Fish & wildlife Field Guide

Redfish Lake Captive Broodstock Program

The Redfish Lake Captive Broodstock Program is working to restore Snake River sockeye salmon in the central mountains of Idaho in the Sawtooth National Recreation area.

Precipitous declines of Snake River sockeye salmon led to their federal listing as endangered in 1991. In that same year, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game began the captive brood program to preserve the existing population and prevent their extinction. The fish are unique because they are the only population of sockeye salmon in the Snake River drainage. They are distinguished in their toughness as well: They travel farther than any other North American sockeye population?900 miles?to reach the ocean; they travel to the highest elevation; and they are the most southerly population of sockeye in North America.

Redfish Lake (photo by Lance Hebdon). Click to enlarge.

The program produces eggs, juveniles, and adults for re-introduction to Stanley Basin waters, and uses adaptive management techniques in its operation to continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Emphasis is placed on developing genetically diverse broodstocks each year using the region's best practices. Juvenile monitoring using PIT tag technology, adult return monitoring, and adult sonic telemetry studies provides critical information to evaluate the program's re-introduction strategies. The program's methods and results are also reviewed by a team of technical experts to determine the effectiveness of the work and to guide the program's direction. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and the University of Idaho play a major role in this process, as well as in the on-the-ground work.

To date, the program has returned over 300 anadromous sockeye salmon to Idaho. In 1999, the first hatchery-produced sockeye salmon returned to the Stanley Basin. That year, seven adults returned to spawn. In 2000, the program experienced its first significant return of hatchery-produced adults. Two hundred fifty-seven sockeye salmon returned to collection facilities on Redfish Lake Creek and the upper Salmon River at the IDFG Sawtooth Fish Hatchery, and the majority of those adult returns were released to the system for natural spawning. In 2001, 26 hatchery-produced adults returned to collection facilities in Idaho, and in 2002, 21 hatchery-produced adults returned to the Stanley Basin.

The ultimate goal of the program is to re-establish sockeye salmon runs to Stanley Basin waters that will support both sport and treaty harvest opportunities. In the near-term, the program is focused on preventing further decreases to sockeye salmon populations, maintaining genetic diversity, and increasing species abundance.

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