Idaho Department of Fish & Game
and
Idaho Power's
Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery
Pahsimeroi Hatchery 2008 Steelhead Run: We began Steelhead trapping: Tuesday, February 26th. Trapping Ended: May 21st Total Trapped this season: 7,907
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STEELHEAD CARCASS DISTRIBUTION
Throughout the spawning season, Steelhead carcasses are distributed to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, charitable organizations, and the general public. We will be spawning every Monday and Thursday starting the last week of March. Our first scheduled spawn day will be Monday, March 24th . STEELHEAD CARCASS DISTRIBUTION ENDS APRIL 28th!
Every Monday and Thursday, 50% of the fish spawned each day will be available to the public. Carcasses are distributed on a first come first served basis. At 9am, one number will be issued per vehicle. At 1:00pm, after spawning has been completed, fish will be given out beginning with the vehicle that holds the number one. If, by the time all the fish have been handed out and some numbers have not been returned, we will hand any extra fish out beginning again with the vehicle that holds the first number.
Weekly Steelhead Creel Census Summary for the Salmon Region 2008:
Data for Weekend of CLOSED FOR SEASON
Updated Mondays throughout the Steelhead Run.
| Salmon River | No. Anglers | Hours Fished | No. Fish Kept | No. Fish Released | Total Caught | Hrs./Fish Caught | Hrs. Fish/Kept | Water Conditions |
| Section 14 | ||||||||
| Section 15 | ||||||||
| Section 16 | ||||||||
| Section 17 | ||||||||
| Section 18 | ||||||||
| Section 19 | ||||||||
Section 14 - South Fork Salmon River to Middle Fork Salmon River
Section 15 - Middle Fork Salmon River to North Fork Salmon River
Section 16 - North Fork Salmon River to Lemhi River
Section 17 - Lemhi River to Pahsimeroi River
Section 18 - Pahsimeroi River to East Fork Salmon River
Section 19 - East Fork Salmon River to Sawtooth Hatchery
Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery, located near the town of Ellis, Idaho, is one mile upstream of the confluence of the Pahsimeroi and Salmon Rivers. Two rearing ponds are located at a separate location seven miles further upstream on the Pahsimeroi River.
The hatchery was constructed in 1967 by Idaho Power Company (IPC) and is owned and funded by IPC. Hatchery operations and management is the responsibility of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). The summer chinook and summer steelhead programs are IPC’s mitigation obligation under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for anadromous fish losses caused by the construction and operation of the Hells Canyon Complex (Brownlee, Oxbow, and Hell’s Canyon dams) on the Snake River. Due to the 1992 listing of Snake River summer chinook salmon (Onchorhynchus tshawytscha) as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), the Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery has shifted from a fishery mitigation program to a supplementation–conservation program. The number of adult chinook salmon released into the Pahsimeroi River for natural spawning, as well as the number of those kept at the hatchery for artificial propagation, depends on marked and unmarked fish returns and their listing status. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) permits #922 and #903 authorize the direct and incidental take of listed, naturally produced and artificially propagated summer chinook salmon and steelhead.
OBJECTIVES
The hatchery’s mitigation goals are set for summer chinook salmon and for summer A-run steelhead. The following objectives are designed to help accomplish the goals:
1. Rear 1.0 million summer chinook smolts for release into the Pahsimeroi River.
2. Trap and spawn adult summer chinook returning to the Pahsimeroi Hatchery to produce 1.5 million green summer chinook eggs.
3. Trap adult steelhead and produce 2.0 million steelhead eggs, incubate to the eyed stage, and transport eyed eggs to Niagara Springs Hatchery for rearing to smolt size.
4. Work with management, research, and IPC to identify the most effective operating procedures and rearing strategies and develop the facility to enhance survival, fish health, and genetic diversity.
ADULT
TRAPPING
Adult steelhead arrive at the Pahsimeroi Hatchery each
year from March 1 through May 10. Upon arrival to the hatchery the
fish are examined for fin clips, scanned for coded wire tags, checked for
special tags (jaw tags, radio tags, floy tags), measured to the nearest
centimeter (cm) for fork length and identified and sorted by sex. Hatchery fish
are identified by the absence of an adipose fin. 
All
natural fish are scanned for PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags and
released back into the Pahsimeroi River to spawn naturally.
Adult salmon arrive
at the Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery each year from July 1 through October 1. Upon
arrival to the hatchery the fish are examined for the same fin clips, tags and
measured to the nearest centimeter (cm) as the steelhead, but are also given an
injection of antibiotic to prevent Bacterial Kidney Disease (BKD). Once injected
with this antibiotic the USDA prohibits distribution of these fish for human
consumption. All hatchery salmon are identified by the absence of the adipose
and or ventral fins.
SPAWNING AND EGG DISTRIBUTION
Each year steelhead
spawning usually commences around the last Monday of March and concludes around May 10. Twice a week,
Mondays and Thursdays, the females are sorted for ripeness and spawned. Eggs
are shipped green via truck to Sawtooth Fish Hatchery
and flown to Oxbow Fish Hatchery to be incubated on 40° F well water to delay hatch
time. Delaying hatch time helps Niagara Springs Hatchery achieve proper smolt
size. Once the eggs reach the eyed stage, the eggs are shipped to Niagara Springs Fish Hatchery
for rearing. The fish are reared to smolt size approximately 9 inches. The
smolts are trucked to the Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery by IPC during April of the
following year and released into the Pahsimeroi River. The smolts then begin
their 844 mile journey to the Pacific Ocean.
The adult salmon begin to spawn around September 1 and conclude during the first week of October. Like the steelhead program, the female salmon are checked twice a week for ripeness and spawned. The eggs are incubated on spring water at the Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery to the eyed stage. Once the eggs reach the eyed stage they are then sent to Sawtooth Fish Hatchery for final incubation and early rearing on well water, a source known to be free of the causative agent of whirling disease. Idaho Power is currently investigating the possibility of a new specific pathogen free (SPF) water source for early rearing at the Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery. During September of the following year the salmon are then trucked back to the Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery’s rearing ponds at a size of approximately 4.75 inches. The salmon are reared at Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery until the following April and then released into the Pahsimeroi River. From here they begin their migration to the Pacific Ocean.
For more information about the Idaho Department of Fish and Game contact Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
600 South Walnut St.
P. O. Box 25
Boise, ID 83707
For more information about Idaho Power Company and their fish and wildlife programs contact Idaho Power Company in Boise.
Idaho Power
Company
P.O. Box 70
Boise, ID 83707
