Bruce,
I'm forwarding this to Paul Wagner, WDFW smolt monitoring program project leader for response. We examine subsamples of fish condition daily during bypass and transport operations at several Snake and Columbia R. dams, including McNary. You are right that the coho showing up can be attributed exclusively (almost) to Yakima R. releases. My comments are derived from comments passed along by WDFW staff at McNary regarding the condition of these fish.
See you soon.
Keith
>>> Bruce Watson <[log in to unmask]> 06/02/97 04:15pm >>> Dear Keith:
Thanks very much for your very interesting message. I was unaware that McNary still collected fish in a live-box and examined them by hand...I thought everything was done by PIT-tags now. I would very much like to get the phone number of your contact at McNary. Could you please E-mail this info? I have been out of the office much of today, and will be out tomorrow as well. I look forward to talking to you in the near future.
Thanks again for the information.
p.s. Do the McNary folks have any idea, however crude, of the total passage of coho? Virtually everything they see at McNary would be coming from the Yakima: we released 900,000 smolts, most of the coho smolts in the Methow were killed before release (clogged pond intake), and I don't think any coho are being released in the Snake or anywhere else on the mid/upper Columbia.
Keith Wolf wrote: > > Bruce, > > My WDFW staff at McNary dam has reported the "pulse" of > Yakima/Methow/Naches coho showing up at the bypass facility. These > fish could be subsampled for stomach contents. They are already being > assessed for condition and are showing high mortality and descaling. > > Contact me for details. > > Keith Wolf > Fish Program Manager-Region 3
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