Preface
This report is published annually by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Fish Program/Science Division. It is generated directly from the WDFW Adult Report Database. This database contains daily records of adult fish handling activities as reported by hatchery facilities on the Adult Record Form. It describes the total escapement or return of species of salmon and trout to WDFW facilities and cooperative projects within Washington State. It also enumerates the total number of fish returning to hatchery racks or traps in the rivers and streams of Washington State for the spawning activity cycle beginning in approximately March 2002 and ending in approximately March 2003.
Bull trout are a listed species. This report is not a comprehensive record of bull trout found in Washington State by WDFW staff.
We define escapement as the return of spawning fish to hatchery racks or traps. The data for this report are developed by WDFW hatchery staff that enumerate runs of fish returning to their respective streams; these numbers are recorded on adult records, which are sent to Olympia for compilation and analysis. These records provide information on run timing; information on the results of selective fisheries, and critical data for coded-wire tag (CWT) analysis.
CWTs are a management tool used to determine the status of runs and the effect of various management strategies and research projects. This report represents the collective work of many people, and as such, captures the definitive data for that spawning cycle. Thus, it provides a summary of salmonids returning to WDFW facilities throughout the state of Washington and the eggs that were spawned in association with those returning fish.
The 2002-2003 return year produced 982,591 anadromous and 146,186 resident adult fish returning to hatchery racks and traps for a total adult escapement of 1,128,777. These returning adults produced an anadromous eggtake of 222,057,539 and a resident eggtake of 17,917,286 for a total eggtake of 239,974,825.
This annual hatchery escapement report is organized and divided into three geographical regions: Puget Sound (including the Straits of Juan de Fuca); Coast; and Columbia River. It is further divided by species and race. For example: chinook salmon are described in the three geographic regions as well as by their spring, summer, and fall races.