Abstract
Natural runs of salmonids in the Columbia River basin have decreased as a result of hydroelectric-dam development, poor land- and forest-management, and over-fishing. This has necessitated increased salmon culture to assure adequate numbers of returning adults. Hatchery procedures and facilities are continually being modified to improve both the efficiency of production and the quality of juveniles produced. Initial efforts to evaluate changes in hatchery procedures were dependent upon adult contributions to the fishery and returns to the hatchery. Procedures were developed for sampling juvenile salmon and steelhead entering the Columbia River estuary and ocean plume. The sampling of hatchery fish at the terminus of their freshwater migration assisted in evaluating hatchery production techniques and identifying migrational or behavioral characteristics that influence survival to and through the estuary. The sampling program attempted to estimate survival of different stocks and define various aspects of migratory behavior in a large river, with flows during the spring freshet from 4 to 17 thousand cubic meters per second (m/sup 3//second).

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