Hatchery-raised fish would be counted with wild stocks
By: William Mccall - The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. - Salmon conservation policy could be headed for a major change under a draft proposal by the Bush administration that would add hatchery-bred salmon to any decision about protecting wild fish runs under the Endangered Species Act.

The draft was immediately criticized by conservation groups.

"This policy circumvents the most basic tenets of the Endangered Species Act and effectively lets the federal government off the hook for any responsibility to recover salmon and healthy rivers and streams up and down the West Coast," said Kaitlin Lovell of Trout Unlimited.

But Bob Lohn, regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency that oversees salmon conservation, said the policy change was required by a recent federal appeals court ruling that forces the agency to count all fish that are genetically related.

"It's certain that a number of hatchery fish are genetically related, even identical to wild fish," Lohn said.

He said conservation groups overreacted to the draft.

"They assume it will be applied in some extreme manner, and even allow all fish to be hatchery fish and avoid habitat improvement," Lohn said. "But nothing could be farther from the truth."

The draft states that the genetic relationship between hatchery fish and wild fish must be considered when deciding whether to protect wild salmon runs. Lohn said the language may change, and a final policy may be ready by June.

The recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that led to the draft policy change resulted from a challenge to the Endangered Species Act led by the Pacific Legal Foundation, an industry-backed group.

"It's not a political decision by the Bush administration. It's simply the administration recognizing it has no choice but to comply with the law," said Russ Brooks, managing attorney for the foundation's Northwest center and lead lawyer in the case.

U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan ruled in 2001 that any genetically related fish must be considered under the Endangered Species Act, whether they spawn in the wild or are raised in the concrete tanks of a hatchery.

But conservation groups say that reasoning extends the act too far.

"In fact, the Endangered Species Act says we're here to protect species in natural habitat, and the last time I looked, concrete didn't qualify as a natural habitat," Lovell said.

The draft policy will allow the number of hatchery fish to be considered when counting wild fish to determine whether to maintain protection for wild stocks, environmentalists say. Instead of working to improve habitat for listed species of salmon, they say, the policy could allow fishery managers to rely on hatcheries for long-term recovery.

"A lot of conservation policy has dealt with hatchery fish but this draft policy is different," said Patti Goldman of Earthjustice. "This is first time they have said they'll count hatchery fish when deciding whether to list."

Indian tribes welcomed the policy change, so long as it is used properly as a tool to improve hatchery stock and management.

"This shift causes us to be cautiously optimistic that we may be able to get some thoughtful use of hatchery fish for restoration," said Charles Hudson of the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission.

"In no way do we see this as a fast track way out of the Endangered Species Act listing," Hudson said.

The act requires the fundamental causes of the salmon decline be addressed and mitigated, and fishery managers recognize that simply flooding the rivers with hatchery fish is not a solution, he said.

I wonder how much money a fishing license will cost after all wild runs are eliminated and we are solely dependent on hatchery fish...