Conuma River Salmon Enhancement Facility - Background Information

HISTORY:

The Conuma Enhancement Facility was built in 1978 with the goal of major enhancement of wild chum salmon stocks in the area and minor enhancement of wild coho, chinook and steelhead stocks in the Conuma River to offset any incidental catch in the commercial fisheries.

The wild adult salmon returns to Conuma River in the years just before the facility was built were approximately 13,000 chum, 850 chinook, and 1300 coho. The facility had limited impact upon these stocks until 1987, when "seapen rearing", before release as juveniles, was used for Conuma chinook and chum. The resulting chinook survivals to adult have since quadrupled.

In 1990, enhanced chinook smolt releases from our seapens had risen to over 1,000,000. The resulting returning Chinook adults in 1993, 94 and 95 led to a rapid increase in sport fishing in the area, thus making the Nootka Sound area a major sport fishing destination.

Present Targets and Escapement

The present egg targets for the Conuma Enhancement Facility are 2,950,000 chinook, 5,400,000 chum, and 150,000 coho, which include approximately 2,450,000 chinook and 1,500,000 chum to be seapen reared. All of this facilities enhanced fish are released as juveniles to rear and mature naturally in the ocean environment.

Historically (before Conuma River Enhancement Facility), about 1000 to 3000 chinook returned to spawn in the Conuma River. Now, adult returns to the Conuma River can be in the range of 10,000 to 60,000 chum, and 8,000 to 25,000 chinook, not including those caught in the sports and commercial fisheries.

For further information on Pacific Salmon lifecycles and definitions, log on to: LIFECYCLE OF A SALMON

Releases

Annual fish releases are available through either the Mapster project, or through a query to the release database