# Sawtooth Fish Hatchery

**Operation and Maintenance**

**Annual Report**

## October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007

Brent R. Snider

Fish Hatchery Manager II

Roger Elmore

Fish Hatchery Assistant Manager

Lars Alsager

Mel Hughes

Fish Culturist

### **INTRODUCTION**

Sawtooth Fish Hatchery (FH) has been operating since 1985 as part of the
Lower Snake River Compensation Plan. The mitigation goal is for 19,445
adult spring chinook salmon *Oncorhynchus tshawytscha* above Lower
Granite Dam. The production capability is 1,300,000 spring chinook
salmon smolts. In addition, Sawtooth collects up to 2,500,000 steelhead
*O. mykiss* eggs that are shipped to Hagerman National Fish Hatchery and
Magic Valley Fish Hatchery. A satellite fish station on the East Fork of
the Salmon River provides additional trapping, holding, and spawning
facilities for adult spring chinook salmon and steelhead.

#### CHINOOK SALMON

**Sawtooth Spring Chinook**

In 2007, the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery(SFH), adult spring chinook salmon
*Oncorhynchus tshawytscha,* weir on the Main Salmon River was installed
on May 25 and operated through September 18. A total of 1,588 adult
chinook were trapped in 2007, of which 1,402 (1,233 jacks / 82 adult
males / 87 females) were hatchery-produced (marked) fish and 186 (49
jacks / 85 adult males / 52 females) were unmarked. Of the total fish
trapped, 208 (22 marked, 186 unmarked) were released above the hatchery
weir for volitional spawning and included: 12 ISS marked adult males, 10
ISS marked females, 49 unmarked jacks, 85 unmarked adult males, and 52
unmarked females. The remaining 1,380 chinook salmon were retained for
2007 hatchery spawn crosses. Of the 1,380 chinook retained for hatchery
spawn crosses, 40 ( 34 jacks/ 3 males/3 females) died prior to spawning.
Pre-spawning mortality was 2.85%. A total of 1,206 fish were killed and
not used (KNU) for spawning. Of the 1,206 KNU, there were 329 males, 753
jacks, and 2 females. Fish used for hatchery spawn crosses included; 83
marked males (20 jacks, 63 adult males) and 73 marked females. (For SFH
chinook trapped, spawned, and fish disposition, see Table 1). The 73
females used for spawning produced 376,639 green eggs (5,231 eggs per
female). Eggs surviving to the eyed stage of development totaled 310,258
for a percent survival of 82.4%. (Table 1)

In 2007, the velocity barrier on the East Fork of the Salmon River
(EFSR) was put into operation on June 4, with trapping operations
continuing through September 28. This was the third consecutive year of
operation of the East Fork trap since trapping ceased in 1998. A total
of 90 chinook were trapped in 2007, 89 of which were natural (unmarked)
fish and one marked fish. All fish trapped at the facility were released
above the weir for volitional spawning except the marked fish which was
released back into the main Salmon River.

Brood year 2005 chinook smolts were released in the afternoon on April
11. Releases totaled 995,262 smolts and fish size averaged 17.2 fish per
pound and 5.8 inches in length at release. All fish were released at the
SFH weir. Fish rearing is summarized in Table 2 and fish marking and
releases are summarized in Table 3.

**Pahsimeroi Summer Chinook**

Sawtooth Hatchery reared Pahsimeroi Hatchery\'s Brood Year 2006 Summer
chinook due to rebuilding and construction at Pahsimeroi Hatchery. The
rebuild will address lack of space and pathogen free water previously
unavailable at Pahsimeroi. Summer chinook eggs are incubated, hatched,
and reared to either fry or pre-smolt size. Fry destined for return to
PFH are returned post-hatch, with pre-smolts transferred back to PFH
after fish marking in the spring or fall. A total of eight lots of eyed
eggs were brought to Sawtooth between September 29 and October 17, 2006.
A total of 1,155,647 eggs were placed into incubation. A total of 14,483
dead eggs and fry were picked off resulting in a 98.8% survival of eyed
eggs to fry. Starting in late December 2006 and into early January 2007,
swim up fry were ponded into inside vats and started on feed. The fry
were being held inside as long as possible to get them to feed and
improve their condition. As water and space became limiting, the fry
were moved to outside rearing raceways beginning on February 2, 2007 and
ending on March 19, 2007.

All the fish received a 28 day pre-emptive treatment of Bio-Oregon
Aquamycin 2.25% totaling 4,840 lbs fed during late May into June. Due to
water temperature reaching into the 70's F, all Pahsimeroi fingerlings
were diagnosed with an outbreak of "ICH" and were treated with formalin
by SFH staff. The treatments consisted of a 1 hour flow through
treatment at 170ppm. The fingerlings were treated with formalin at the
same dosage for three consecutive days prior to shipment. A total of 14
barrels of formalin were used for 21 treatments of brood year 2006
Pahsimeroi Summer Chinook for "ICH".

Fish marking took place from May 17 through May 21. Ponded fry to
presmolt transfer was 95.5%. A total of 169,689 presmolts were AD/CWT
marked and 875,288 were AD clipped only. By September 30, 2006 PAH fish
averaged 30 FPP and had been fed a total of 34,304 pounds of Skretting
fish feed.

On September 11 and 12, Niel Ring and another driver using Idaho Power
Co. tankers transferred all of BY 06 Pahsimeroi fish back to Pahsimeroi.
A total of 1,042,638 fish (37,855 lbs) were hauled in eight trips. Of
these fish, 166,372 were marked AD/CWT, all of which came from raceway
8. All fish averaged 28 fpp and were fed a total of 33,608 lbs of food.
Five bags of surplus food were sent to Pahsimeroi for them to test their
automatic feeding system.

. A Memorandum of Understanding was agreed to by Lower Snake River
Compensation Program and Idaho Power Company to provide for the rearing
of Pahsimeroi fish at SFH. Funding provided by Idaho Power pays for
personnel costs and basic fish culture supplies used to raise Pahsimeroi
fish. Idaho Power Company pays for fish feed fed to Pahsimeroi fish.

In the fall of 2007, Sawtooth is scheduled to receive an estimated 1
million BY07 Pahsimeroi summer chinook eggs. All of these eggs will be
reared until marking which is scheduled for May 2008. After marking all
fish will be returned to Pahsimeroi.

#### STEELHEAD 

**Sawtooth Hatchery Returns**

In 2007, the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery adult steelhead, *Oncorhynchus
mykiss,* weir on the Main Salmon River was installed on March 15, with
the adult trap operating from March 26 through May 1. A total of 4,049
adult \"A-run\" steelhead were trapped in 2007, 4,028 of which (2,131
males / 1,897 females) were marked (hatchery-produced) fish and 21 (4
males / 17 females) were unmarked (natural origin) .

Distribution of the 4,028 marked adults ranged from spawn-related
activities to charitable giveaways and included; 2,250 steelhead given
to charitable organizations and 1,052 given to the public on a first
come-first serve basis. The remaining 726 fish were kept frozen on
station and will be processed and used in a stream nutrient enhancement
program. Charitable organizations receiving fish included Idaho City
Food Bank, Lemhi Valley Social Services, Middleton Food Bank, SMRIST
Essentials Food Bank, and Shoshone Paiute tribe.

All returning unmarked adults (21) were released upstream of the
Hatchery weir for natural spawning. (Table 4)

Sawtooth Fish Hatchery spawning operations occurred from March 29
through May 3 in 2007. A total of 526 females were crossed with 526
males over 12 spawning days to produce 2,472,200 green eggs and a mean
fecundity of 4,810 eggs per female. Total green egg take yielded
2,104,531-eyed eggs for a percent survival to the eyed-stage of
development, average of 83.2%. (Tables 4 and 8)

Eggs were made available on three additional spawning days to
accommodate the Shoshone Bannock Tribe (SBT) tribe for their
experimental study of steelhead in the Yankee Fork. The study includes
genetic DNA typing to differentiate steelhead produced from the SBT egg
box project from all other steelhead produced naturally or planted
artificially in the watershed.

Eyed egg transfers to Magic Valley Steelhead Hatchery and Hagerman
National Fish Hatchery totaled 428,050 and 1,179,101-eyed eggs,
respectively. Eggs were made available to biologists from the
Shoshone-Bannock Tribe totaling 572,380. Eyed egg transfer totaled
2,104,531. (Table 9)

**East Fork Salmon River Returns**

In 2007, the velocity barrier on the East Fork of the Salmon River
(EFSR) was put into operation on March 27 and continued through May 7
for the Natural Steelhead Program which began in 2001. The plan for
trapping and spawning returning steelhead in 2007 was to collect enough
eggs taken from Hatchery-Origin steelhead (designated as H-O by the
presence of a Coded Wire Tag or frayed fins from hatchery rearing)
combined with a component of steelhead eggs taken from Natural-Origin
steelhead (designated as N-O by lack of a CWT and unmarked or undamaged
fins) to produce 50,000 smolts for the East Fork Weir Release Group
(EFWRG) of non-adipose fin-clipped smolts.

A total of 166 adult steelhead were trapped of which 150 fish were H-O
(72 males/78 females) and 16 N-O (3 males/ 13 females), Table 5.

A total of 57 East Fork H-O males and 46 East Fork females, including 1
N-O female and 45 H-O females, were retained for natural-production
spawn crosses in 2007. Five females were killed and not used for
spawning (two were ad-clipped, two females were partially spawned, and
one female was green). Spawning operations occurred from April 3 through
April 20 (6 spawn dates). The egg take from those 6 spawn dates exceeded
available rearing space and spawning operations ended at the EFSR weir
on April 20.

Spawning activities from the 46 naturally produced females yielded a
total of 251,181 green eggs for a mean fecundity of 5,460 eggs per
female. A total of 192,777-eyed eggs were obtained from
natural-production crosses, for a percent survival to the eyed-stage of
development average of 76.7%. (Table 7)

All eyed eggs (192,777) produced from EFSR natural crosses were
transferred to the Magic Valley Steelhead Hatchery for final incubation
and rearing (Table 8).

**Squaw Creek Returns**

A weir and trap were installed on Squaw Creek 200 meters upstream of the
confluence of the Salmon River on March 27, 2007. Adult steelhead
trapping continued through April 21, and on April 27 weir pickets were
pulled and the trap was taken out of operation. A total of 52 adult
"B-run" steelhead were trapped (26 males / 26 females), all adipose
clipped. All ad-clipped adults were transferred to the East Fork
trapping facility for pre-spawn holding.

A total of 21 marked "B-run" females and 17 marked "B-run" males were
retained for hatchery-production spawn crosses in 2007, with spawning
operations occurring from April 6 through April 20 (5 spawn dates). All
spawning was conducted at the East Fork Salmon River trap/spawn
facility, with spawn activities from the 21 females yielding a total of
143,521 green eggs for a mean fecundity of 6,834 eggs per female. A
total of 80,939-eyed eggs were obtained from hatchery-production
crosses, for an average percent survival to the eyed-stage of
development of 56.4%. Males used in hatchery-production crosses included
under B-sized returning marked males from the Squaw Creek trap that by
real time, CWT reading indicated that fish were of "B" origin. Of the 17
males used for spawning, 8 males were used twice, 1 male was used three
times, and 3 males were used four times. (Table 7)

All eyed eggs (80,939) produced from East Fork/Squaw Creek "B-run"
hatchery crosses were transferred to the Magic Valley Steelhead Hatchery
for final incubation and rearing (Table 8).

#### Pahsimeroi Stock Steelhead Egg Incubation

As in past years, Sawtooth Fish Hatchery incubates a portion of the
Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery Steelhead egg take for LSRCP purposes.
Incubating eggs at Sawtooth takes advantage of cooler well-water
temperatures to slow development of the eggs. All egg shipments are
transferred as "green" eggs in insulated coolers.

In 2007, a total of 538,115 green eggs were transferred to Sawtooth from
a total of 104 females (4,735 mean fecundity). Total egg transfers
yielded 495,000-eyed eggs, for a percent survival to the eyed-stage of
development average of 92%. Eyed egg transfers to Hagerman State Fish
Hatchery (HSFH) and Hagerman National Fish Hatchery (HNFH) totaled
200,000 and 220,000-eyed eggs, respectively. The remaining 75,000 eggs
went to the Shoshone Bannock in stream egg box program. Pahsimeroi eggs
incubated at Sawtooth sent to HNFH were to meet production requests. All
females spawned for HNFH were viral tested (Table 7).

**Sawtooth Fish Hatchery Egg Shipments**

In 2007, a total of 2,873,247 eyed steelhead eggs were shipped from
Sawtooth Fish Hatchery to various hatcheries or off-site locations for
continued rearing. A summary of egg shipments, by stock, is provided in
Table 8.

**Steelhead Smolt Acclimation At Sawtooth Hatchery**

Due to increased production levels and a corresponding lack of available
raceway space, no steelhead smolts were acclimated at Sawtooth FH in
2007.

#### SOCKEYE SALMON

The Sawtooth FH crew monitored an adult sockeye salmon *O. nerka* weir
on Redfish Lake Creek in the summer and fall of 2007. The Redfish Lake
Creek adult trap was in operation from July 7 through October 2. The
Sawtooth FH weir and trap were operated for chinook and sockeye as well
from May 25 to September 18. A total of 4 fish were trapped, three at
the SFH weir and one at the Redfish Lake Creek trap. The adult sockeye
were immediately transferred to Eagle Fish Hatchery for hatchery
spawning purposes.

From November 15 until December 6, 2006, four shipments totaling 179,112
BY 06 sockeye eyed eggs were received from the Idaho Department of Fish
and Game\'s (IDFG) Eagle Fish Hatchery (Eagle, Idaho). A total of 1,559
dead eggs were removed before ponding. The remaining 177,553 fry were
ponded into four plastic tanks with 17 cubic feet of rearing space each
and one fiber glass tank/trough with 92 cubic feet of rearing space.
Initial water flows were set at 5 gallons per minute in the small
plastic tanks and 20 gpm in the trough.

The fish were marked from September 18 through September 21, 2007. A
total of 157,195 fish were marked. A total of 21,738 fish were lost to
mortality for an 8.78% loss.

On September 25 and 26, sockeye research personnel PIT tagged 1,000 fish
from each pre-smolt release group for Alturas, Pettit, and Redfish
Lakes. On October 2 and 3, sockeye pre-smolts were released as follows:
Alturas Lake received 9,977, Pettit Lake received 10,113, and Redfish
Lake received 62,015. At the time of release, all fish averaged 65.6
fish per pound and 3.78 inches in length.

BY 05 sockeye that remained overwinter at SFH, were released as smolts
into the Salmon River below the SFH intake. A total of 46,765 smolts
were released on May 8, 2007. Smolts averaged 20.9 fpp and 138 mm in
length.

An overwinter group of BY 06 totaling 74,009 were moved outside into
small raceways on October 9, 2007. Their release is scheduled for Spring
2008.

All sockeye salmon fish feed, fish marking and personnel costs are
covered by Sockeye Recovery Project funds.

[]{.mark}

##### RAINBOW TROUT

Sawtooth FH personnel were involved in stocking triploid catchable
rainbow trout *O. mykiss* that were reared at Nampa Fish Hatchery and
transferred to Sawtooth for redistribution. This project was funded by
State IDFG dollars (license-funded) with cooperation from the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Through this program, Sawtooth
FH stocked 53,400 catchable-sized rainbow trout in 2007 (Table 9). This
is a very popular program among area visitors and businesses.

###### MOUNTAIN LAKE STOCKING

Stocking of high mountain lakes by fixed wing aircraft was suspended in
2007. Westslope cutthroat trout eggs were unavailable in 2007. If eggs
are available in 2008, SFH will attempt to stock those lakes that were
scheduled to be stocked in 2007 and 2008.

###### HATCHERY IMPROVEMENTS

There were many improvements made to the hatchery and corresponding
infrastructure as follows: New lighting systems were installed in both
the hatchery building intake headbox room and the spawning building; the
dormitory interior was painted and all outdoor informational and
directional signs were painted as well as all residential wood storage
sheds; covers for external signs were procured and attached protecting
the signs during the winter months; the log worm fencing that is on
hatchery grounds was repaired and rebuilt where needed; SFH personnel
placed verbenone pouches on lodgepole pine trees to prevent beetle kill;
SFH personnel turned a hatchery building room into a parts storage room
centralizing and consolidating hardware parts; the walk in freezer was
taken out of use as a freezer to save electrical costs and a small chest
freezer was purchased; our wire feed welder was repaired; a new
snowblower was purchased and our old Dodge Durango was replaced with a
new one; well drilling began on a new production well to replace well \#
2 which has experienced diminished output the past couple of years.

###### 

###### PERSONNEL

Hatchery personnel were involved in several projects during the
2006/2007 reporting period and include: helping IDFG Fisheries Research
personnel with Idaho Supplementation Studies (ISS), redd count
monitoring on tributaries to the Salmon River, conducting educational
presentations, conducting a Free Fishing Day clinic, providing spawning
assistance to other IDFG hatchery programs, and assisting in IDFG
research projects, Brent Snider attended the annual anadromous fish
meeting and the annual LSRCP meeting. Phil and Lars attended new
employees tour and Brent, Phil, Mel, and Lars attended In Service
Training School. Brent attended management training seminars and
database training.

**Table 1. Sawtooth FH spring chinook salmon trapped, spawned, and fish
disposition - 2007.**

Total Fish Trapped: 1,588 Run Timing: 6/11/07 to 9/10/07 Peak of Return:
7/11/07

1,233 Marked Jacks 49 Unmarked Jacks 1,282 Total Jacks

82 Marked Males 85 Unmarked Males 167 Total Males

[87 Marked Females]{.underline} [52 Unmarked Females]{.underline} [139
Total Females]{.underline}

1,402 Marked Salmon 186 Unmarked Salmon 1,588 Total Salmon

Fish Disposition: Jacks Males Females Jills Totals

Prespawning Mortality\* 34 3 3 0 40 Spawned 20 63 69 3 155

Killed: Not used 1179 4 2 0 1185

Released above weir [49 97 62 0 208]{.underline}

Total 1282 167 136 3 1588

\* Note: The Carcasses from spawning and pre-spawning mortalities were
sampled for disease information, frozen, and later distributed to a
rendering plant along with some fish that were killed and not used.

**Males Females Green Eyed %**

**Spawned Spawned Eggs Eggs Eye**

83 (includes 20 jacks) 72 376,639 310,258 82.4

Table 2. Rearing record for spring chinook salmon at Sawtooth FH, BY05.

Starting green inventory 1,183,537

Resulting eyed eggs 1,051,935

Survival to eye-up 88.9%

Eggs culled-High ELISA values 15,100

Fry ponded 1,021,431

Survival to ponding 86.3%

Smolts released 995,262

Survival from ponding to release 97.4%

Survival from green to release 84.1%

Weight of smolts produced 57,864 lbs.

Number fish per pound (smolts) 17.2

Pounds of feed fed 73,996 lbs.

Conversion rate 1.28

Feed cost/1000 smolts\* \$ 251.13

\*(feed cost *only* - excludes labor & overhead)

Table 3. Sawtooth spring chinook smolt distribution, April 11, 2007.

> **Mark Number Released Location**

AD only \* 873,549 SFH Weir (4/11/07)

AD/CWT 121,713 SFH Weir (4/11/07)

\* Includes 14,934 PIT tags.

No. / lb Average 17.2

Table 4. SFH steelhead trapped, spawned and fish disposition, 2007.

####### Fish Disposition Run Timing Peak of Return

3/26/07 to 5/01/07 4/02/07 to 4/26/07

Fish Trapped 4,049 (2,135 males, 1,904 females)

Fish Released 31 (14 males, 17 females)

Fish Spawned 1,052 (526 males, 526 females)

Pre-spawn Mortality 0

Killed, Not Used 154

Charitable/Tribal Distribution 2,822

Fish Recycled Through Fishery 0

> **4,049 (4,028 marked, 21 unmarked)**

Table 5. East Fork (EF) Natural steelhead trapped, spawned, and fish
disposition, 2007.

####### 

####### Fish Disposition Run Timing Peak of Return

> 3/27/07 to 5/07/07 4/17/07

Fish Trapped: 166 (75 males, 91 females)

####### Fish Released: 78 (38 males, 40 females) 

Fish Spawned 103 (57 males, 46 females)

Pre-spawn Mortality 0

Killed, not used 8 (3 males, 5 females)

Table 6. Squaw Creek \"B-run\" steelhead trapped, spawned and fish
disposition, 2007.

####### Fish Disposition Run Timing Peak of Return

3/27/07 to 4/30/07 4/10/07

Fish Trapped 52 (26 males, 26 females) Fish Released\* 13 (9 males, 4
females)

Fish Spawned\*\* 38 (17 males:12 used 2+ times, 21 females)

Pre-spawn Mortality 0

Killed, Not Used 1

\* Fish released above weir were "A-run size. \*\*Includes marked males
that were under B-sized, but by real time, CWT reading indicated that
fish were of "B" origin.

Table 7. Steelhead spawning record, 2007.

**Spawning Males Females Green Eyed %**

**Station Spawned Spawned Eggs Eggs Eye**

Sawtooth 526 526 2,530,006 2,103,731 83.2

East Fork 57 46 251,181 192,777 76.7

Squaw Cr. \"B\" 17 21 143,521 80,939 56.4

Pahsimeroi 104 538,115 495,000 92.0

**Table 8. 2007 Sawtooth FH Steelhead Egg Shipments.**

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| HATCHERY or OFF-SITE  | NUMBER SHIPPED        | STOCK                 |
|                       |                       |                       |
| LOCATION              |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Shoshone-Bannock      | 75,000                | Pahsimeroi            |
| Streamside            |                       |                       |
|                       | 497,380               | Sawtooth              |
| Incubators            |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Hagerman National     | 1,107,801             | Sawtooth              |
| Fish Hatchery         |                       |                       |
|                       | 220,000               | Pahsimeroi            |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Hagerman State Fish   | 200,000               | Pahsimeroi            |
| Hatchery              |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Magic Valley Fish     | 428,050               | Sawtooth              |
| Hatchery              |                       |                       |
|                       | 192,777               | East Fork             |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | 80,939                | Squaw Creek           |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| # Total Eggs Shipped  | **495,000**           | **Pahsimeroi**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Total Eggs          | **2,104,531**         | **Sawtooth\***        |
| Shipped**             |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Total Eggs          | **192,777**           | **East Fork**         |
| Shipped**             |                       |                       |
|                       | **80,939**            | **Squaw Creek**       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Total Eggs          | **2,873,247**         | **All Stocks**        |
| Shipped**             |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

\* A total of 71,300 Sawtooth stock-eyed eggs were shipped to HNFH, but
culled as a result of hatching during shipment.

Table 9. Planting sites and numbers of catchable triploid rainbow trout
stocked in the Stanley Basin by Sawtooth FH, 2007.

Site Number Site Number

Blue Mt. Meadow P 900 Little Bayhorse Lk. 2,000

Squaw Cr. Pond 300 Kelly Cr. Ponds 600

Salmon River 34,100 Valley Creek 4,000

Yankee Fk. Ponds 4,000 Sawtooth Kids Pond 1,900

Stanley Lake 3,600 Hayden Ponds 1,800

Salmon Kids Pond 200

> Total 53,400