Imprinting Hatchery Reared Salmon and Steelhead Trout for Homing, 1978-1983: Volume 1: Narrative, Final Report.

摘要

The National Marine Fisheries Service began conducting homing research on Pacific salmon and steelhead. Over 4 million juvenile salmon and steelhead were marked and released, and 23 individual experiments were conducted. The research had the following objectives: (1) develop the techniques for imprinting homing cues while increasing survival of hatchery reared salmonids and (2) provide fishery managers with the information necessary to increase the returns of salmon and steelhead to the Columbia River system and to effectively distribute these fish to the various user groups. Our imprint methods were grouped into three general categories: (1) natural migration imprint from a hatchery of origin or an alternate homing site (by allowing fish to volitionally travel downstream through the river on their seaward journey), (2) single exposure imprinting (cueing fish to a single unique water supply with or without mechanical stimuli prior to transport and release), and (3) sequential exposure imprinting (cueing fish to two or more water sources in a step-by-step process to establish a series of signposts for the route ''home''). With variations, all three techniques were used with all salmonid groups tested: coho salmon, spring and fall chinook salmon, and steelhead. For the single and sequential imprint, fish were transported around a portion of their normal migration route before releasing them into the Columbia River. (ERA citation 14:024267)