Agencies hatch plans to protect wild salmon runs

By ROBERT McCLURE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Proclaiming a "new era" in rebuilding Puget Sound's wild salmon runs, state, federal and tribal officials Friday unveiled more than 1,000 recommendations for reforming Washington's salmon hatchery system -- the world's largest.

A panel of top fish scientists concluded it's possible to revamp how some hatcheries are run and close others so people can keep raising and eating hatchery-bred salmon without seeing them overwhelm protected wild runs.

The blueprint, the result of four years and $28 million worth of work, sets the stage to "rethink and redesign one of the most complicated, controversial and litigated elements of salmon recovery," said Barbara Cairns, executive director of Long Live the Kings, the non-profit group tapped by Congress to shepherd the plan.

"It is crucial," said U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., speaking at a news conference in Seattle. "What we're trying to do is restore the wild runs, and yet at the same time have hatchery fish to satisfy our recreational fishermen and our tribal fishermen."

Hatchery-bred fish form the backbone of the state's $850-million-a-year sportfishing industry, the nation's eighth largest. Much of that money flows to rural communities that are heavily dependent on tourism dollars generated by hatchery-bred fish.

But hatcheries traditionally have interfered with wild runs. Many scientists now blame the more numerous hatchery fish for edging out wild fish by eating their food and taking up prime habitat in streams, among other things.

But fish raised in hatcheries usually prove less fit in the wild than their natural-born counterparts. And hatcheries reduce the genetic variability of salmon, causing scientists to wonder if they are as prepared to survive over many generations.

The reform plan unveiled yesterday seeks to end that cycle. It would force all hatcheries to make a choice -- either you're in this world to crank out fish for people to eat, or you're here to help the wild fish.

Those focused on producing pink protein would keep those fish as separate as possible from wild runs and prevent them from interbreeding.



The hatcheries that set out to help wild fish are expected to take steps such as reinvigorating hatchery stocks with new genetic material from the wild.

Rather than churning out as many young fish as possible, they would carefully limit numbers of hatchery fish released so they don't overrun wild stocks protected under the Endangered Species Act.

"This looks at hatcheries as part of a larger natural system," said Lars Mobrand, a biomathematician who was chairman of the science panel.

The scientists, known as the Hatchery Science Review Group, said some hatcheries that are especially detrimental to wild runs must close. That's already happened to 20 out of the approximately 200 hatchery programs in Puget Sound and coastal Washington covered by the plan.

Indian tribes and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which run most hatcheries, already have agreed with about nine-tenths of the recommendations.

They and the science panel are still discussing the "tough nuts," Cairns said.

But state and tribal officials proclaimed themselves committed to reform.

"The recovery of wild salmon requires that we use every strategy available to us," said Gov. Gary Locke.

"We know that hatcheries have a vital role to play in recovering wild salmon, as well as maintaining a sustainable fishery."

The Democratic politicians gathered for the announcement acknowledged important help from Congressional Republicans, including former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton and outgoing U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn.

"It's not common to find this kind of bipartisan support on a controversial issue," said Jim Waldo, an adviser to Locke and others in the process.

The 61-page blueprint, accompanied by hundreds of pages of appendices, only starts the process.

"This book," said Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, patting the report, "we're not going to allow dust to settle on it."

The process is not without controversy. Some scientists and advocates for wild fish question whether hatcheries ever can be altered sufficiently.

"It's way too early now to jump on board and say we can use hatcheries to recover wild fish," said Bill Bakke of the Native Fish Society.

But, said Jim Lichatowich, a scientist whose groundbreaking work helped launch the drive for hatchery reform, "If we start holding hatcheries accountable and start operating them in a different way, we can at least resolve this question about whether hatchery and natural production within one watershed can co-exist."

Jeff Koenings, the state's director of fish and wildlife, said he's confident they can.

"We still have a big job ahead of us, but we now have a road map, and that map is set by science."

Not so fast though....


There is only tentative reason to celebrate these hatchery reforms. The big question is will all of this effort go down the drain if the "hatchery = wild" Hogan ruling is extrapolated to all other ESU's currently listed?

The Oregon based web site (IFISH.NET) seems to have a large "save our hatcheies" effort going on but we do not seem to have that kind of sentiment up here. Should we have that kind of sentiment up here??

I picked up my copies at last nights WSC meting. I waded through a little of it this morning.

nobody is celebrating this yet. I'm sure there will be plenty of anti sentiment coming along...The main reason I posted this info is to inform the folks so they can hopefully read and make a sensible decision for themselves. Plenty of spin and interpretation will be available here on good old PP. I have to read it all myself.