U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2017–1116

Prepared in cooperation with the Yakama Nation, Bureau of Reclamation, and 

Washington State Department of Ecology

Evaluation of Sockeye Salmon after Passage through 

an Innovative Upstream Fish-Passage System at 

Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 2017
Cover: Photograph showing Whooshh Fish Transport System used to pass adult sockeye 

salmon at Cle Elum Dam, Washington. Photograph by Tobias J. Kock, U.S. Geological 

Survey, July 15, 2017.
Evaluation of Sockeye Salmon after Passage through 

an Innovative Upstream Fish-Passage System at 

Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 2017

By Tobias J. Kock, Scott D. Evans, Amy C. Hansen, Russell W. Perry, Hal C. Hansel, Philip V. Haner, and 

Ryan G. Tomka

Prepared in cooperation with the Yakama Nation, Bureau of Reclamation, and 

Washington State Department of Ecology

Open-File Report 2018-1116

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

RYAN K. ZINKE, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

James F. Reilly II, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2018

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must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Kock, T.J., Evans, S.D., Hansen, A.C., Perry, R.W., Hansel, H.C., Haner, P.V., and Tomka, R.G., 2018, Evaluation 

of sockeye salmon after passage through an innovative upstream fish-passage system at Cle Elum Dam, 

Washington, 2017: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1116, 30 p., 

https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181116. 

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)
iii

Contents

Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 4

Methods......................................................................................................................................................... 7

Environmental Conditions .......................................................................................................................... 7

Fish Tagging and Release ......................................................................................................................... 8

Fish Monitoring Array ................................................................................................................................. 9

Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 11

Fish Survival ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Fish Behavior....................................................................................................................................... 13

Results of Fish-Passage Device Evaluation ................................................................................................ 14

Environmental Conditions ........................................................................................................................ 14

Fish Tagging and Release ....................................................................................................................... 17

Fish Survival............................................................................................................................................. 18

Behavior of Fish Released Downstream of Cle Elum Reservoir............................................................... 21

Behavior of Fish Released into Cle Elum Reservoir................................................................................. 21

Fallback at Cle Elum Dam ................................................................................................................... 21

Upstream Movement from Cle Elum Reservoir.................................................................................... 22

Fate During the Spawning Period ........................................................................................................ 24

Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 25

Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................................... 28

References Cited......................................................................................................................................... 28

Figures

Figure 1. Locations of Roza Dam on the Yakima River, and Cle Elum Dam on the Cle Elum River,

a tributary of the Yakima River, Washington..................................................................................................5

Figure 2. Components of the Whooshh Fish Transport System in the tailrace of Cle Elum Dam, 

Washington, 2017..........................................................................................................................................7

Figure 3. Locations of monitoring sites used to detect tagged fish in the reach between Roza and Cle 

Elum Dams, and in Cle Elum Reservoir and Cle Elum River upstream of the reservoir, Washington. ........ 10

Figure 4. Daily average water temperature during the study release period at eight depths in the

forebay of Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 2017.............................................................................................. 15

Figure 5. Daily discharge from and forebay elevation of water surface level at Cle Elum Dam, July–

December 2009–17 ..................................................................................................................................... 16

Figure 6. Estimates of Cormack-Jolly-Seber single-release survival probability for adult sockeye

salmon passed through a Whooshh Fish Transport System or released directly into Cle Elum

Reservoir at a reservoir release site, Washington, July 14 and July 17–19, 2017....................................... 19

Figure 7. Estimates of Cormack–Jolly–Seber paired-release survival probability for Whooshh Fish 

Transport System survival for adult sockeye salmon released into Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington,

July 14 and July 17–19, 2017 ...................................................................................................................... 20

Figure 8. Effect of fork length on survival probability estimates of adult sockeye salmon passed

through a Whooshh Fish Transport System or released at a reservoir release site in Cle Elum

Reservoir, Washington, July 19, 2017 ......................................................................................................... 20

Figure 9. Cumulative timing of fallback by radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon at Cle Elum Dam, 

Washington, 2017........................................................................................................................................ 21
iv

Figure 10. Cumulative timing of upstream movement by radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon from

Cle Elum Reservoir to Cle Elum River, Washington, 2017 .......................................................................... 22

Figure 11. Percentage of tagged adult sockeye salmon as a function of the farthest upstrea

detection in Cle Elum River, Washington, 2017........................................................................................... 23

Tables

Table 1. Daily mean water temperature in the forebays of Priest Rapid and Roza Dams, in the

holding gallery near the Whooshh Fish Transport System entrance, and in the forebay of Cle Elum

Dam, when adult sockeye salmon were collected and tagged for an evaluation in Cle Elum

Reservoir, Washington, July 2017 ............................................................................................................... 15

Table 2. Number and origin of adult sockeye salmon tagged and released during the study at Roza

and Cle Elum Dams, the Whooshh Fish Transport System, and Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington,

July 2017. .................................................................................................................................................... 17

Table 3. Summary of capture histories for adult tagged sockeye salmon passed into Cle Elum

Reservoir through a Whooshh Fish Transport System or released at a shoreline release site,

Washington, 2017........................................................................................................................................ 18

Table 4. Parameter estimates from the Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture model used to estimate 

survival of tagged adult sockeye salmon released into Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, 2017 ................. 19

Table 5. Number of upstream trips by radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon from Cle Elum Reservoir to

Cle Elum River, Washington, 2017.............................................................................................................. 23

Table 6. Number of radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon assigned to four fate groups during the

spawning period near Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, 2017.................................................................... 24
v 

Conversion Factors

U.S. customary units to International System of Units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

Flow rate

cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second (m3/s)

International System of Units to U.S. customary units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

centimeter (cm) 0.3937 inch (in.)

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) 

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

Volume

liter (L) 33.81402 ounce, fluid (fl. oz)

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F = (1.8 × °C) + 32.

Datum

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88).

Elevation, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum.

Abbreviations

CJS Cormack-Jolly-Seber

Ecology Washington State Department of Ecology

Integrated Plan Yakima Basin Integrated Plan

OLAFT Off-ladder Adult Fish Trap 

PIT passive integrated transponder 

RAMF Roza Adult Monitoring Facility 

Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation 

rkm river kilometer

WFTS Whooshh Fish Transport System
vi 

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1 

Evaluation of Sockeye Salmon after Passage through an 

Innovative Upstream Fish-Passage System at 

Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 2017

By Tobias J. Kock, Scott D. Evans, Amy C. Hansen, Russell W. Perry, Hal C. Hansel, Philip V. Haner, and Ryan 

G. Tomka

Executive Summary

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Washington State Department of Ecology 

(Ecology), working with the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project Workgroup (composed 

of representatives of the Yakama Nation; Federal, State, county, and city governments; environmental 

organizations; and irrigation districts), developed the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (Integrated Plan).

The Integrated Plan identifies a comprehensive approach to water resources and ecosystem restoration 

improvements in the Yakima Basin to be implemented over a 30-year period. The Integrated Plan 

includes seven elements:

1. Reservoir fish passage,

2. Structural and operational changes to existing facilities,

3. Surface water storage

4. Groundwater storage, 

5. Habitat/watershed protection and enhancement, 

6. Enhanced water conservation, and 

7. Market reallocation.

The first listed element, reservoir fish passage, will be expensive and take many years to accomplish.

Reclamation and Ecology decided to look at new and innovative means to provide passage that could 

help reduce project cost and construction timing while maintaining survival rates of traditional 

upstream passage facilities. Reclamation contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey to do a study to 

evaluate the outcome of passage through one innovative fish-passage system at Cle Elum Dam, the 

first Integrated Plan reservoir fish-passage project being implemented. 

A study was completed in 2017 to evaluate the behavior and survival of adult sockeye salmon 

(Oncorhynchus nerka) after passage through the innovative Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) 

at Cle Elum Dam, Washington. The study originally was designed to include the tagging and release of 

sockeye salmon adults from two sources: 

1. Roza Dam. Three hundred fish were to be collected at Roza Dam, Washington, and tagged 

with a radio transmitter and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag. 

2. Priest Rapids Dam. Five hundred fish were to be collected at Priest Rapids Dam on the 

Columbia River, Washington, and tagged with a PIT tag. 
2 

Sockeye salmon collected at Roza Dam are considered to originate in the Yakima River because they 

are progeny of fish collected at Priest Rapids Dam and released in Cle Elum Reservoir to reintroduce 

sockeye salmon in the Yakima Basin. The fish collected at Priest Rapids Dam are considered to 

originate in the Wenatchee and Okanogan Rivers. The original study design was modified, however, 

because the number of fish that returned to Roza Dam in 2017 was too low to support the needs of the 

study. Therefore, the evaluation proceeded using sockeye salmon that were collected only at Priest 

Rapids Dam.

Study fish collected at Priest Rapids Dam were transported to Roza Dam, where they were 

tagged with a radio transmitter and PIT tag. These fish were then transported to Cle Elum Reservoir 

for release at two locations. The first location was a holding tank near the WFTS entrance, in the 

tailrace of Cle Elum Dam. At that site, tagged fish either volitionally entered the WFTS or were netted 

and hand-loaded into the system. The WFTS included a transport tube that was 518 meters long and

passed fish from the tailrace to the forebay of Cle Elum Dam, where they entered the reservoir. The 

second release site was located along the shoreline of Cle Elum Reservoir, 8.8 river kilometers (rkm) 

upstream of the dam. At that site, tagged fish were released directly into the reservoir from a fish 

transport truck. The original tagging and release plan included releases of fish for several weeks as 

Yakima River-origin fish moved upstream and arrived at Roza Dam. The revised tagging and release 

effort was shortened substantially compared to the original plan and occurred on a limited number of 

days in July 2017. 

A total of 232 adult sockeye salmon were tagged and released during the study. Most tagged 

fish were passed through the WFTS (115 fish) or released at the reservoir release site (112 fish). The 

remaining five fish were either released directly into the tailrace of Cle Elum Dam (1 fish) or into the 

forebay of Roza Dam (4 fish). The fish that was released into the Cle Elum Dam tailrace was intended 

for WFTS passage, but was accidentally released when fish were being hand-fed into the WFTS. The 

fish released into the Roza Dam forebay were monitored to describe upstream movement patterns to 

Cle Elum Dam. All study fish were tagged on 1 of 5 days: July 14, 17, 18, 19, and 31, 2017. 

Tagged fish were monitored from the time of release in July through late-November, when 

spawning was complete. Detection data were analyzed to describe behavior patterns of tagged fish and 

to estimate survival from the time of reservoir entry to September 1, 2017, which we defined as the 

start of the spawning period. Survival estimates were obtained for groups of fish passed through the 

WFTS and released at the reservoir release site (single-release estimates). These estimates were then 

used to calculate a survival estimate for WFTS passage survival (paired-release estimate). Overall, 

WFTS-passed and reservoir-released fish were comprised of similar proportions of Wenatchee Riverand Okanogan River-origin sockeye salmon. Fish size (fork length) also was similar between groups. 

The primary difference between the release site groups was that reservoir-released fish entered the 

reservoir 8.8 rkm upstream of Cle Elum Dam on the same day they were collected and tagged, about 

the same time that WFTS-passed fish were released into the holding gallery where they could 

volitionally enter the WFTS. The holding gallery was continuously supplied with Cle Elum Dam 

tailrace water that was substantially colder (about 9 degrees Celsius [°C]) than the temperature of the

near-surface reservoir water (about 18 °C) that reservoir-released fish were initially exposed to. 

Although the WFTS-passed fish had continuous opportunity to exit the holding gallery by swimming

over a false weir to enter the WFTS for fish passage, most failed to do so. Therefore, most WFTSpassed fish required hand-netting and manual loading into the WFTS for fish passage after spending 

about 20 h in the cool holding gallery water. The result was that most of the WFTS-passed fish entered 

the reservoir 1 day (d) after collection and tagging, a day later than the reservoir-released fish, having 

experienced the additional stress-associated factors of temperature, containment, and handling. 
3 

Results indicate that tagged sockeye salmon that traveled through the WFTS initially sustained

substantial mortality, but survival improved as the release period progressed and system adjustments 

were made. Single-release survival probability estimates for WFTS-passed fish were low (0.362) on 

the first release day and increased to a high of 0.749 on the last release day. In comparison, survival 

probability estimates for reservoir-released fish ranged from 0.853 to 1.000 on the four release days. 

Paired-release WFTS passage survival estimates ranged from 0.400 on the first release day to 0.795 on 

the last release day. Several factors were identified as likely contributors to the observed mortality. 

The WFTS fish-passage settings were calibrated and modified across release days to optimize fishpassage conditions. The opportunity to calibrate and optimize those settings prior to the start of the 

study was severely limited because of the small number of adult sockeye salmon that were available 

for the project. The original plan included the allocation of 50 untagged fish for system testing and 

calibration prior to the initiation of the study. However, only 13 fish were available for testing and 

calibrating the system. The WFTS was designed to include a misting system to provide lubrication to 

facilitate the glide through the WFTS tube for safe passage. On the third release day, Whooshh staff 

discovered a manufacturing defect that resulted in an inoperable misting system. Thus, there was 

insufficient misting for lubrication during fish passage of the outplanted fish during the first three 

release days. In addition to these factors, we determined that survival of WFTS-passed fish increased 

with increasing fish size. Each WFTS tube has an optimal fish size range specification for safe, 

effective, timely and efficient fish passage. For this project, a single tube size was available and all 

WFTS-passed fish were put through that tube. The observations described here provide insight into 

factors that may have contributed to the mortality of WFTS-passed fish during this study. 

A substantial number of tagged sockeye salmon moved downstream of Cle Elum Reservoir and 

passed Cle Elum Dam. This behavior, termed fallback, was observed for about 20 percent of the 

tagged population and did not differ between groups of fish released through the WFTS or at the 

reservoir release site. Fallback by tagged fish at Cle Elum Dam primarily occurred within 40 d of 

release, and most (69 percent) of the tagged sockeye salmon that moved downstream of Cle Elum Dam 

remained in the Cle Elum River mouth-to-Cle Elum Dam reach. The remaining fish were last detected 

in the Roza Dam-to-Cle Elum River mouth reach (20 percent); downstream of Roza Dam (7 percent); 

or in the Yakima River, upstream of the Cle Elum River mouth (4 percent). 

Upstream movement from Cle Elum Reservoir into the Cle Elum River was monitored to better 

understand movement patterns of tagged fish released in the reservoir. River entry primarily occurred 

during three peak periods. A substantial number of tagged sockeye salmon moved upstream and 

entered the Cle Elum River within 20 d of release, and this pattern was evident regardless of release 

location or origin. Most of these fish returned to the reservoir shortly after river entry and later 

indicated various movement patterns. The remaining periods of peak river entry occurred in September 

and again in October. Tagged fish generally appeared to show a short-term pattern of exploratory 

movement shortly after release. This exploratory movement was characterized by high rates of 

upstream movement into the Cle Elum River and fallback over Cle Elum Dam that occurred within 20 

d of outplanting. Fish that remained upstream of Cle Elum Dam after this period showed limited 

movement in August and then resumed activity, primarily as upstream migration into the Cle Elum 

River during September–November. 

Data were analyzed to assign fish to one of four possible fates during the spawning period: (1) 

mortality, (2) fallback, (3) reservoir, and (4) river. These fates were selected to provide insight into the 

proportion of outplanted fish that survived and remained upstream of Cle Elum Dam at the onset of the 

spawning period. The proportions of non-spawning fish (sum of mortality and fallback fates) were

29.4 and 57.4 percent for fish released directly into the reservoir and through the WFTS, respectively. 

The remaining tagged fish primarily were assigned to the river fate during the spawning period, as 

reservoir fates were very low (less than 5 percent). 
4 

The four tagged fish released into the Roza Dam forebay showed limited movement. One of 

four moved upstream of Roza Dam and arrived in the tailrace of Cle Elum Dam. The other three fish 

initially moved upstream but failed to arrive at the mouth of the Cle Elum River. The lone fish that was 

accidentally released into the Cle Elum Dam tailrace did not leave that location. 

Introduction

Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) historically were present in the Yakima Basin, 

Washington, but the population was eliminated in the early 1900s when several impassable dams were 

constructed (Bureau of Reclamation, 2007). These dams blocked access to four lakes in the Yakima 

Basin (Bumping, Keechelus, Kachess, and Cle Elum Lakes), which provided important spawning and 

rearing habitat for anadromous fish. As a result, sockeye salmon had been absent from the basin for 

nearly a century. In 2002, as part of a settlement agreement with the Yakama Nation, the Bureau of 

Reclamation (Reclamation) agreed to evaluate the feasibility of constructing fish-passage structures at 

the five reservoir dams in the Yakima Basin, eventually determining that this was feasible (Bureau of 

Reclamation, 2005, 2008). After the feasibility determination, Cle Elum Dam was selected to be the 

first site where passage facilities were constructed. The Yakama Nation and Washington Department 

of Fish and Wildlife then began planning efforts to reintroduce sockeye salmon into the Yakima Basin

and in 2009, the Yakama Nation began releasing adult sockeye salmon into Cle Elum Reservoir. The 

initial reintroduction effort consisted of outplanting 1,000 adult sockeye salmon in the reservoir (Cle 

Elum) where they could spawn along shorelines or move upstream into the Cle Elum River (fig. 1). 

Outplanted fish were collected for translocation at Priest Rapids Dam on the main-stem Columbia 

River and originally were destined for either the Wenatchee or Okanogan Rivers (Galbreath and 

others, 2016; Matala and others, 2016). Monitoring efforts indicated that outplanted adults could 

successfully spawn upstream of Cle Elum Dam and produce progeny that eventually migrated to the 

ocean (Brian Saluskin, Yakama Nation, oral commun., 2017). Based on this success, annual 

outplanting efforts have continued since 2009, and in some years as many as 10,000 adult sockeye 

salmon collected at Priest Rapids Dam have been released into the reservoir. Releases now include fish 

from three origins: (1) Wenatchee River and (2) Okanogan River sockeye salmon from Priest Rapids 

Dam; and (3) Yakima River sockeye salmon collected at Roza Dam (fig. 1). The latter fish (3) are the 

progeny of sockeye salmon that spawned naturally, after outplanting, in the Cle Elum River system. 

In 2012, the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (Integrated Plan) was completed by the Yakima 

River Basin Water Enhancement Project Workgroup (composed of representatives of the Yakama 

Nation; Federal, State, county, and city governments; environmental organizations; and irrigation 

districts). The Integrated Plan identifies a comprehensive approach to water resource and ecosystem 

restoration improvements in the Yakima Basin to be implemented over 30 years (Bureau of 

Reclamation and Washington State Department of Ecology, 2012). The Integrated Plan includes seven 

elements:

1. Reservoir fish passage, 

2. Structural and operational changes to existing facilities,

3. Surface water storage, 

4. Groundwater storage, 

5. Habitat/watershed protection and enhancement, 

6. Enhanced water conservation, and 

7. Market reallocation.
5 

Figure 1. Locations of Roza Dam on the Yakima River, and Cle Elum Dam on the Cle Elum River, a tributary of 

the Yakima River, Washington. Black bars indicate dams, and filled circles indicate where adult sockeye salmon 

entered Cle Elum Reservoir (shown as Cle Elum Lake in figure) after passing through a Whooshh Fish Transport 

System at Cle Elum Dam or being released from a fish transport truck upstream of the dam.

The first listed element, reservoir fish passage, was projected to be expensive and to take many 

years to accomplish. Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) decided 

to examine new and innovative means to provide upstream fish passage that could help reduce project 

cost and construction timing while maintaining survival rates of traditional upstream passage facilities.

Reclamation contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey to do a study to evaluate fish after passage 

through one innovative fish-passage system at Cle Elum Dam, the first Integrated Plan fish-passage 

project being implemented.

An innovative fish-passage option that has emerged in recent years is the Whooshh Fish 

Transport System (WFTS; https://www.whooshh.com/). The WFTS consists of a soft, flexible tube 

and supporting structure that passes fish using differential air pressure created by the system. The 

WFTS was initially evaluated in 2011 with rainbow trout that were passed through a 15-m-long tube 

(Mesa and others, 2013). The study authors determined that fish were not stressed or injured while 

passing through the system, and concluded that “it may allow for the rapid and safe movement of fish 

at hatcheries, sorting or handling facilities, or passage obstacles” (Mesa and others, 2013, p. 1179). 
6 

Subsequent studies evaluated passage of various fish species, including American shad (Alosa 

sapidissima), pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), lake sturgeon 

(Acipenser fulvescens), sockeye salmon (O. nerka), steelhead (O. mykiss), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo 

salar) with transport distances (tube length) as great as 335 m (Geist and others, 2014, 2016; Erikson 

and others, 2016; Fast and others, 2016; Fryer, 2017). These studies all noted that the WFTS provided 

safe and efficient passage for fish, which has led to increased interest in testing the system as a viable 

passage option at a high-head dam. Based on these results, and the need to provide upstream fish 

passage at Cle Elum Dam, Reclamation decided to evaluate the feasibility of using a WFTS at the 

project in 2017. To do this, they contracted with Whooshh Innovations to install and operate a 518-mlong, 55-m-high WFTS to pass adult sockeye salmon. 

A study design was developed to evaluate the behavior and survival of adult sockeye salmon 

that passed through the WFTS at Cle Elum Dam. The original design was for 300 Yakima River-origin 

sockeye salmon to be collected at Roza Dam, radio- and PIT tagged, and released at three locations.

The first release location was immediately upstream of Roza Dam, which would provide data on 

upstream fish movements to the Cle Elum Dam tailrace. The study design included the installation of a 

guidance net directing migrating tagged fish that arrived in the tailrace to the entrance of a Denil steeppass fishway leading to the fish holding tank (hereinafter, “holding gallery”; fig. 2). Data would be 

collected at the steep-pass to describe volitional entry rates from the river into the system. The second 

release site was a 24.4-m fish pipe that transported trucked fish to the holding gallery, located between 

the steep-pass fishway and the false weir entry of the WFTS. The holding gallery was a project 

requirement for the second release site and not a standard component of the WFTS. This release site 

would guarantee that sufficient numbers of tagged fish would be available to pass through the WFTS 

to allow evaluation of behavior and survival patterns of fish following WFTS passage. The third 

release site was in Cle Elum Reservoir, 8.8 river kilometers (rkm) upstream of Cle Elum Dam. Tagged 

fish released at the reservoir site would serve as a no fish passage control for the study. An additional 

500 adult sockeye salmon were to be collected at Priest Rapids Dam, PIT tagged, and released into the 

holding gallery (250 fish) and reservoir (250 fish). The number of Yakima River-origin sockeye 

salmon that returned to the Yakima Basin in the summer of 2017 was extremely low. There were 

insufficient numbers of fish to support (1) prior to study commencement of the calibration and full 

functional operation system checks of the WFTS installation, and (2) the tagging needs of the project 

study design. Therefore, the study design was altered. We eliminated plans to tag and release Yakima 

River-origin fish and focused efforts on the planned releases of sockeye salmon collected at Priest 

Rapids Dam by the Yakama Nation as part of the annual reintroduction program. Because these fish 

originated in the Wenatchee and Okanogan Rivers, they were unlikely to move upstream, if released 

above Roza Dam, to the Cle Elum Dam tailrace. Thus, the study design was modified to use just two 

release sites: (1) the holding gallery in the Cle Elum Dam tailrace where fish could enter the WFTS 

and pass over Cle Elum Dam and (2) the reservoir release site. This document presents the findings of 

the modified study design that was used to evaluate sockeye salmon survival after WFTS passage and 

post-release behavior patterns of adult sockeye salmon in Cle Elum Reservoir. 
7 

Figure 2. Components of the Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) in the tailrace of Cle Elum Dam, 

Washington, 2017. Photographs by Tobias J. Kock, U.S. Geological Survey, July 14, 2017.

Methods

Environmental Conditions

Data were collected to describe water temperatures that study fish encountered during 

collection, tagging, and release. Water temperature at the time of collection was obtained as daily 

records from the forebay of Priest Rapids Dam for each date fish were collected for transport and 

tagging. These data were obtained from the Columbia River Data Access in Real Time web page 

(http://www.cbr.washington.edu/dart). Tagging temperature was obtained from a streamgage in the 

forebay of Roza Dam. These records were summarized as daily average values for each tagging date 

and were obtained from the Reclamation Yakima Project Hydromet System web page

(https://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/yakima). Release temperature data were collected separately for 

each release site. For fish released through the WFTS, we obtained daily temperature data in the 
8 

WFTS holding gallery as measured by WFTS staff. For reservoir-released fish, we used data collected 

from a thermal temperature string that we deployed on the WFTS barge in the Cle Elum Dam forebay.

The thermal string was deployed vertically from the barge and included eight temperature loggers that 

collected water temperature data at 5-min intervals. Loggers were deployed 2.4, 4.9, 7.3, 9.8, 12.2, 

14.6, 17.1, and 18.9 m below the water surface. For water temperature at the time of release, we used 

the daily average from the logger located 2.4 m below the water surface. Data from all loggers also 

were summarized across the release period to provide information on temperature availability for 

tagged fish released through the WFTS. We did not use data from the loggers located at or lower than 

14.6 m below the water surface after July 17 because receding water-surface elevations resulted in 

elimination of those depths. Water temperature data from fish transport trucks were not available. 

Reservoir water elevation and discharge data were summarized for Cle Elum Reservoir and Cle 

Elum Dam, respectively. Daily data records were obtained from the Reclamation Yakima Project

Hydromet System web page (https://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/yakima) for July–November during 

each year from 2009 to 2017. These data were plotted separately as time-series summaries of annual 

conditions in the reservoir and at the dam during the period when sockeye salmon were present 

upstream of Cle Elum Dam. These data are presented in this report to enable visual comparative 

assessment of the 2017 conditions, relative to previous years. 

Fish Tagging and Release

All but 4 of the 232 adult sockeye salmon that were tagged and released during the study 

period were collected at Priest Rapids Dam (rkm 639), on the Columbia River about 100 rkm upstream 

of the confluence with the Yakima River. Four sockeye salmon were collected, tagged, and released at 

the Roza Adult Monitoring Facility (RAMF), adjacent to Roza Dam on the Yakima River, providing 

limited data on movements between Roza and Cle Elum Dams. All tagging occurred on five dates: 

July 14, July 17–19, and July 31, 2017. On each of the first 4 days, adult sockeye salmon (about 60 

fish per day) were collected at the Priest Rapids Dam Off-ladder Adult Fish Trap (OLAFT) and 

transferred to a fish transport truck. Access issues prevented us from tagging fish at Priest Rapids 

Dam, so fish were hauled to the RAMF for tagging, a distance of 111 highway km with an 

approximate transport time of 90 min. At the RAMF, fish were netted from the transport truck and 

placed in the holding vault. Afterwards, the fish were crowded into a tank where they were 

anesthetized in groups of about 10 fish per group. The anesthetic bath was created by mixing 416 L of 

fresh river water with buffered tricaine methanesulfonate at a concentration of 30-40 parts per million. 

Individual fish were removed from the anesthetic bath and the following data were collected in the 

following manner: 

1. Sex was determined via ultrasound, 

2. A fork length measurement was taken (in centimeters),

3. Fish were scanned for the presence of a PIT or coded-wire tag, and

4. A DNA sample was taken (small clip from the caudal fin).

Fish were then tagged with a PIT tag and a radio transmitter (model Pisces; Sigma Eight, Inc., 

Newmarket, Ontario). The radio transmitter was implanted gastrically using procedures described in 

Keefer and others (2004). Tagged fish were then placed in a recovery container filled with fresh river 

water until they regained equilibrium, and transferred by bucket to one of two fish-hauling trucks. One 

truck hauled fish to the tailrace of Cle Elum Dam, where they were transferred to the holding gallery 

by a 24.4-m-long fish pipe. These fish eventually were passed through the WFTS. The second truck 

hauled fish to the release site in Cle Elum Reservoir, 8.8 rkm upstream of Cle Elum Dam. On each 

truck, fish were held in a 1,514-L fiberglass tank that contained river water continuously supplied with 

oxygen. Tagged fish were loaded in a given truck until the quota for that day was met (25–32 fish), 

and then the next truck was loaded. On the first and third tagging days, tagged fish were first loaded 
9 

onto the reservoir release truck and then the WFTS truck. This order was reversed on the second and 

fourth tagging days. The distance between Roza and Cle Elum dams is 79 highway km, with an 

approximate transport time of 60 min. On July 17 and July 31, two adult sockeye salmon were 

collected each day after ascending the adult fish ladder at Roza Dam, and, thus, were available for 

tagging. These fish were tagged, but rather than being transported with the fish from OLAFT, they

were released into the Roza Dam forebay to evaluate upstream movement to Cle Elum Dam.

The WFTS-passed and reservoir-released fish were subject to similar handling and transport 

events until the time of release. During and after release, the WFTS-passed fish required a series of 

handling steps that were not required for fish at the reservoir release site. Tagged fish arrived at the 

release sites in the early afternoon hours of each tagging day. At the Cle Elum Dam tailrace, the fish 

transport truck was positioned so that it could be directly attached to the polyvinyl chloride fish pipe 

connected to the holding gallery (fig. 2). Fish were transferred from the truck to the holding gallery 

through the fish pipe with the aid of streaming water. In the holding gallery, fish could volitionally 

pass over a false weir and enter the WFTS by sliding through to the WFTS tube to glide over Cle Elum 

Dam. The total length of the WFTS tube was 518 m, and the anticipated transport time through a tube 

of this length was about 1 min (Janine Bryan, Whooshh Innovations, LLC, oral commun., 2017). The 

tube exit was located on the forebay exit barge anchored about 91 m upstream of Cle Elum Dam. Fish 

that did not volitionally pass over the false weir for WFTS passage within the first 24 h were netted 

from the holding gallery and hand-fed over the false weir to facilitate WFTS passage. To 

accommodate the project requirement to transport all tagged fish, regardless of size, the WFTS sizescanning system was deactivated during the study period. The system is designed to ensure fish size 

measurements are aligned with tube size specifications for safe fish passage. The deactivation of the 

system directed all sizes of tagged fish in the holding gallery to the WFTS tube for passage. The 

reservoir release site was located on the eastern shoreline of Cle Elum Reservoir, 8.8 km upstream of 

Cle Elum Dam (fig. 1). At that site, the transport truck was positioned at water’s edge and fish were

released directly into the reservoir through a hose that connected to the transport truck tank. All 

reservoir-released fish entered Cle Elum Reservoir on the day of collection and tagging, and received 

no further handling. Most of the WFTS-passed fish entered the reservoir the day following the day of 

collection and tagging, after netting and being hand-fed over the WFTS false weir.

Fish Monitoring Array

A total of 15 monitoring sites were established to detect tagged fish moving within the study 

area. All monitoring sites contained radiotelemetry equipment, except for a site on the WFTS and a 

site at Cle Elum rkm 26.0, which contained PIT tag monitoring equipment. Six sites were downstream 

of Cle Elum Dam (fig. 3). Two of these sites were located on Roza Dam—one site monitored the 

tailrace of the dam (Yakima rkm 205.7) and the other site monitored the forebay (Yakima rkm 205.8). 

A third site was located at the Cle Elum Hatchery (Yakima rkm 297.2). The remaining downstream 

sites were located in the tailrace of Cle Elum Dam (Cle Elum rkm 12.7) —one site monitored the Cle 

Elum River to detect fish in the tailrace; a second site monitored the WFTS holding gallery to 

determine residence time of tagged fish at that location; and a third site with a PIT tag monitoring 

antenna was located within the WFTS, immediately downstream of the entry point to the WFTS tube. 
10 

Nine monitoring sites were located upstream of Cle Elum Dam (fig. 3). The first site was on Cle Elum 

Dam (Cle Elum rkm 13.2); five sites were positioned along the length of the reservoir on the western

(Cle Elum rkm 15.9, 20.1, and 23.7) and eastern (Cle Elum rkm 20.1 and 22.5) shorelines; and three 

sites were in the Cle Elum River, upstream of the reservoir (Cle Elum rkm 25.6, 26.0, and 31.3).

Radiotelemetry monitoring sites were operated continuously from July 14 to November 11, 2017. The 

PIT tag monitoring site operated continuously from August 17 to October 20, 2017. 

Mobile tracking was done weekly to collect additional information on the locations of tagged 

fish in the study area. During the early part of the study period (mid-July to mid-September), mobile 

tracking was done 1 or 2 days each week with efforts focused throughout the study area. During this 

period, a vehicle primarily was used for mobile tracking to cover as much area as possible. During the 

spawning period (September to November), mobile tracking occurred weekly, with efforts focused 

near the head of Cle Elum Reservoir and upstream in the Cle Elum River. The goals of these efforts 

were to (1) identify fine-scale locations of tagged individuals, (2) try to determine their fates (alive or 

dead), and (3) recover transmitters from dead fish. During this period, mobile tracking was done on 

foot primarily from Cle Elum rkm 22.5 to 31.3. 

Figure 3. Locations of monitoring sites (yellow circles) used to detect tagged fish in the reach between Roza and 

Cle Elum Dams (left schematic), and in Cle Elum Reservoir and Cle Elum River upstream of the reservoir (right 

schematic), Washington. All sites are radiotelemetry sites except for sites marked with an “x”, which are passive 

integrated transponder-tag monitoring sites. 
11 

Data Analysis

The initial step in data analysis was to construct a comprehensive preliminary dataset 

assembled from information collected from multiple sources. Detection records from radiotelemetry 

and PIT tag monitoring sites were merged with tagging and release records to create the preliminary 

dataset. Results from genetic stock identification analysis of study fish done by the Columbia River 

Inter-Tribal Fish Commission were added to the dataset as well. Additionally, numerous reports were 

received of tag recoveries from the general public and fishery professionals who discovered tags and

(or) carcasses in the field. This information provided important data on the fate of some tagged fish. 

These records were integrated in the preliminary dataset along with all mobile tracking records to 

create a draft dataset that was proofed using an automated program to remove non-valid detection 

records. Records were determined to be non-valid if: 

1. They occurred prior to release, 

2. The signal strength was less than the 90th percentile of the signal strength of detections of tag 

identification codes that were not released during the study (noise), 

3. There were less than three consecutive detections, 

4. They occurred after a tag was recovered, and

5. It was impossible for the detection to occur geographically (for example, detection in the 

tailrace after fallback followed by detection upstream of the dam). 

These criteria are used in the automated program to remove non-valid detection records from the 

dataset containing actual detections of study fish. The auto-proofed dataset was then manually

reviewed to confirm that the autoproofing process was successful and to verify that the dataset could 

be considered final for analysis. Survival and behavioral data analyses were subsequently done using 

the final dataset. 

Fish Survival

A Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS; Cormack, 1964; Jolly, 1965; Seber, 1965) mark-recapture model 

with a paired-release design (Burnham and others, 1987) was used to estimate survival of radio-tagged 

adult sockeye salmon in this study. To apply the CJS models, telemetry detection records for each 

tagged fish were summarized in a three-digit capture history. A capture history is a string of digits (“0” 

= not detected, “1” = detected) that summarize the detection history of each fish. The first digit 

represented release into the study area, so all fish received a “1” for this position in the capture history.

The second digit represented fish movement that occurred during the month of September. Sockeye 

salmon begin spawning upstream of Cle Elum Dam in September (Galbreath and others, 2016; Matala 

and others, 2016), so live fish would be expected to be moving (to locate spawning areas) during this 

period. Tagged fish were assumed to be alive and moving if they were detected at a minimum of two

separate fixed sites during the month of September. Those fish received a “1” for the second digit in 

the capture history. Tagged fish with no evidence of movement between sites during this period 

received a “0”. The third digit represented evidence of fish movement that occurred during the months 

of October and November. Tagged fish that were detected at a minimum of two separate fixed sites 

during those months received a “1” and those that did not received a “0”. As an example, a fish with a 

capture history of “110” represented a fish that was released in July, was detected moving between two 

or more fixed sites in September, but not detected moving between a minimum of two fixed sites in 

October or November. Similarly, a capture history of “100” represented a fish that was released in July 
12 

but not detected moving between at least two fixed sites after September 1. This capture history 

represented a detection history for a fish that failed to survive to the start of the spawning period. We

assumed that the collection of fixed sites installed for this study were sufficiently located to detect and 

distinguish movement patterns of live, tagged sockeye salmon within the study area. We also assumed 

that tagged fish that regurgitated their transmitter prior to the start of the spawning period would 

receive a capture history of “100”. 

The three-digit capture history allowed us to estimate three types of parameters using the CJS 

model: (1) S, survival from the time of release to the time of detection at a fixed site in September; (2) 

p, the probability of detection at fixed sites in September; and (3) λ, the joint probability of surviving 

from September to October–November and being detected at fixed sites in October–November. The 

CJS model was then fit to the capture history data to estimate (1) survival for each release site—that is, 

fish passed through the WFTS and fish released directly into Cle Elum Reservoir; (2) release group 

survival determined individually for each of the four release days; and (3) survival as a function of the 

fork length of each tagged fish. The modified study design altered the project such that adaptive 

calibrations and operational improvements were being implemented on the WFTS during the study 

period. Given these factors, the evaluation of survival by release day provided the opportunity to 

examine how these adaptations affected WFTS passage survival. Tagged fish were assigned to specific 

release days based on the date they were released into the holding gallery or released directly into the 

reservoir at the reservoir release site. 

The two release sites also provided the opportunity to use a paired-release design to estimate 

relative differences in survival between WFTS-passed and reservoir-released fish. (Burnham and 

others, 1987; Skalski and others, 2001; Zydlewski and others, 2017). The paired-release approach uses 

two release groups, which effectively serve as treatment and controls in the study design. In this study, 

fish passed through the WFTS were the treatment group and fish released directly into the reservoir 

were the control group. The paired-release estimate of survival is calculated as the ratio of treatment to 

control group survival: 

SSWTFS pass = SSWTFS

SSRes

, (1)

where SWTFS is the Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) estimate of unadjusted survival for the Whooshh 

Fish Transport System (WTFS) release site group (treatment), 

SRes is the CJS estimate of survival for the reservoir release site group (control), and

SWTFS pass is the CJS estimate of adjusted WFTS passage survival based on the relative 

survival of control fish released directly into the reservoir on the same date. 

The goal of the paired-release design is to control for factors common to both release groups, thereby 

isolating effects of the treatment on survival. In this study, CJS estimates of survival measure the 

combined effects of capture, transport, handling, and natural mortality between time of entry into the 

reservoir and time of detection in September. Because these factors are common to both release site 

groups, these effects are cancelled when the ratio of survival estimates is considered. Thus, if there 

were no effect of WFTS passage on survival, we would expect this ratio to be 1 to 1. In contrast, 

differences between treatment and control groups that differentially influence survival, such as 

additional handling associated with WFTS and passage through the WFTS, are represented as a 

survival ratio of less than 1. Research by Matala and others (2016) has shown that fish size (age), 

spawn timing, and spawning distribution differ between fish of Wenatchee River origin and Okanogan 

River origin. To account for potential effects of origin, we assessed for proportional differences of the 

two fish stocks between each release group using a Chi-squared test. 
13 

To complete the mark-recapture analysis, we used the RMark package in R (Laake, 2013), 

which facilitates running Program Mark (White and Burnham, 1999). The CJS model we developed 

included three covariates to assess factors that may have affected survival: (1) release day (Rdayi), (2) 

release site (Rsitei), and (3) fork length (FLi) of the ith individual. In the survival analysis, release days 

1-4 were associated with fish tagged on July 14, 17, 18, and 19, 2017, respectively. For inclusion in the 

analysis, fork length was standardized to mean 0 and unit standard deviation by subtracting its mean 

(mean = 49.8 cm) and then dividing by the standard deviation (4.2 cm). Survival was modeled as a 

linear function of these covariates on the logit scale as follows: 

logit(SSii) = β0,RRdayii

,RRRR RRRRii

+β1,RRRR RRRRiiFLii, (2)

where logit() is the logit function (log[x/(1-x)]),

β0,RRdayii,RRRR RRRRii is the intercept for each release site and release day, and

β1,RRRR RRRRii is the slope of the relationship between fork length and survival for each release 

site.

This model structure provided survival probability estimates for fish passed through the WFTS and at 

the reservoir release site for each release day. Other parameters in the model (p and λ) were estimated 

as a common parameter across all release sites and release days.

One factor that could introduce bias into our estimation of fish survival was transmitter 

regurgitation. Research has shown that gastrically tagged fish can regurgitate their transmitter after 

release (Keefer and others, 2004). If this occurred in our study, bias would result as live fish that were 

no longer radio-tagged could move within the study area and not be detected, and, therefore, could be 

considered mortalities. To assess relative regurgitation rates, we compared detection events on the PIT 

tag and radiotelemetry sites upstream of Cle Elum Reservoir. We used the date and time of each PIT 

tag detection at Cle Elum rkm 26.0 to establish a 6-h period around that PIT tag detection event (3 h 

prior to the event, 3 h after the event). We then queried the radiotelemetry detection records to 

determine if the radio transmitter associated with the fish detected on a given PIT tag detection event

was detected at sites located at Cle Elum rkm 25.6 or 31.3, or by mobile tracking within that reach. If 

the PIT tag and radio transmitter were both detected within the Cle Elum rkm 25.6–31.3 reach during 

the 6 h period, we assumed that the fish had not regurgitated the radio transmitter. If the PIT tag

detection was not accompanied by a radio transmitter detection within the 6 h period in that reach, we 

examined all radio transmitter detections for that fish after the time of the PIT tag detection event. If 

radio transmitter detections were present on multiple sites, we assumed that the radio transmitter was 

still present inside the fish but had failed to be detected by radiotelemetry sites at the time of the PIT 

tag detection event. If no radio transmitter detections were present, or if radio transmitter detections 

were discovered on a single site only, we assumed that the radio transmitter had been regurgitated. 

Fish Behavior

We examined the final dataset to describe the behavior of the four tagged fish released into the 

Roza Dam forebay. Travel time from Roza to Cle Elum Dams was calculated as the date and time of 

first detection in the Cle Elum Dam tailrace minus the date and time of release in the Roza Dam 

forebay. Given that the total number of tagged fish released at Roza Dam was small, information

gleaned from these fish was expected to be useful but lacking in statistical rigor. 

Several aspects of fish behavior of tagged fish released in Cle Elum Reservoir were examined, 

including (1) the percentage of fish that moved downstream past Cle Elum Dam (hereinafter, 

“fallback”); (2) the percentage of fish that moved upstream and entered the Cle Elum River; and (3) 

the fate of fish during the spawning period. We examined the effects of the release site (WFTS 

compared to the reservoir) for all analyses to determine if behavior differed between the groups of fish 

that passed through the WFTS and those released at the reservoir release site. 
14 

Fallback was identified as detection of individual tagged fish downstream of Cle Elum Dam 

after release in Cle Elum Reservoir. For each tagged fish that moved downstream of Cle Elum Dam, 

we calculated the elapsed time to fallback by subtracting the date and time of first detection in the 

tailrace from the date and time of release in the reservoir. The percentage of fallback fish was 

calculated by dividing the total number of fish that fell back by the total number of fish released in Cle 

Elum Reservoir. 

Reservoir water elevations changed throughout the study period, which altered the terrain and 

river definition. During July and August, Cle Elum Reservoir was full or nearly full, such that the 

reservoir/river boundary was located near our fixed site at Cle Elum rkm 25.6 (fig. 3). Thus, fish were 

considered to have entered the Cle Elum River in July and August 2017 when detected at, or upstream 

of Cle Elum rkm 25.6. Reservoir water elevations declined rapidly after August 2017, reducing the 

reach of the reservoir and extending the Cle Elum River several kilometers farther downstream before 

meeting the reservoir/river boundary, which was near our fixed site at Cle Elum rkm 22.5. River entry 

was assigned if tagged fish were detected at or upstream of Cle Elum rkm 22.5 during the September–

November 2017 spawning period. Upstream movement data were summarized to provide information 

on the number of trips each tagged fish made from the reservoir to the river. Maximum upstream 

movement by individual tagged fish also was determined as the farthest upstream detection observed 

for each tagged fish on fixed sites or by mobile tracking. 

Several aspects of fish behavior were considered in the assignment of fate to the tagged 

outplanted individual fish during the spawning period. Each tagged fish that entered Cle Elum 

Reservoir was assigned to one of four possible fates: (1) mortality, (2) fallback, (3) reservoir, and (4) 

river. Fish were assigned a mortality fate as part of the fish survival analysis. All fish with a “100” 

capture history were considered to have a mortality fate, which was defined as the cessation of tag 

detection at a minimum of two fixed monitoring sites upstream of Cle Elum Dam prior to September 1, 

2017, minus any fallback fish. Similarly, all fish that were detected downstream of Cle Elum Dam

after reservoir entry, prior to September 1, 2017, were assigned to the fallback fate. The remaining fish 

were detected moving upstream of Cle Elum Dam during the spawning period (September–November 

2017) and, therefore, had the opportunity to spawn in the reservoir or in the river. Tagged fish in this 

group that were never detected in the river were assigned to the reservoir fate. All remaining tagged 

fish were detected upstream of Cle Elum Reservoir during the spawning period and, therefore, were

assigned the river fate. 

Results of Fish-Passage Device Evaluation

Environmental Conditions

Sockeye salmon adults that were tagged for this study experienced a range of water 

temperatures on days when they were collected, tagged, and released. At the time of collection, water 

temperature in the Priest Rapids Dam forebay was near 18 °C (table 1). The fish then traveled about 90 

min by truck. When they arrived at Roza Dam for tagging, the daily average forebay water temperature 

was recorded at about 15 °C (table 1). The tagged fish then traveled an additional 60 min in one of two 

trucks to the study release sites. The thermal experience of the tagged fish varied considerably at the

release sites. Tagged fish released into the holding gallery entered water pumped from the dam 

tailrace, which was about 9 °C. Most of the tagged fish at this site did not volitionally enter the WFTS 

for dam passage and, therefore, were confined to the cool water temperature in the holding gallery for 

about 20 h before handling was done to facilitate fish passage. In contrast, the reservoir-released fish 

entered reservoir water with recorded near-surface temperatures in the 18–19 °C range (table 1). These 

fish were immediately free to move throughout the reservoir. 
15 

Data collected from the vertical temperature string located on the WFTS exit barge in the Cle 

Elum Dam forebay indicated that the near-surface water temperature was 18 °C or more during the 

release period (fig. 4). Water temperature at that site decreased with increasing depth to a low of about 

13 °C at depths of 17.1 m or greater. Fluctuations in water temperature at each depth were moderate 

within the short release period (fig. 4).

Cle Elum Dam discharge and forebay water elevations in 2017 were representative of typical 

conditions during 2009–16 (fig 5.). Discharge from Cle Elum Dam was about 2,000 ft3

/s in early July, 

peaked at about 3,500 ft3

/s in early August, and then decreased to a fairly constant low of about 250 

ft3/s after early September and maintained that rate through the spawning period (fig. 5). Reservoir 

water elevations were highest in early July (about 2,240 ft), declined to a low of about 2,150 ft in midOctober, and then increased slightly in November and December (fig. 5). 

Table 1. Daily mean water temperature in the forebays of Priest Rapid and Roza Dams, in the holding gallery

near the Whooshh Fish Transport System entrance, and in the forebay of Cle Elum Dam, when adult sockeye 

salmon were collected and tagged for an evaluation in Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, July 2017. 

[All values in table are daily mean water temperature in degrees Celsius. WFTS, Whooshh Fish Transport System; 

–, data not recorded]

Date Priest Rapids Dam 

forebay

Roza Dam 

forebay Holding gallery Cle Elum Dam forebay

July 14 18.4 15.5 8.9 18.5

July 17 17.9 14.8 – 18.8

July 18 18.4 15.5 9.2 18.7

July 19 18.4 15.8 9.0 18.9

Figure 4. Daily average water temperature during the study release period at eight depths (in meters [m] below 

water surface) in the forebay of Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 2017.
16 

Figure 5. Daily discharge from (top graph) and forebay elevation of water surface level at (bottom graph) Cle 

Elum Dam, July–December 2009–17.
17 

Fish Tagging and Release

A total of 232 adult sockeye salmon were tagged and released during the study. Four fish were 

released in the Roza Dam forebay, and one fish was accidentally released in the Cle Elum Dam tailrace 

by WFTS staff while facilitating fish transfer into the WFTS (table 2). All remaining fish entered Cle 

Elum Reservoir, either by 518-m fish passage over the dam through the WFTS or by direct release

from the transport truck at the reservoir release site (table 2). Daily releases at these two sites ranged

from 25 to 32 fish (table 2).

Genetic analysis of tissue samples collected at the time of tagging showed that WFTS-passed

and reservoir release groups were comprised of similar (Chi-squared test, p = 0.319) proportions of 

Okanogan River- and Wenatchee River-origin sockeye salmon. A total of 115 adult sockeye salmon 

were passed through the WFTS. These included 61 (53 percent) Okanogan River-, and 54 (47 percent) 

Wenatchee River-origin fish (table 2). The reservoir release group consisted of a total of 112 adult 

sockeye salmon of which 52 (46 percent) were Okanogan River-origin and 60 (54 percent) were 

Wenatchee River-origin (table 2). The proportion of Okanogan River-origin and Wenatchee Riverorigin fish varied within groups by tagging date (table 2). Average fork length of Wenatchee Riverorigin sockeye salmon (51.4 cm) was greater than average fork length of Okanogan River-origin 

sockeye salmon (47.9 cm; t-test, p < 0.0001) that were tagged and released during the study. Average 

fork length of WFTS-passed sockeye salmon (49.8 cm) was not statistically different from average 

fork length of reservoir-released sockeye salmon (49.5 cm; t-test, p = 0.609). 

Table 2. Number and origin of adult sockeye salmon tagged and released during the study at Roza and Cle Elum 

Dams, the Whooshh Fish Transport System, and Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, July 2017. 

[O, Okanogan River-origin; W, Wenatchee River-origin; WFTS, Whooshh Fish Transport System] 

Tagging 

date

Tagging 

day

Roza Dam release Cle Elum Dam 

release WFTS-passed Cle Elum Reservoir release

O W O W O W O W

July 14 1 - - - - 9 16 13 12

July 17 2 12 - 1 14 13 13 14

July 18 3 - - - - 21 11 11 19

July 19 4 - - - - 17 14 15 15

July 31 5 - 2 - - - - - -

Sub-total - 2 0 1 61 54 52 60

Total 14 1 115 112 1

Fish with unknown origin at the time of reporting.
18 

Fish Survival

Although 227 adult sockeye salmon were released into Cle Elum Reservoir, 19.8 percent 

moved downstream of Cle Elum Dam prior to spawning (see section, “Fallback at Cle Elum Dam”) 

and, therefore, were not available for assessment of survival. The exclusion of fallback fish from the 

survival analysis resulted in a total of 182 tagged fish (94 in the WFTS-passage group; 88 in the 

reservoir-released group) available for survival analysis. Nearly one-half (48 percent) of the tagged 

adult sockeye salmon that passed through the WFTS and that remained upstream of Cle Elum Dam

had a “100” capture history (that is, not detected at two or more fixed sites after September 1)

compared to 10 percent of the reservoir-released fish (table 3). This indicates a survival difference 

between the groups of fish released at the two sites. Parameter estimates from the CJS model used to 

estimate survival are shown in table 4. 

Single-release survival probability estimates for tagged fish passed through the WFTS were 

low (0.362) on the first release day and increased each day to 0.749 on the last release day (fig. 6). For 

reservoir-released fish, single-release survival probability estimates were 0.853 or greater on each 

release day (fig. 6). Paired-release survival probability estimates showed that WFTS passage survival 

was lowest (0.400) for fish from release day 1, increased to 0.602 and 0.569 on release days 2 and 3, 

respectively, and was highest (0.795) on release day 4 (fig. 7). The effect of fork length on passage 

survival on release day 4 is shown for two groups of fish, those that passed through the WFTS and 

those released at the reservoir release site (fig. 8). The graph shows a positive relation between fork 

length and passage survival for WFTS-passed fish, which was not observed for reservoir-released fish 

(fig. 8).

A total of 84 tagged sockeye salmon were detected by PIT tag antennas at Cle Elum rkm 26.0 

while that site was operational. Many fish were detected more than one time, resulting in a total of 166 

PIT tag detection events. Most of these PIT tag detection events (133 detections; 80 percent) were 

associated with radio transmitter detections within the 6-h detection window used to assess transmitter 

regurgitation rates. The remaining 33 PIT tag detection events were from 24 tagged individuals. 

Eleven of the tagged fish were subsequently detected on multiple telemetry sites in the study area, 

indicating that they had not regurgitated their transmitter. The remaining 13 fish were last detected 

upstream of the PIT tag antenna, indicating that the transmitter had not been regurgitated at the time 

when each fish was detected moving upstream at Cle Elum rkm 26.0. Three of the transmitters from 

these fish were recovered from carcasses after spawning, further supporting this assumption. 

Table 3. Summary of capture histories for adult tagged sockeye salmon passed into Cle Elum Reservoir through 

a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) or released at a shoreline release site (Reservoir), Washington, 2017. 

[These numbers do not include tagged fish that moved downstream and passed Cle Elum Dam. 100: Fish that were released 

in July but not detected moving between at least two fixed sites after September 1. 101: Fish that were released in July, 

were not detected moving between two or more fixed sites in September, but were detected moving between a minimum of 

two fixed sites during October–November. 110: Fish that were released in July, were detected moving between two or 

more fixed sites in September, but not detected moving between a minimum of two fixed sites during October–November.

111: Fish that were released in July, were detected moving between two or more fixed sites in September, and then

detected moving between a minimum of two fixed sites during October–November]

Release site Capture history Total 100 101 110 111

WFTS 45 2 24 23 94

Reservoir 9 3 39 37 88
19 

Table 4. Parameter estimates from the Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture model used to estimate survival of 

tagged adult sockeye salmon released into Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, 2017. 

[Confidence interval for fish released at the reservoir release site on release day 3 was not estimable (n/a) because that 

group of fish had perfect survival. Parameter: β0, intercept; β1, slope. Group: Res, reservoir release group; WFTS, 

Whooshh Fish Transport System passage group; Rday, release day; FL, fork length; p, detection probability; λ, joint 

probability of surviving and being detected] 

Parameter Group Estimate 95-percent confidence interval

β0

Res Rday1 2.254 0.401–4.107

WFTS Rday 1 -0.566 -1.540–0.408

Res Rday 2 1.759 0.246–3.272

WFTS Rday2 0.055 -0.878–0.989

Res Rday 3 1.000 n/a

WFTS Rday 3 0.276 -0.644–1.196

Res Rday 4 2.782 0.766–4.798

WFTS Rday 4 1.093 0.100–2.086

β1

Res FL 0.367 -0.598–1.331

WFTS FL 0.878 0.291–1.461

logit(p) 2.728 1.825–3.632

logit(λ) -2.744 -3.673–1.815

Release day

1 2 3 4

Survival probability

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

Reservoir

WFTS

0.362

0.905

0.514

0.853

0.569

1.000

0.749

0.942

Figure 6. Estimates of Cormack-Jolly-Seber single-release survival probability (SWTFS and SRes) for adult sockeye 

salmon passed through a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) or released directly into Cle Elum Reservoir 

at a reservoir release site (Reservoir), Washington, July 14 (Release day 1) and July 17–19 (Release days 2–4), 

2017. Estimates are for the mean sized (fork length) adult sockeye salmon tagged during this study.
20 

0.905

Release day

1 2 3 4

Survival probability

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

0.400

0.602 0.569

0.795

Figure 7. Estimates of Cormack–Jolly–Seber paired-release survival probability for Whooshh Fish Transport 

System (WFTS) survival for adult sockeye salmon released into Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, July 14 

(Release day 1) and July 17–19 (Release days 2–4), 2017. Estimates shown are for the mean sized (fork length) 

adult sockeye salmon tagged during this study. The gray line identifies a survival probability of 1.0. Survival 

estimates with confidence intervals that exceed 1.0 are indicative of single-release survival estimates that are not 

statistically different between release sites.

Figure 8. Effect of fork length (in centimeters [cm]) on survival probability estimates of adult sockeye salmon 

passed through a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) or released at a reservoir release site (Reservoir) in 

Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, July 19, 2017 (release day 4). 
21 

Behavior of Fish Released Downstream of Cle Elum Reservoir

One of the four tagged fish released at Roza Dam moved upstream and arrived in the Cle Elum 

Dam tailrace 16 d later. That fish was released on July 17 and did not leave the Cle Elum Dam tailrace 

after arriving. The other three fish released at Roza Dam moved upstream initially, but stopped moving 

before they arrived at Cle Elum Dam. The last known locations of these fish were in the Yakima River 

in the Roza Dam-to-Cle Elum River mouth reach. These fish were continuously detected at their last 

known locations through the end of the study period. The fish that was accidentally released into the 

Cle Elum Dam tailrace remained at that location for the entire study period. 

Behavior of Fish Released into Cle Elum Reservoir

Fallback at Cle Elum Dam

Fallback by tagged fish at Cle Elum Dam primarily occurred within 40 d of release (fig. 9).

There was no statistical difference (Chi-squared test, p = 0.550) in fallback between groups of fish 

released through the WFTS (18.3 percent) or at the reservoir release site (21.4 percent). Median time 

from release to fallback was 17.0 d for WFTS-passed fish and 13.8 d for reservoir-released fish (fig. 

9). Most (69 percent) of the tagged sockeye salmon that moved downstream of Cle Elum Dam 

remained in the Cle Elum River mouth-to-Cle Elum Dam reach, a stretch of 12.7 rkm. The remaining 

fish were last detected in the Roza Dam-to-Cle Elum River mouth reach (20 percent); downstream of 

Roza Dam (7 percent); or in the Yakima River, upstream of the Cle Elum River mouth (4 percent). 

Figure 9. Cumulative timing of fallback by radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon at Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 

2017. Fallback is defined as the movement of fish from the forebay to the tailrace of the dam. Tagged fish entered 

the reservoir at two sites—in the forebay of Cle Elum Dam through a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) 

and 8.8 river kilometers upstream of the dam from a fish transport truck (Reservoir). 
22 

Upstream Movement from Cle Elum Reservoir

Tagged fish primarily moved upstream of the reservoir and entered the Cle Elum River during 

two distinct periods, within 20 d of release and 50–100 d after release (fig. 10). More than one-half 

(58.1 percent) of the WFTS-passed sockeye salmon moved upstream and were detected in the Cle 

Elum River, whereas most (83.0 percent) of the reservoir-released sockeye salmon were detected 

upstream of the reservoir after release (Chi-squared test; p < 0.001). Median time from release to first 

detection in the river upstream of the reservoir, was 50.6 d for WFTS-passed sockeye salmon and 4.3 d 

for reservoir-released fish (fig. 10). Many tagged fish made multiple upstream trips from Cle Elum 

Reservoir to the Cle Elum River, regardless of release site or origin (table 5). The maximum upstream 

movement by tagged fish generally was similar between WFTS-passed and reservoir-released sockeye 

salmon (fig. 11). 

Figure 10. Cumulative timing of upstream movement by radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon from Cle Elum 

Reservoir to Cle Elum River, Washington, 2017. Data are shown for fish released in the reservoir from a fishhauling truck (Reservoir) or passed through a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS). 
23 

Table 5. Number of upstream trips by radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon from Cle Elum Reservoir to Cle Elum 

River, Washington, 2017. 

[Data are shown for fish passed through a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) or released at a shoreline release site 

(Reservoir)] 

 

Number of 

upstream trips

Release site

WFTS Reservoir

0 48 19

1 44 48

2 13 29

3 6 12

4 0 4

5 2 0

6 1 0

7 0 0

8 0 0

9 0 0

10 1 0

Total 115 112

Figure 11. Percentage of tagged adult sockeye salmon as a function of the farthest upstream detection in Cle 

Elum River, Washington, 2017. Groups of tagged fish entered Cle Elum Reservoir in the forebay of Cle Elum Dam 

through a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) and 8.8 river kilometers upstream of the dam from a fish 

transport truck (Reservoir). 
24 

Fate During the Spawning Period

More than one-half (57.4 percent) of the WFTS-passed sockeye salmon assigned to one of four 

fate categories died or moved downstream of Cle Elum Dam prior to the onset of the spawning period 

(table 6). In contrast, only 29.4 percent of the reservoir-released fish had mortality or fallback fates 

(table 6). Tagged fish that survived and remained upstream of Cle Elum Dam primarily had river fates 

(41.7 and 66.1 percent), whereas reservoir fates were low (4.5 percent or less; table 6). 

Table 6. Number of radio-tagged adult sockeye salmon assigned to four fate groups during the spawning period 

(September–November) near Cle Elum Reservoir, Washington, 2017.

[Data are shown for fish passed through a Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS) or released at a shoreline release site 

(Reservoir). Numbers in parentheses are percentages of fish] 

Fate group Release site

WFTS Reservoir

Mortality 45 (39.1) 9 (8.0)

Fallback 21 (18.3) 24 (21.4)

Reservoir 1 (0.9) 5 (4.5)

River 48 (41.7) 74 (66.1)

Total 115 112
25

Discussion

In this study, a greater number of WFTS-passed sockeye died prior to the onset of spawning 

compared to sockeye salmon released directly into Cle Elum Reservoir from a fish hauling truck.

Several factors have been identified as likely contributors to the observed mortality of WFTS-passed

fish. The WFTS tube was designed to have water-misting ports that provided lubrication for fish 

passing through the tube at 1.8-m intervals along the entire length of the tube. However, on release day 

3, WFTS staff discovered that the misting ports had not been properly installed (by the manufacturer)

at the time of construction, and, thus, lubrication had not been available for the tagged fish that passed 

through the WFTS on release days 1–3. This issue was resolved for tagged fish that passed through the 

WFTS on release day 4. WFTS passage survival estimates were lowest on the first three release days,

which suggests that the lack of lubrication may have been an important factor that influenced WFTS

passage survival. Additionally, the number of adult sockeye salmon available for testing, calibration, 

and optimization of the WFTS was limited prior to the start of the study, so system settings were 

adaptively altered during the study to improve passage conditions. The release of tagged fish occurred 

during 4 days, which limited the ability to optimize the system over the course of the release period, 

relative to the original study design that would have included fish releases occurring for a month or 

more. The pattern of increasing WFTS passage survival probability estimates (paired releases), from a 

low of 0.400 for fish released on release day 1 to a high of 0.795 for fish released on release day 4,

suggests that system modifications that occurred during the release period positively influenced 

passage conditions for adult sockeye salmon. Additionally, previous studies with adult Chinook 

salmon showed that WFTS passage survival through 12.2- and 335.2-m tubes was similar to groups of 

control fish not exposed to WFTS passage (Fast and others, 2016).

Our results also showed an effect of fish size on WFTS passage survival. We determined that 

WFTS passage survival decreased with decreasing fish size (fork length). This issue was anticipated 

by WFTS staff because each WFTS tube is designed to optimally pass a specific range of fish sizes. If 

fish are too small to meet the minimum requirement of a given tube, they are unlikely to create an 

effective seal between the outside of their body and the inside of the WFTS tube, which could prevent 

them from passing or increase passage time. For this study, multiple WFTS tubes for different-sized 

fish were not an option and fish numbers were limited, so all fish were passed through the same WFTS 

tube, regardless of body size. Given these observations, it is reasonable to assume that passage survival 

would have been higher if multiple tubes were available, which would have ensured that each tagged 

fish was passed through an appropriately sized tube.

Collectively, these observations suggest that issues related to the misting system, insufficient 

time to optimize WFTS settings prior to and during the release window, and a smaller-than-desired 

size range of study fish were factors that contributed to mortality of WFTS-passed fish. Our study was 

able to associate variation in survival with several of these factors, which should be useful in further 

development of the WFTS. Furthermore, our study should facilitate future study designs that evaluate 

the efficacy of using the system to pass adult salmon or steelhead at a high-head dam. A WFTS can

provide a means of an upstream fish-passage system at dams where more traditional methods may be 

ineffective or extremely expensive to install and operate. Thus, installation and evaluation of a WFTS 

is likely to occur at dams where these concerns exist, and observations from this study may be useful 

for planning and conducting effective assessments of WFTS performance.
26

This study identified two additional factors that may be useful in future evaluation of the 

WFTS for upstream fish passage at a dam. First, we observed that tagged fish were unlikely to 

volitionally move from the holding gallery into the WFTS entrance. Lack of volitional entry may have 

been caused by several factors, including fish origin, handling-related effects from the collection, 

tagging, and release experience, or hydraulic conditions inside the holding gallery that discouraged

volitional entry. During this study, only 2.6 percent (three fish) of the tagged fish volitionally entered 

the WFTS entrance from inside the holding gallery. The remaining 112 tagged fish were hand-netted 

and manually placed in the entrance. The lack of volitional passage delayed the release timing by a day

for most WFTS-passed fish, and the increased handling may have resulted in elevated stress levels, 

relative to reservoir-released fish. If possible, future development of the WFTS should strive to create 

conditions that maximize the likelihood of volitional entry into the WFTS entrance to minimize 

passage delays and handling requirements that may be deleterious to fish passage. The second 

noteworthy observation was that WFTS-passed fish had fallback rates like those of reservoir-released

fish that entered the reservoir 8.8 rkm upstream of the dam. This was important because it showed that 

the location of the WFTS exit, near Cle Elum Dam, did not increase the likelihood of fallback by adult 

sockeye salmon. This information may be useful in future WFTS evaluations at Cle Elum Dam, if 

those occur.

Much behavioral data was collected that provide new insights and support observations from 

other studies relating to sockeye salmon responses to outplanting in Cle Elum Reservoir. Tagged fish 

generally seemed to show a short-term pattern of exploratory movements just after release, as 

indicated by high rates of upstream movement and fallback that occurred within 20 d of release. Fish 

that remained upstream of Cle Elum Dam after this period showed limited movements in August and 

then resumed activity, primarily by moving upstream into the Cle Elum River during September–

November.

Results from tagged sockeye salmon released at the reservoir release site provide insights into 

the proportion of outplanted fish that remain upstream of Cle Elum Dam during the spawning period.

Single-release survival probability estimates for reservoir-released sockeye salmon averaged 0.925 in 

this study. This suggests that pre-spawn mortality was about 7.5 percent for sockeye salmon outplanted

using the traditional trap-and-haul approach. Research in other basins has shown that pre-spawn

mortality can be highly variable and substantial in some years. Keefer and others (2010) measured prespawn mortality of adult Chinook salmon on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, Oregon, during 

2004–2007. They reported overall pre-spawn mortality rates of 26.3 percent for tagged males and 37.1 

percent for tagged females, but observed that these rates varied from 0.0 to 90.0 percent for some 

groups of fish across years (Keefer and others, 2010). Fallback also contributes to the loss of potential 

spawners upstream of Cle Elum Dam. In this study, 21.4 percent of the tagged fish that were released

directly into Cle Elum Reservoir passed downstream of Cle Elum Dam. The loss of potential spawners 

to fallback is problematic for reintroduction efforts at other locations as well. In the Cowlitz River 

Basin during 2005–2009 and 2012, post-outplanting behavior was evaluated for adult winter steelhead, 

coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and Chinook salmon upstream of Cowlitz Falls Dam (Kock and 

others, 2016). During these studies, 12 percent of the tagged steelhead, 8 percent of the tagged coho 

salmon, and 19 percent of the tagged Chinook salmon moved downstream and passed the dam prior to 

the onset of spawning. The authors reported that release site and origin (natural compared to hatchery)

were significant predictors of fallback (Kock and others, 2016) and additional analysis of the Chinook 
27

salmon data identified discharge and release date as factors that also influenced fallback (Kock and 

others, 2018). Although origin was determined to be important in the Cowlitz River studies, research

on the North Fork Toutle River showed that natural-origin steelhead and coho salmon had substantial 

fallback (11 percent and 15 percent, respectively) downstream of a sediment retention dam (Liedtke 

and others, 2013). These examples highlight the fact that outplanted salmon and steelhead populations 

have substantial losses through pre-spawn mortality and fallback downstream of dams that lack 

upstream fish-passage routes. This information can be useful for better understanding the production 

potential of a given population of outplanted fish.

The ability to draw inferences from the results of the Roza released fish is limited. Of these 

four fish, only one moved upstream and arrived at Cle Elum Dam. The remaining three fish moved 

upstream briefly and then stopped moving, suggesting they either died or regurgitated their 

transmitters. Our assessment of regurgitation rates upstream of Cle Elum Dam suggests that 

regurgitation is an unlikely scenario to explain why most fish in the release group failed to migrate 

upstream to Cle Elum Dam. It also is worth noting that the Roza released fish had the least amount of 

handling because they did not require the transport and release that occurred for other fish after 

tagging. We do not have genetic results from the two fish that were tagged on July 17, but given the 

fallback observed at Cle Elum Dam, those were fish that possibly had originally been released into Cle 

Elum Reservoir. Movement patterns between Roza Dam and Cle Elum Dam may need to be further 

evaluated to better understand the limited observations made during this study.

Because of logistical constraints, results from this study do not provide a comparison of 

survival of fish passed through a fully functional, volitional-WFTS compared to those released from a 

transport truck. However, our findings should be insightful for future development of the WFTS and 

for managing efforts to reintroduce sockeye salmon upstream of Cle Elum Dam. These results are 

specific to sockeye salmon that are not native to the Yakima Basin. Future evaluations may consider 

the inclusion of Yakima Basin sockeye salmon produced as part of the reintroduction effort. Such 

evaluations would provide information on the behavior and survival of fish produced within the basin

and identify how these patterns differ from sockeye salmon outplanted following collection at Priest 

Rapids Dam. In the long term, information on sockeye salmon from the Yakima Basin may be most 

useful for resource managers, particularly if the reintroduction effort is successful at producing a selfsustaining population that does not require supplementation from other populations. The relative 

number of adult sockeye salmon that was outplanted during 2017 should also be considered. In some 

years, more than 10,000 adult sockeye salmon have been outplanted upstream of Cle Elum Dam, 

compared to 1,000 fish in 2017 (Brian Saluskin, Yakama Nation oral commun., 2017). Some behavior 

patterns observed during our study possibly would differ if the total population were substantially 

higher and resulted in increased fish density in some areas of the river or reservoir. These patterns are 

likely to vary among years, particularly if environmental conditions change substantially. In that 

regard, our assessment of environmental conditions in 2017 suggests that conditions were average 

when compared to conditions during 2009–2016.

In summary, the approach of using radiotelemetry and PIT tags to track fish movement 

patterns, and mark-recapture survival modeling to estimate survival of WFTS and reservoir-released

sockeye salmon provided much information. We estimated WFTS passage survival and described

post-outplanting behavior patterns of tagged sockeye salmon. The approaches used were relatively 

intensive and expensive, compared to other evaluation options. However, they provided detailed 

findings that would not otherwise be available through other means. Similar approaches are 

recommended for future evaluations of the WFTS for adult fish at high-head dams.
28

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the efforts of many people who worked to provide funding, coordinate and plan 

field activities, conduct fieldwork, and provide support essential to the successful completion of this 

evaluation. We extend our thanks to Richard Visser and Joel Hubble (Bureau of Reclamation) for their 

efforts to secure funding and provide oversight as the evaluation was designed and executed. Dave 

Fast, Mark Johnston, Brian Saluskin and others with the Yakama Nation made significant 

contributions to the study design, fish collection, tagging, transport, and data collection of this 

evaluation. Janine Bryan, Jim Otten, and Dan Schneider (Whooshh Innovations) provided engineering, 

scientific, and fish-passage logistical support with Whooshh Fish Transport System fish passage over

Cle Elum Dam. Finally, Peter Galbreath, Andrew Matala, and Jeremiah Newell (Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission) worked with our staff during the spawning period to recover fish carcasses 

and tags, which were essential data for this study. Their participation was in conjunction with work 

done as part of a genetic study of the Yakama Nation sockeye reintroduction program, and included 

genetic stock identification analyses of the fish used in this study that permitted evaluation of the study 

results relative to sockeye salmon stock (Wenatchee River-origin compared to Okanogan River-origin)

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ISSN 2331-1258 (online)

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Kock and others—Evaluation of Sockeye Salmon after Passage through Upstream Fish-Passage System at Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 2017—Open-File Report 2018–1116