CalTrout and UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences have released a report that assesses two-way trap and haul programs as a conservation strategy for anadromous salmon. Wild salmon, historically, are born in rivers, swim to sea to live out their adulthoods, and find their way back to their freshwater spawning grounds to reproduce before dying. Dams and other barriers to spawning grounds have disconnected that natural cycle, requiring fisheries managers to get creative to support salmon populations. Two-way trap and haul involves capturing adult fish below large dams and transporting them to a release site above the dam to spawn. The resulting juvenile fish are then captured, transported and released below the dam, where they will continue to grow or migrate downstream to the ocean.
The authors, Dr. Rob Lusardi and Dr. Peter Moyle, found that such programs should proceed with extreme caution as there are many associated risks, including effective capture of juveniles, the delayed stress of transportation on salmon, and the long-term sustainability of above-dam populations. But when few other options remain to save dwindling populations, two-way trap and haul remains a viable option.
“Very few Sacramento River winter-run chinook returned this year,” said lead author Rob Lusardi, a research ecologist with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and California Trout. “It was dire. With one more year of drought, they could have blinked out. If two-way trap and haul can successfully reconnect these fish to historical spawning habitat, it would be fantastic. But we need to proceed with caution. The data suggest it’s very difficult to get such programs to work effectively to achieve a sustainable population.”
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To cite this report: Robert A. Lusardi & Peter B. Moyle (2017) Two-Way Trap and Haul as a Conservation Strategy for Anadromous Salmonids, Fisheries, 42:9, 478-487, DOI: 10.1080/03632415.2017.1356124.
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Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.