Behavior and Survival of Wild and Hatchery-Origin Winter Steelhead Spawners Caught and Released in a Recreational Fishery

Abstract

Mandatory catch and release of wild fish and supplementation with hatchery-reared fish are commonly used to sustain sport fisheries on low-abundance populations of wild steelhead. However, their effectiveness in limiting angling mortality on wild fish is uncertain. We radio-tagged 226 (125 wild, 101 hatchery) angled adult steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss near the mouth of the Vedder−Chilliwack River, British Columbia, in 1999 and 2000 and monitored their subsequent movements to determine survival to spawning and overlap in the distributions of inferred holding sites, spawning sites, and spawning times. The distributions of prespawning holding sites did not differ between wild and hatchery fish in either year, but spawning locations differed. Holding and spawning sites used by hatchery fish were restricted to the lower two-thirds of the river, downstream of the hatchery where they were reared but well upstream of their smolt release site. Wild fish spawned throughout the watershed. Spawning times did not differ between wild and hatchery fish, but varied with run timing. The maximum mortality from the initial catch and release and radio-tagging was 1.4% in 1999 and 5.8% in 2000; true mortality rates were lower because tag regurgitation was indistinguishable from death. The fishery subsequently killed 2.5% of tagged wild fish and harvested 20% (1999) and 43% (2000) of the hatchery fish. Seventy-two tagged fish were recaptured and released in the sport fishery up to three times without any mortality before spawning. Hatchery fish were recaptured at twice the rate of wild fish. At least 92% of unharvested fish spawned, and 75% of successful spawners survived to emigrate from the watershed. The incidence of postspawning death did not vary with the frequency of capture and release. Catch-and-release angling imposed small costs in terms of survival; however, behavioral differences existed between adult wild fish and the adult F₁ progeny of wild fish reared to smolt stage in a hatchery.