduced post-release survival, and may constitute a primary mechanism leading to reduced fitness in hatchery fish. This project provides for implementation and evaluation of major hatchery reforms identified for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Winthrop National Fish Hatchery (WNFH). The project combines hatchery-scale and laboratory scale research to investigate the effects of two growth regimes on i) post-release survival and behavior, ii) on maturation and residualism, iii) age-at-maturity, iv) epigenetic changes, and v) reproductive success of returning adults. PIT tag data for age-1 and age-2 steelhead smolts released from Winthrop National Fish Hatchery for release years 2010-2015.

NOAA Fisheries is a cooperator with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lummi, Nooksack, and Stillaguamish Tribes in a 10-year program to rebuild the South Fork Nooksack River spring Chinook and Stillaguamish River fall Chinook stocks through a captive broodstock program. The fork length to the nearest mm and weight to the nearest gram of fish is recorded on an approximately annual basis.

NOAA Fisheries is a cooperator with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lummi, Nooksack, and Stillaguamish Tribes in a 10-year program to rebuild the South Fork Nooksack River spring Chinook and Stillaguamish River fall Chinook stocks through a captive broodstock program. The fork length to the nearest mm and weight to the nearest gram of fish is recorded on an approximately annual basis.

This project uses genetic parentage analysis to estimate the relative reproductive success of hatchery and wild steelhead spawning in the Wenatchee River, WA. The project collected data from 2008-2011; in FY16 the project is analyzing data and preparing reports and papers for publication. Genotypes and phenotypes of steelhead from the Wenatchee River.