Mover Mike

The Oregonian this morning carried a front page headline: Coho returning to Columbia River system in near-record numbers

If the projection holds up, this year’s coho return would be the second-highest since 1991, and at least 200,000 fish more than last year.

I was reminded of my post here back in May about my visit to Bonneville Dam. I am reposting it because I couldn’t understand all the concern over the fish then and certainly feel better about my concern after reading this morning’s paper.

The Oregonian on Saturday had an article in the Metro section by Matthew Preusch that said “Salmon on Obama’s agenda.”

Salmon in the vast Columbia Basin have been in decline for years, a phenomenon linked with dams and the destruction of habitat.

Last Saturday I was hired as a charter bus driver to take a Yellowbus load of Marylhurst environmental science students to the Washington side of Bonneville Dam. When we arrived the teacher graciously invited me to attend the guided tour through the dam. We were given a tour of the fish ladders, the turbines and the room that counts the various fish that go over the dam.

The students were all interested in how many fish were killed going through the turbines or over the spillway. I picked up a handout that charted the passage and survival of juvenile salmonids based on 1 year old Chinook counted in 2005. Overall survival rate through Bonnevill is 97%!

• 24% go through PH II 97% survive
• 15% go through PH II Juvenile Bypass 100% survive
• 16% go through PH II Corner Collector 100% survive
• 38% pass over the Spillway 93% survive
• 7% pass through PH Iturbine and sluiceway 95% survive

Then I picked up a handout that showed the Yearly Totals Of Salmonids Counted Over Bonneville Dam. In this case “Salmonids” were defined as Chinook, Steelhead, Sockeye, Coho, Shad and Lamprey. Interestingly, I did not see the

Salmon …in decline for years, a phenomenon linked with dams and the destruction of habitat.

• In 1938 271,799 Chinooks, including Jacks, were counted at the dam. In the years from 1938 to 2000 the numbers of Chinooks, including Jacks, varied from 240,050 in 1995 to a high of 547,494 in 1987. Overall the average was around 350,000. In 2001 to 2004, the largest Chinook runs took place with over 900,000 Chinooks, including Jacks, counted. In 2005 the Chinooks dropped back to 600,361.
• In 1938 107,003 Steelhead were counted . From 1938 to 2000 1975 saw a low of 85,540 and a high of 379,891 in 1986. The average overall was around 250,000 Steelhead counted. From 2001 to 2003 the Steelhead runs were almost twice the average, in 2005 the |Steelhead count was 315,302.
• In 1938 75,040 Sockeye were counted. There were two very low years of 9,501 in 1945 and 8,774 in 1995, but overall the average countof Sockeye was 60,000 to 100,000 fish. In 2005 73,002 Sockeye were counted.
• In 1938 15,185 Coho were counted. The low year was in 1945, when only 790 Coho were counted. Since then the runs generally grew until 96,488 were counted in 1967. There was a dropoff and the next major low was 11.732 counted in 1993. In 2001 266,341 Coho were counted at the dam and in 2005 88,724 Coho were counted.
• Now comes the astonishing part. In 1938 5,273 Shad were counted. In 1959 6,720 Shad were counted,but then the numbers took off; 617,323 in 1965, 1,039,857 in 1979, 2,947,865 in 1990, and 5,335,667 in 2004. IN 2005 4.242,183 Shad were counted.

I see no evidence in these numbers that this dam had any effect on destroying the fish runs of Salmonids since 1938. |The only fish that has suffered in the Lamprey eel, whose numbers are down 90% since 1938.

I asked the teacher about how these numbers square with the hue and cry over the endangered salmon and the movement to take out dams and she had no explanation.

The one interesting fact I picked up from my most interesting visit to the dam was in the Jack counts. Jacks are one year old Salmon and not yet adult Salmon. Usually there numbers are dwarfed 5:1 by adults. This year the counter tyold us that adult salmon number about 3,300 and Jacks number about 5,500. She’s never seen such an imbalance in the ten years of counting fish at Bonneville. She had no explanation for the change.

One good thing as the paper said today, June is the heaviest month for Shad, they fight like Steelhead and bite on almost anything, so take your kids fishing. The average Shad run in June is over 2 1/3 million fish.

Please enjoy the article and comment below, email me at landfair3554@comcast.net or follow me @movermike

Mike Landfair

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