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<br />Improve sinolt <br />~arging <br /> <br />'- <br /> <br />\ < <br /> <br />1916-1920 . , <br />Columbia River salmon canneries reach their <br />peak production: 550,000 cases per year, . <br />48 pounds per case. <br /> <br />-. We recognize that' <br />despite extensivere- <br />search oIl; barging of <br />salmon, much. disagree-. <br />ment remains about its <br />benefits. Nonetheless, in <br />tbe immediate years <br />ahead, barging IS one of <br />the few tools the regioI:l <br />has to improve sa4non . <br />survival, particulatly in <br />low-water conditions. <br />Barge transpOi"tation of <br />sahnon should be im- <br />proved immediately to <br />boost sahnon survival"in <br />the near term. <br />~ In our sahnon <br />strategy, ~e call on the Corps.of Engineers _ <br />to expedite improvements in transportation. <br />Cooler water and less ,crowded conditions in <br />the barges, fqrexample, may help re~uce <br />stress and improve survival. When 'the fish <br />are released from barges below Bonneville <br />Dam, surVival may increase if the fish are <br />dispersed morewidely alorigthe riv~r. This <br />-< could help them av<?id predators ~hd adapt <br />to river conditions. <br /> <br />B <br /> <br />arge '.' <br />tra:psporta. tion <br />of safmon <br />. should be <br />improy~d : <br />immediately <br />to boost <br />salmon' <br />survival. , <br /> <br />/ <br /> <br />... <br /> <br /> <br />Some sa1n:lon get a <br />ride past the dams. <br />They are collected <br />af McNary, Littl~ <br />Goose and Lower <br />Grariite dams, then <br />transported in speciai <br />barg~s past the down- <br />river dams. They are. <br />r~leased below Bomi.e- <br />. . <br />ville Dam to continue <br />therrjoutneytothe <br />ocean. <br />The current barge <br />. I <br />. transportation system . <br />began in 1981. Atthe . . <br />time it was coitsidered an interim measure <br />, . <br /> <br />to m0ve ,smolts past the dam~ until diver- <br />sion screens were in pl<lce. <br />Over the years, the Corps of Engi- <br />.... . . . neers, regional fishery managers <br />. have analy.zed the benefits of trans- <br />portation. The conclusion: pene#tsyary <br />wid~ly among sahnon species, Steelhead <br />and fall chinook appear to benefit the most. <br />,Benefits for spring and summer chinook and <br />sockeye are less clear. Generally, scientists <br />maintain that transporting sahnon around <br />the dams can increase survival under some <br />! conditions. <br /> <br />23 <br />