Use of Hatchery Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Presmolts to Rebuild Wild Populations in Oregon Coastal Streams

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Abstract
We evaluated the effectiveness of using hatchery coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) presmolts to rebuild wild populations in Oregon coastal streams. Juvenile and adult populations were monitored in 15 stocked and 15 unstocked streams from summer 1980 until summer 1985. During the summers following the planting of presmolts, the number of juveniles per square metre of pool surface area was higher in the stocked streams than in the unstocked streams. However, wild juveniles were significantly less abundant in the stocked streams during the 2 yr when density of wild juveniles was estimated separately from hatchery juveniles. Adult returns to the stocked streams were not significantly different from adult returns to the unstocked streams, but returns tended to be earlier in the stocked streams than in the unstocked streams. Despite similar numbers of adults per kilometre in the stocked streams and unstocked streams in the years the presmolts returned to spawn, the resulting densities of juveniles in the stocked streams were significantly lower than the densities of juveniles in the unstocked streams. We concluded that the early time of spawning of the hatchery coho salmon was largely responsible for their failure to rebuild the populations in the streams stocked with presmolts.

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