Limitations of biotelemetry technology available in 2001 prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District to develop a new acoustic telemetry system to monitor survival of juvenile salmonids through the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Eight years later, the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) consists of microacoustic transmitters (12 mm long, 0.43 g weight in air), autonomous and cabled receiving systems, and data management and processing applications. Transmitter pulse rate can be user‐defined and as configured for this case study was set at 5 seconds, with an estimated tag life of 30 days and detection range of 300 m. Before JSATS development, no technology existed to study movement and survival of fish smaller than 10 g migrating long distances from freshwater and into saltwater. In a 2008 study comparing detection probabilities, travel times, and survival of 4,140 JSATS‐tagged and 48,433 passive integrated transponder (PIT)‐tagged yearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; mean fork length 133.9 and 135.3 mm, for JSATS and PIT‐tagged fish, respectively) migrating the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific, the JSATS provided survival estimates at more locations with greater precision, using less than one‐tenth as many tagged fish as the traditional PIT‐tag system. While designed to be optimized for juvenile salmonid survival assessment in the Columbia River basin, JSATS technology may be used in a variety of environments. Information regarding different acoustic telemetry systems from various vendors is presented and discussed relative to the nonproprietary JSATS.

Acoustic telemetry receivers are used across a range of aquatic habitats to study a diversity of aquatic species. The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System autonomous acoustic receiver system was deployed and moored in the Columbia River and its estuary. A high receiver loss rate during 2005 in the Columbia River estuary, an area with high water velocities and unstable substrates, prompted improvements to the receiver mooring system, and in 2006 the mooring system was redesigned. This change included elimination of surface buoys, a cable bridle, and an anchor tagline (for anchor recovery). The new mooring configuration, consisting of an acoustic receiver, acoustic release, and mooring line sections that were anchored to the riverbed, improved receiver recovery rates and crew safety. Additionally, a reward program was implemented to provide an incentive for people to return found receivers. The mooring design presented here performed well compared with previous acoustic receiver mooring methods used in the Columbia River system and should be useful for similar applications in large rivers and estuaries with high water velocities and shifting substrates.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Portland District places a high priority on increasing the understanding of the migratory behavior and survival of juvenile salmonids emigrating through the lower 235 km of the Columbia River and estuary. This understanding is critical to determining the effects of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) on the 'post-hydrosystem' performance of these populations. Increased survival rates through the FCRPS and through the estuary are necessary to meet recovery goals set forth in the 2008 Biological Opinion (BiOp) on FCRPS operations. The goal of the study reported herein is to provide information regarding the migratory behavior and survival data from juvenile salmonids passing through the lower Columbia River and estuary between Bonneville Dam and the Pacific Ocean. The study was conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory using the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS). The Portland District of the USACE and regional fisheries managers will use the information to manage the configuration and operation of the FCRPS and to evaluate management actions such as estuary habitat restoration and avian predation management to maximize survival rates of juvenile salmonids. ObjectivesIn this report we present estimated survival of acoustic-tagged juvenile yearling Chinook salmon (CH1), steelhead (STH), and subyearling Chinook salmon (CH0) downstream of Bonneville Dam as they migrated seaward through the Columbia River and its estuary. This study also provides, for the first time, estimates of survival through the lower 192 km of the Columbia River and estuary for groups of fish with known passage routes at John Day and Bonneville dams. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the survival of yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and steelhead through multiple reaches of the Columbia River between Bonneville Dam and the Pacific Ocean. Other objectives were to, 1) compare the effects of FCPRS passage history on mortality of juvenile salmonids in the lower 192 km of the Columbia River and estuary, and 2) monitor and map migration pathway and habitat associations and behaviors relative to these pathways to support habitat restoration activities. MethodsThis study took advantage of JSATS-tagged fish collected and tagged at John Day Dam and released into the reservoir 41 km upstream of John Day Dam (near Roosevelt, WA at river kilometer (rkm) 388) during the spring and summer of 2009 for another Portland District project; "Studies of Surface Spill at John Day Dam" study (SPE-P-08-03). All study fish were double tagged with a 0.43 g JSATS acoustic transmitter and a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag. The study area included the Columbia River and estuary between Bonneville Dam (rkm 235) and the mouth of the Columbia River (rkm 2.8). Autonomous acoustic receivers were deployed at 104 locations between the forebay of Bonneville Dam (rkm 236) and rkm 2.8 between 27 April and 17 August 2009. Receivers were recovered, tested, and redeployed eve...

SummaryThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts construction and dredging activities in the lower Columbia River and estuary to maintain navigation routes. This area is used by several species of Pacific salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. To facilitate planning of proposed channel maintenance projects, the Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to summarize information regarding juvenile anadromous salmonid distribution and behavior in the lower Columbia River and estuary, including existing published information as well as data from 5 years (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) of acoustic telemetry studies conducted in the Columbia River estuary using the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System.Juvenile anadromous Pacific salmon rear in and migrate through the Columbia River and estuary between Bonneville Dam and the Pacific Ocean. A large quantity of information has been published on seasonal presence, habitat use, and migratory behavior of Chinook salmon. Some information is available on steelhead. Information on use of the Columbia River estuary by the less abundant anadromous salmonid species (cutthroat and bull trout) and or those species having life histories with limited freshwater rearing and migration (pink and chum salmon) is limited. This is not to say that estuary habitats are not important to the life cycle of these species; instead, it is simply a statement that specific information is lacking or the existing information indicates these species are not known to widely utilize these estuary habitats for extended periods.Little information exists on use of the Columbia River estuary by pink salmon. Based on published information on this species from other areas, it is likely that pink salmon use of the Columbia River estuary is very limited. Chum salmon are present in the Columbia River estuary following emergence as early as mid-January through mid July, with the peak in abundance between mid April and mid May as they migrate seaward. Hatchery and wild coho salmon use the Columbia River estuary as a migratory route to the Pacific Ocean and also for rearing in some cases. Rearing coho salmon may be in the Columbia River estuary throughout the year, with peak abundance of smolts migrating between April and June. Similar to coho salmon, juvenile Chinook salmon may be found rearing in the Columbia River estuary any time of the year. Stream-type Chinook salmon, which typically rear in higher elevation tributaries for 1 year prior to migrating to sea, are most abundant in the Columbia River estuary between early April and early June. Large numbers of pre-smolt Chinook salmon rear in the Columbia River estuary, and it is likely that many of these are fall Chinook salmon. The fall Chinook salmon migration through the Columbia River estuary typically peaks between May and July. However, there is typically a pulse of subyearling Chinook salmon entering the estuary in March from hatchery releases from Spring Creek Nationa...

The successful completion of this project depended on the involvement and cooperation of many people. David Byrnes, Bonneville Power Administration, directed the project. John Easterbrooks, Ray Gilmour, Bill Werst, and Pat Schille of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Tom Leonard of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation provided valuable background information on the sites and also comments on the operation and maintenance of individual sites.