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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>THE COLUMBIA
BASIN BULLETIN:<BR>Weekly Fish and Wildlife News </FONT><A href=""><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>www.cbbulletin.com</FONT></A><BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>August 4, 2006 Issue No. 361<BR>
-------------------------------------<BR><BR>1. RESEARCH USES DNA TO IDENTIFY
OCEAN SALMON'S HOME RIVER<BR><BR>Oregon State University scientists are teaming
with commercial fishermen on <BR>a new research effort to rapidly identify the
home river basin of chinook <BR>salmon found in the Pacific Ocean using genetic
testing.<BR><BR>Their goal is to learn more about offshore schooling behavior
and stock <BR>composition of salmon and ultimately to prevent coast-wide fishing
<BR>closures. The closures aim to protect weak stocks like those of the Klamath
<BR>River basin that may constrain an otherwise healthy fishery.<BR><BR>Funded
by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and managed by the Oregon <BR>Salmon
Commission, the pilot project is called the Cooperative Research for
<BR>Oregon's Ocean Salmon, or CROOS.<BR><BR>The program is already seeing
results.<BR><BR>During the June 4 salmon fishing opener, fishermen caught
chinook salmon <BR>off the Oregon coast between Newport and Florence and OSU
scientists were <BR>able to positively match the DNA from the fins of 71 of the
fish to <BR>establish their origin from river systems in California, Oregon,
British <BR>Columbia and Alaska.<BR><BR>An ongoing project coordinated and
funded by the National Oceanic and <BR>Atmospheric Administration involving 10
labs from California to Alaska -- <BR>including OSU's Hatfield Marine Science
Center in Newport -- has identified <BR>unique genetic profiles for 110
different salmon populations based on their <BR>home river
basin.<BR><BR>Scientists and resource managers previously were unable to
identify stock <BR>composition of both wild and hatchery fish originating from
the Pacific <BR>Northwest, Canada and Alaska.<BR><BR>Project leaders say that
this new technology allows scientists to assess <BR>the origin of an individual
fish with remarkable accuracy.<BR><BR>"This was the key for us to utilize the
technology," said Michael Banks, an <BR>OSU geneticist and director of the
Cooperative Institute for Marine <BR>Resources Studies, a joint Oregon
State-NOAA research collaborative. <BR>"Having a bank of DNA profiles allows us
to approach 'real-time' <BR>identification of fish. What used to take months, or
even years, we've been <BR>able to pare down to about 48 hours."<BR><BR>During
the June field testing, participating fishermen caught chinook <BR>salmon off
the Oregon coast between Newport and Florence and collected a <BR>fin-clip from
each fish for DNA analysis. OSU scientists were able to match <BR>genetic
profiles of fish from river systems as far south as Battle Creek in
<BR>California, and from as far north as the Babine River in
Alaska.<BR><BR>Traditional efforts to identify the origin of ocean-caught salmon
came from <BR>coded wire tags inserted into the snouts of a small percentage of
hatchery <BR>fish. Those tags were useful for determining broad-scale
distributions of <BR>stocks caught in fisheries, but revealed only the origin of
select tagged <BR>fish. The time and location of these tagged fish also have
been too general <BR> reported by week and catch area.<BR><BR>The coded
wire tag data weren't usually available until several months <BR>after the
season ends.<BR><BR>Using DNA testing, however, will allow the scientists to
rapidly assess the <BR>origin of any chinook salmon caught off the West Coast --
not just coded <BR>wire-tagged hatchery fish -- and identify with about 95
percent accuracy <BR>its home river system.<BR><BR>In theory, researchers say,
they could test several salmon in schools from <BR>different locations to see
what percentage of them originate from a weak run.<BR><BR>"This could lead to
the introduction of some degree of in-season harvest <BR>management," said Gil
Sylvia, an OSU economist and superintendent of the <BR>Coastal Oregon Marine
Experiment Station. "Having accurate information <BR>could lead to reducing
access to some stocks in certain areas at certain <BR>times. But it is just as
likely that it could result in decisions to open <BR>areas of the coast where
higher concentrations of harvestable fish <BR>populations are."<BR><BR>The
researchers will compare their genetic assessment with coded <BR>wire-tagged
fish to test the efficacy of the project.<BR><BR>Many of Oregon's commercial
fishermen, who have been shut down from <BR>pursuing their livelihood this
summer, say they are excited by the research.<BR><BR>"I started fishing in 1970
and this is the most optimistic I've been about <BR>any kind of research
relating to salmon," said Paul Merz, who fishes out of <BR>Charleston. "I'm
still a cynic when it comes to management decisions. But <BR>this is the science
that has been missing in all of the policy arguments -- <BR>and it's something
where you can see the immediate results."<BR><BR>Jeff Feldner, a fisherman from
Logsden, Ore., said that seasons are <BR>designed to minimize the impact on the
weakest runs.<BR><BR>"The problem," he pointed out, "is that we haven't known
enough about the <BR>fish that are out there. Using information gathered over
the summer to help <BR>predict where the fish will be next year doesn't help the
fishermen. We <BR>haven't had a way of knowing in 'real time' where the fish are
and where <BR>they've come from. Now we do."<BR><BR>The Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board has funded this pilot study for one <BR>year with a $586,391
grant, which will allow 50 Oregon commercial vessels <BR>to make a total of 200
fishing trips, and allow the scientists to run 2,000 <BR>DNA samples. As many as
90 vessel owners have expressed an interest in <BR>participating.<BR><BR>"We
need additional funding to continue the research," said Nancy <BR>Fitzpatrick,
lead administrator of Project CROOS and an employee of the <BR>Oregon Salmon
Commission. "One year just begins to give you information, <BR>but it isn't
enough to determine all you need to know about salmon. Fish <BR>have fins, as
they say, and they tend to move from one location to another.<BR><BR>"Where you
find them one year isn't necessarily where you'll find them the
<BR>next."<BR><BR>Fitzpatrick says any changes in how the oceans are managed for
salmon would <BR>come from the Pacific Fishery Management Council, a regional
council with <BR>members from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California, that
recommends <BR>fishery management measures to the National Marine Fisheries
Service.<BR><BR>The OSU researchers are keeping track of the salmon through an
onboard <BR>electronic traceability system developed by the university over the
past <BR>several years. This innovative barcode system allows commercial
fishermen <BR>to log the location, date and time of the capture, as well as
onboard <BR>handling techniques, for every fish captured.<BR><BR>Each fish
harvested by a participant receives a metal tag with a unique <BR>number and
bar-code. A website under construction will eventually allow a <BR>consumer to
access basic information about the salmon: where and when it <BR>was harvested,
by whom, and from which river it originated.<BR><BR>Eventually, such a tool may
play a major role in marketing, according to <BR>Michael Morrissey, director of
the OSU Seafood Laboratory in Astoria, and a <BR>principal investigator in the
CROOS project.<BR><BR>"By identifying the river system through genetics, and
being able to <BR>accurately label a fish as 'wild,' the potential exists for
fishermen to <BR>brand their product and increase the value to consumers,"
Morrissey said. <BR>"One such example is Copper River salmon, which often
command twice the <BR>market price of similar fish, because of the attributes
attached to it."<BR><BR>As part of the study, local salmon processors and buyers
are returning some <BR>of the heads from the specially marked fish to the OSU
Hatfield Marine <BR>Science Center, where scientists will conduct tests on their
otoliths. <BR>Otoliths are crystalline structures located in the inner ear and
act like <BR>growth rings in trees, recording not only age, but chemical
elements that <BR>provide clues to the environment in which the fish
lived.<BR><BR>Some of the fish stomachs will be retained by participating
fishermen and <BR>given to scientists to reveal clues about the salmon's diet,
including how <BR>the proportion of baitfish consumed might vary by season and
between areas. <BR>The fishermen involved in the project will contribute data on
oceanographic <BR>conditions where the fish were caught, including depth and
temperature. <BR>Some of the fishermen participating in the project say they are
fascinated <BR>by the science and hope it will help them locate fish more
effectively, as <BR>well as keep the season opened.<BR><BR>"Every year, it seems
like the challenges for commercial fishermen keep <BR>getting worse with
restricted limits followed by complete closures," Merz <BR>said. "A lot of
fishermen have packed it in. But this project gives me some <BR>hope. If it
works the way it seems like it can, and if management is <BR>adjusted
accordingly -- and that's a big if -- then it might be enough to <BR>keep me
going. If not, I'll be looking for a new line of work and get on <BR>with my
life."<BR><BR>More information on this project is available at </FONT><A
href=""><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3>www.projectCROOS.com</FONT></A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>