The Monterey Bay Salmaon and Trout Project

At this time we are heavily involved in conducting our 13th annual Chinook Salmon Enhancement program at the Santa Cruz Boat harbor. This year we are not conducting our Chinook Program in Monterey City Harbor as well due to circumstances beyond our control, but we hope to be back there again in future years. Our program this year calls for acclimating over 180,000 chinook smolts from fresh to salt water for subsequent release into Monterey Bay to grow to adulthood in the ocean. Since the Chinook Program began over 12 years ago we have released more than 1,230,000 chinook smolts into the Monterey Bay to enhance the sport and commercial fishery in this region. We continue to give our special thanks to the Monterey Harbor and Santa Cruz Port Districts for their outstanding cooperation and assistance in providing facilities for our chinook sea pens.

Near the end of last year after approximately 10 months of very diligent and arduous work by MBSTP & NMFS representatives, we were able to resolve the many significant issues regarding the issuance of our Coho & Steelhead Section 10 Permits. This resolution has allowed us to some extent to go forward with our program mission and goals regarding Central Coast coho salmon and steelhead restoration activities. Having said this, however, there remain significant differences of philosophy and opinion between MBSTP and some representatives of the CDFG & NMFS regarding the continuation of the augmentation of steelhead populations in many of the Central Coastal Region streams.

In January and February of this year we were successful in obtaining CDFG & NMFS management approval of some of the elements of our alternate proposal to augment steelhead populations in some area streams.This approval reversed a previous regulatory position which did not allow us to perform any meaningful steelhead augmentation activities. I intend to keep you advised of our future progress on this urgent issue.

MBSTP & NMFS Science Center personnel are continuing to work very well together in a team effort to implement a coho salmon captive brood-stock rearing program. The major purpose of this endeavor is to attempt to turn around the severe decrease in our local coho populations occurring frequently now in many of the year-classes of these salmonids.

On behalf of MBSTP, I want to offer our gratitude to all of the organizations, groups, businesses, and individuals who provide their financial and other forms of support of our coho, steelhead, and chinook restoration activities and operations. Our special thanks to The David & Lucile Packard Foundation; Fish & Game Advisory Commissions of Monterey, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties; Commercial Salmon Stamp Committee; Scott Watershed Council; Monterey City Harbor District; Santa Cruz Port District; and the many individuals, businesses, schools, and community organizations who continue to provide their support to us. This outstanding support is the essential key in allowing us to continue with our salmonid restoration mission.

Once again we have had a very busy winter and spring, complicated by this year's odd rainfall patterns. The slight rain the week of November wet the ground and did nothing to bring up the extremely low creek flows and none of the sand bars opened at any of the local creek mouths. However, the near constant rain from December 8th to January 2nd raised creek flows and opened all of the streams in our local area. Due to high water flows and turbulent water, we were not able to access Scott Creek until January 7th, 2003. The Scott Creek Coho collection for the season amounted to one 3 year old male and four 2 year old precocious males. The males were saved for possible breeding with the 4 year old captive brood stock, of which only 2 females developed eggs. Unfortunately none of the eggs were viable. For the first time, this year's viable sperm from the wild and captive brood stock Coho males were frozen and preserved by Dr. Eric Sturm, NMFS, and are being held in a liquid nitrogen cryogenic tank at the NMFS-Santa Cruz Lab for future use. All the male Coho were genetically typed by Dr. Carlos Garza from the NMFS Santa Cruz lab.

Rainfall in mid February finally increased the San Lorenzo River flows to allow the inflation of the Felton Diversion Dam and the fish trap going into operation on February 16th, 2003. Steelhead were collected from February 17th thru March 20th at which time the City of Santa Cruz had to deflate the dam as a potential terrorist target. Twelve adult female Steelhead and 24 male Steelhead were collected and spawned from the San Lorenzo River and one female Scotts Creek Steelhead and four males were also collected and spawned for this year's production. Eyed egg production this year is 63,900 Steelhead fry from the San Lorenzo River and 4,600 fry from Scott Creek. No viable Coho Salmon fry survived from this year's adult collection. An additional 2,700 Steelhead eyed eggs were sent to our STEP education program for distribution to over 120 school classroom incubators.

Steelhead and Coho smolts from last year's brood were planted out this year in late March and the first week of April 2003. With our best Coho production ever and high numbers of natural production being found in Scotts and Gazos Creeks, the hatchery Coho smolts were divided up into groups by the joint NMFS & CDFG Recovery teams to begin reintroduction into the two best candidate local streams this year. The two best candidates for Coho reintroduction were Pescadero Creek in San Mateo County and Aptos Creek in Santa Cruz County. These two creeks were added to our planting list this year. The total 2002 Brood year Coho production of 31,379 fish were planted as follows:

I would like to thank all the volunteers who have helped out over the past 6 months, who are too numerous to list. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank my wife Jan, who still tolerates my long days at the hatchery and the numerous evening meetings.

We want to share with you some of this year¹s accomplishments from our volunteers, efforts and activities:

To our present volunteers who continue to support us with their efforts, please talk to others about us and what we do. Perhaps you will inspire some special people to join us in our salmonid population restoration and preservation mission. We send our deepest thanks to all of you great volunteers! Anyone interested in being trained to work with us in occasional fish Care activities and some of our other Project activities, please contact me, Al Smith, at 831-722-4753, 831-458-3095, E-mail mbstp@aol.com, or send a note to my attention at:

Steelhead are Alive and Well Again at Rogers Middle School! This year Rogers Middle School principal Gary Stebbins has returned to the classroom to teach one period a day. His class, Environmental Studies, consists largely of STEP (Salmon and Trout Education Program) curriculum and activities. He remarked, recently..."With all the budget woes and other challenges facing education, it is nice to spend one period a day with the kids so I can reflect on what it is I am in this business."

Activities in the class range from the typical STEP studies to more involved field trips and outdoor studies. With funding from the City of San Jose's Watershed Grant program, Dr Stebbins was able to also participate in several field trips including a Discovery Voyage on San Francisco Bay. "Understanding the important role of the watershed ecosystem is very important to the understanding of the salmon and trout life cycle," says Stebbins. "My students know more about this subject than most adults.

In addition to the regular activities, guest visits by the San Jose Flycasters have added to the course. Whether it is Ken Kondo tying brightly colored flies with the students or Sue Larson talking about insect life cycles, the Flycasters have become good friends to the students in the class. In addition, a donation of fly fishing equipment to the school and class from the estate of Flycaster Jim Bergland has also added to the thematic teaching model.

Other non-traditional techniques have also been used in the class. "I bring in some of my fishing videos so the kids can take a little fishing trip with me," he says. Stebbins also brought in a fresh King Salmon
caught in Monterey Bay. He cleaned it and identified all the internal organs in class with his students. Then, he barbecued it and made "Salmon Covered Pizza!"

A big event of the year is the release of the tiny Steelhead. The students are very careful to gently take the wriggling young "babies" up until their moment of release. "How can one measure the appreciation and understanding that comes from such a process?" Dr. Stebbins could be heard to say on the banks of the San Lorenzo River...."They learn more on this outing than an entire week of bookwork!"

If you wish to get involved in STEP activities, contact STEP Coordinator Hugh Miller email: HMiller334@aol.com.

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This summer and fall, Dave Parker of Harbor Press and myself are having a Marlin/ Tuna /Dorado Fishing Adventures at Hotel Buena Vista in East Cape, Baja Ca. For those of you that have fished the East Cape in the past know the quality of fishing that can be present during the summer and fall months.

The hotel is a big sponsor of our hatchery and we appreciate their support. Our first trip is August 17th thru August 21st We have booked excellent rooms and boats at very special prices.

We also will be fishing again on October 17th thru October 21st. For those of you that have never fished in Baja this is good chance to get your feet wet. If you do not have tackle, the hotel will rent it to you. The hotel offers many other extras including a whirlpool spa heated from local hot springs. The food is excellent and they have a full service bar.

If you have any questions, please contact:

                   Dave Parker at 831-475-3355 or
                    Larry Wolf at 831-688-4257.

I have enjoyed working with our Hatchery program here for over 8 years. Through that time I have learned a lot from a variety of people from all walks of life. My opinion seems less important as I have learned there are many points of view on every subject. That being said, this year was the toughest year for our hatchery in terms of permits and our ability to deal with all the many points of view on hatchery production versus wild producing fish. We did not trap fish in December or January because we were not given permits to trap more than one female and four male Steelhead for our Step Education program. Our Steelhead trapping permit came from the Fish & Game Region 3 office in Monterey in early December. It was based on the local Fish & Game biologist's theory that our hatchery was no longer needed since there was for the first time a no take provision in all our local streams. The Region 3 Biologists felt these streams had enough fish in them and natural production over a very long period of time would eventually restore our local fish populations. In addition the head biologist of Region 3 requested that we no longer clip hatchery fish since there would no longer be a take provision in any of our local streams. This was completely contrary to NMFS requirements that all hatchery fish be clipped.

The Hatchery had worked over the last two years with the biologists from Region 3. We told them on numerous occasions during that time that we would be forced to close the hatchery if we could not raise Steelhead. Although Region 3 kept our Coho permit and program as well as our STEP Education program in tack, we told the Fish & Game Biologists that we could not raise enough money for the Hatchery and the Coho Salmon program because our volunteers would lose interest because they cannot fish for them. We have a limited volunteer and donor base which is made up of a majority of people who do fish. They would not work at the hatchery if we discontinued Steelhead production. Knowing this the Region 3 Office would still rather close our hatchery and all of our programs including the loss of Coho restoration and our STEP education programs. This would give the Region 3 office more of a voice and control on all fresh water issues as well as fishing in this area. All of this came to a head in January 2003 when we had our first Technical Oversight Meeting which included people from the Fish & Game Hatchery division, Fish & Game Biologist from Region 3, NMFS Research Lab Supervisor and assistants and NMFS Legal Division as well as NMFS Hatchery biologist. NMFS fund raising personnel also attended as well as two Directors from the Hatchery as well as our Hatchery Manager. At that meeting we discussed the Coho restoration plans and Steelhead restoration with the local Region 3 biologist who again stated that it was their position that hatchery production should be eliminated entirely for Steelhead. We explained that once the Hatchery shut down there would be no more Coho production. We also felt that with the Hatchery closure, all fishing including catch and release would be banned because the possibility that every fish was needed to help preserve the genetic diversity in our local streams. With the hatchery closed, there would be no restoration of populations of fish in our local streams especially to a level that would allow take fisheries. In addition, NMFS has spent a great deal of time and money constructing a large building at the Long Marine Lab in north Santa Cruz that was designed primarily for use with their Coho captive brood stock programs and their recovery program for Coho Salmon in our area. NMFS also pointed out that if we closed our hatchery, they would lose additional funding as well as money already spent on these new facilities. NMFS Legal Division as well as their Hatchery Division and Research Division as well as Fish & Game Hatchery Division all wanted us to continue with our normal hatchery production. It was also pointed out by the NMFS Research Division, that without the Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout Projects efforts, Coho Salmon would have become extinct in this area years ago. Still the local Region 3 biologists refused to change their opinion stating that was not their pro lem. During the TOC meeting the local Region 3 biologist stated that they had funding for stream assessment for fish population studies and were funded for three years. When the TOC meeting decided on which streams were to receive our Coho plants this year, the Fish & Game biologist assured us that a huge natural dam blocking Waddel Creek would be removed so fish passage would be much easier. The Region 3 biologist also stated that they would get the necessary State Parks permits for us to plant Coho Salmon in Pescadero Creek and Aptos Creek. When it came time for us to plant these fish, none of the work was done at Waddell Creek and we had to scramble to get the necessary permits and permission to plant our fish on the day we were supposed to release the fish. When confronted with their lack of follow through, our hatchery manager was accused of planting fish wherever he wanted without regard to the Region 3 biologist protocol. In addition, their funding that was supposed to be available for stream population studies was no longer available. A complete break down of communications is the best that can be said. The worst is a concerted effort by the Region 3 local office to undermine our hatchery production and success and close the hatchery.

All of this was very discouraging because we had the support of NMFS as well as many in Fish & Game. When we confronted the Region 3 supervising biologist in Jan. 2003, his comment to us was that unless we got his decision overruled by his supervisor in Yontville, there would be no more supplemental Steelhead production from our Hatchery. Knowing this we contacted the Region 3 director. NMFS also made their opinions known to Director of Region 3. With NMFS support, in early February we overturned the Region 3 biologists ruling and they were ordered to reissue our permit. Since this occurred after the TOC meeting, we were left with dealing with the Region 3 biologists and their complete rage at us for over turning their initial permit. That also may explain their complete lack of cooperation during our hatchery plantings as described above. Last, I feel that the Region 3 Biologists views on wild fish production will not work in the Monterey Bay area and has not worked anywhere in California. Rivers and streams in California which do not have hatchery production currently, do not have any take fisheries. No wild river or stream in California has recovered enough to allow a take fishery. Mind you that there are only five Steelhead hatcheries left on the North Coast in the State. With all the remaining rivers and streams that flow to the ocean on our north coast, you would think that in some of those streams where there are no hatcheries and a no take provisions, there would be a recovery of fish populations. This has not occurred and these are streams and rivers that have far more water and habitat available than our area does.

On a happier note, we did trap our normal amount of adult Steelhead from the San Lorenzo River in February and March 2003. Finally, I do believe that NMFS as well as Fish & Game are doing their best to help restore fish populations. There are so many opinions on how to do it. It seems a shame that there was no room for compromise. It didn't have to happen this way. I have the utmost respect for those in Fish & Game and NMFS. I don't always agree, but I know we are all working on the same problems. For those of you who agree or disagree with me, feel free to express your opinions on these issues and let us know what you think.

Below is a bulleted list of activities performed during the first quarter of 2002 on this award Data collection: Water quality and flow measurements commenced on 2/13/02 and are being conducted on a monthly basis at 4 locations (Fig.1) in the Scott's Creek watershed. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has completed the first phase of conducting a study funded by the California Department of Fish & Game (DFG) to evaluate the contribution of hatchery raised steelhead to the natural run population in the Scott's Creek watershed. This was a complex study, (actually designed by MBSTP board member Jamie Alonzo) which looked at the interaction between fish released from the MBSTP Kingfisher Flat Fish Facility and natural run fish at all life history stages from fry to smolt and then adults that happen in the Scott's Creek watershed.

The first phase of the project looked at genetic, age, and size distribution of the spawning adult steelhead population. To do this we used divers and netters to capture returning adults in the stream. While the fish are in hand we measure them (length and weight), sex them, determine their origin, (hatchery or natural) and collect scale samples for aging captured adult steelhead to collect tissue samples for genetics and scale samples for fish aging.

There was a great steelhead run this year and with the assistance of MBSTP volunteers we were able to capture and release over 100 adult steelhead. We also helped to collect several Scott's Creek steelhead that were spawned at the hatchery for the STEP program. Based on scale data and stream surveys we observed that hatchery fish went to sea soon after spring planting at age one, while natural steelhead often spent 1.5-2 years in the stream before going to sea. Natural fish on average spent slightly less time at sea and both hatchery and natural fish were typically between 3 and 4 years old as returning adults. The average size fish was 26", 6.5 lbs. The largest was 33" and 11.4 lbs. We observed no difference in size between hatchery and natural fish. Also because the hatchery fish leave for the ocean sooner after planting, it means there is very little competition for food and space between hatchery and natural fish in the stream. Fish collected received a color coated floy tag and were then released. Due to the very low abundance of coho salmon in Scott's Creek, only the steelhead component of this study is being pursued. 54 adult steelhead (37 natural fish, 17 hatchery fish).have been captured and released for the purposes of tagging, collecting DNA biopsies, scales and size information. We were also able to attach data logging tags to 10 of these fish. These tags will record temperature and depth of where these fish travel in the ocean this year. If anyone catches or sees a fish carrying one of these tags, please remove the tag, release the fish and give me a call (831-420-3937) We'd love to get the tags back and learn what these fish are doing at sea! Gill filament samples were collected from 25 juvenile hatchery steelhead (from 2001 year class) prior to their planting in Scott's Creek in 3/2002. We are currently conducting concluding our surveys for Steelhead spawning behavior. While we haven't analyzed the data yet, we have already learned several things. Steelhead are very promiscuous, with both males and females spawning with several different males and females over a period of several days to weeks. In addition we saw lots of spawning between natural and hatchery fish, indicating that hatchery fish are doing well when they return and are making healthy contributions to the population. (we haven't collected the genetic data on offspring yet to determine just how well they did yet- so the final results are still out). We observed a lot of spawning over the past two winters. One of the objectives was to observe interactions between hatchery and natural fish. What we learned was hatchery fish and natural fish spawn together on a regular basis. In general they chose to spawn in the same places. In addition, when deciding which male gets to spawn with a female that is digging a redd, size matters. The largest male almost always wins a competition with another male. We observed no problems between hatchery and natural fish during our spawning surveys. Finally we observed a lot of "sneaker" spawning by small males that haven't gone to sea and may possibly be resident trout.

We have begun genetic analysis of the DNA samples collected from all the fish we have handled. While the results are preliminary and more work needs to be done, it appears that the Scott Creek Steelhead population has a healthy amount of genetic variation. As expected this year was a poor year for Coho. We were only able to collect a few males (and 1 hermaphrodite). These were spawned with some 4-yr old females that were residing at the hatchery. Unfortunately spawning efforts at the hatchery were unsuccessful. However a few coho fry have been observed in the creek so apparently some coho made it in and spawned successfully. We have received permission from the NMFS and DFG permitting agencies to collect a few of the coho fry and transport them to the hatchery where their chances of surviving to adulthood will be much better.

DNA samples and gill filament samples were collected from 63 hatchery steelhead prior to their release in Scott's Creek. In addition we have set up an out-migrant trap in lower Scott's Creek to start monitoring the movements of hatchery and natural smolts as they head to sea. To date we have caught and released 51 steelhead smolts (24 hatchery, 27 natural) and 1 coho smolt. We will be analyzing samples soon to measure physiological changes that are occurring in the fish as they prepare to go to see.

At this point we are planning to put a temporary weir in the watershed next fall. This will help to provide valuable data on the total number of returning adults each year. It will also make the collection of adults for spawning at the hatchery much easier. We are continuing to broaden our studies in Scott Creek and work very closely with members of the MBSTP. The last year has been not only very informative, but also a lot of fun. We look forward to seeing all of you out in the creek!We are also conducting measurements of water quality and flow to evaluate habitat quality. Measurements commenced on 2/13/02 and are being conducted on a biweekly basis at 4 locations in the Scott's Creek watershed. We plan to put out temperature loggers at several locations along the watershed to get hourly temperature measurements throughout the year. We didn't receive much rain in March or April and flows levels are really starting to go down. We will continue to monitor this throughout the year. On a more positive note, we are beginning to see the results of the amazing Steelhead run this year. The creeks are just full of Steelhead fry emerging from their redds. Please check out some of the photographs of we've supplied to the MBSTP web page. We will continue to monitor the creeks throughout the summer for distribution and growth of this years coho and steelhead fry.