Chum Salmon – Lower Columbia SMU – State Wildlife Action Plan

Overview

Species Common Name Chum Salmon
Species Scientific Name Oncorhynchus keta
SMU/ESU/DPS/Subspecies Lower Columbia SMU (Columbia River ESU)
Federal Listing Status Threatened
State Listing Status Sensitive
SMU/ESU/DPS/Subspecies Lower Columbia SMU (Columbia River ESU)

Ecoregions

Columbia Plateau

The Columbia Plateau ecoregion was shaped by cataclysmic floods and large deposits of wind-borne silt and sand earlier in its geological history. It is dominated by a rolling landscape of arid lowlands dissected by several important rivers, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Cascades Mountains, south and east from the Columbia River to the Blue Mountains.

East Cascades

The East Cascade ecoregion extends from the Cascade Mountains' summit east to the warmer, drier high desert and down the length of the state. This ecoregion varies dramatically from its cool, moist border with the West Cascades ecoregion to its dry eastern border, where it meets sagebrush desert landscapes.

West Cascades

The West Cascades ecoregion extends from east of the Cascade Mountains summit to the foothills of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Valleys, and spans the entire length of the state of Oregon. It is largely dominated by conifer forests, moving into alpine parklands and dwarf shrubs at higher elevations.

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley ecoregion is bounded on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Cascade Range. This long mostly level alluvial plain has some scattered areas of low basalt, and contrasts with productive farmland and large urban areas. It has the fastest-growing human population in the state resulting in challenges due to land-use changes.

Nearshore

The Nearshore ecoregion includes a variety of habitats ranging from submerged high-relief rocky reefs to broad expanses of intertidal mudflats in estuaries and hosts a vast array of fish, invertebrates, marine mammals, birds, plants, and micro-organisms. This ecoregion encompasses the area from the outer boundary of Oregon's Territorial Sea to the supra-tidal zone, and up into the estuaries.

Special needs

Require stream gravel bars with cold, upwelling seeps or springs and side channels near tidewaters for spawning. Fry migrate to ocean soon after emergence and use edge habitat for cover. Productive nearshore marine habitat that provides high-quality prey in sufficient quantity for rapid growth at time of ocean entry.

Limiting factors

Alterations of hydrology and watershed function. Fish passage, especially barriers low in the watershed. Marine survival. Loss of estuarine habitat. Fry very susceptible to mortality from Ceratonova shasta, which is more prevalent in higher water temperatures.

Data gaps

Population dynamics information limited due to difficulty in analyzing marks of hatchery-raised individuals (i.e., otolith thermal marks require sacrificing and genetic analysis is expensive). Distribution and abundance in Cascade Stratum, Gorge Stratum, and Oregon marine waters. Fisheries-dependent data to determine bycatch and mortality in LCR fisheries. Carrying capacity of occupied streams. Competition with other salmonids. Predation at all life stages. Unknown what types of habitat restoration projects specifically benefit Chum. Defined population recovery numbers.

Conservation actions

Strategy 1: Maintain a self-sufficient chum salmon conservation hatchery program at BCH that can support substantial out planting in two Coastal stratum recovery populations.
Strategy 2: Coordinate chum salmon out planting with effectiveness monitoring to facilitate evaluation and adaptive management.
Strategy 3: Prioritize monitoring of adult chum salmon to evaluate out planting efficacy, document natural recolonization, and investigate distribution.
Strategy 4: Collect information and develop plans for expansion or transition of recovery actions to the Cascade and Gorge strata. Continue ongoing restoration and recovery efforts involving landowners, tribes, and agency partners (NOAA, NMFS, ODFW, OWEB, WDFW, OSU). Manage for sustainable harvest.

Key reference or plan

Recovery Plan for Lower Columbia River Coho Salmon, Lower Columbia River Chinook Salmon, Columbia River Chum Salmon, and Lower Columbia River Steelhead. Read here