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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2007
(number of pages 2)
Priest Rapids Hatchery a Regional Success Story
EPHRATA, WA - Running a successful supplementation hatchery takes more than just fish eggs. Grant PUD’s Priest Rapids Hatchery has one of the most successful adult Chinook salmon return rates of any hatchery in the Columbia River system.
Tens of thousand of adult fall Chinook weighing up to 50 pounds return each fall. These salmon are commonly referred to as “upriver brights” because of their near silver appearance at entry to the freshwater. They support highly successful commercial and sport fisheries in the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.
A critical factor in the success of any hatchery is the water. No other single factor affects the development and growth of fish as much as water temperature and quality. Each species of fish has a temperature range it can tolerate and within that range it has optimal ranges for growth and reproduction.
Water for the Priest Rapids Hatchery comes from two sources: six on-site wells and the Columbia River. The hatchery has remained nearly disease-free and has supplied millions of salmon eggs in excess of its own capacity for use at other hatcheries around the state.
The hatchery, located adjacent to Priest Rapids Dam, was originally built by Grant PUD in 1963 as a salmon spawning channel, and starting in 1972 was phased into a conventional hatchery operation. Since 1978, all fish raised at the Priest Rapids site have come from returns to the hatchery. Grant PUD pays all annual operating costs for the hatchery, which is staffed by personnel from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The 4,000 square foot hatchery building contains enough incubators to hold up to 15 million salmon eggs taken at the hatchery. A large portion of the eggs go to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and several Indian tribes for their hatchery operations that are not currently self-sustaining. A large-scale remodel of the facility is planning in 2008 to upgrade the hatchery with state-of-the-art technology.
Eggs used in hatchery operations come from adult fall Chinook salmon voluntarily returning to the hatchery from the Columbia River. From the Columbia River, the adult salmon return to a small stream and a trapping facility. They are then transported to a holding pond for later spawning. Approximately 8,200 Chinook returned to the hatchery in 2006.
Eggs are taken from adult females in October and November each year. Fertilized eggs are moved into the hatchery building for incubation over the winter. In the spring, juvenile salmon are moved to outdoor rearing ponds.
On June 13, 2007, the juvenile salmon, known as “smolts” reared in 2006-2007 were released from the hatchery. By June 21, approximately seven million smolts had been released.
“This marks another very successful year of fish releases and we are looking forward to their return in three to five years,” said Chris Carlson, Grant PUD senior biologist.
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Grant County Public Utility District is a Washington state municipal corporation that began electric service in 1942. Owned by the people it serves, Grant PUD generates and sells electricity to Grant County residents and millions of customers throughout Central Washington and the Pacific Northwest. The Priest Rapids Project, comprised of Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams, produces nearly 2,000 megawatts of clean, renewable and reliable electricity – enough to supply a city the size of Seattle. A leader in science based technology; Grant PUD is committed to finding effective measures for the protection, mitigation and enhancement of salmon, steelhead and other natural and cultural resources.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kathy Kiefer
(509) 754-6625 / kkiefer@gcpud.org
Chinook salmon smolts moved into holding
tanks at the Priest Rapids hatchery in
preparation for tagging before release. |
