h2o

Thanks for stating your beliefs in a concise manner.

Hatcheries are a mitigation or remedy for wrongs done to our fisheries by numerous perpetrators. This may be a bandaid for sure but a mitigation nontheless.

The tribes are enjoying a pretty liberal interpretation of the treaties of 1855 in this state and other treaties across the country. No question the white eyes screwed them over pretty bad. The treaties are federal and cannot be modified here locally. We ruined the wild runs that they were given "in kind" access to 150 years ago so today we mitigate those old promises with hatcheries and many other rights for the tribes. Casinoes are part of the sovereign nation exemption and there really isn't much we can do about it without federal decisions to abbrogate the treaties. That doesn't seem likely in this political climate.

Even Alaska's vast and pristine lands are not producing the salmon of the glory days. I am really not sure if hatcheries are a viable solution but I think we need to consider the effects to all our citizens and not just the fishermen. That unfortunately includes the villains who helped cause the decline of our salmon. The farmers, the loggers, the developers, commercial nets, dams etc...

The US immigration policies have allowed a flood of people into this country further compounding an already overpopulated urban area here in Puget Sound.

So, in conclusion, to single out hatcheries as the villain is wrong. I think we can find a solution but not overnight or even in our life times..Even if we closed all the hatcheries and stopped fishing tomorrow we would not succeed. Stop all logging , breach all the dams and halt development statewide and still the wild fish runs would not be as robust as in 1855. I would say, however, that one good way to prevent the fish from disappearing would be to stop killing them. Until we figure it out we mitigate the damage.