The Osprey: To Save Wild Steelhead, Get Rid of Hatcheries
Of the four “Hs” —Harvest, Habitat, Hydro and Hatcheries — the latter has been the most intractable to deal with when it comes to restoring and protecting runs of wild Pacific salmon and steelhead.
Although not perfect, regulation has been fairly effective in dealing with overharvest, while watershed councils, government agencies and others have been actively improving fish spawning and rearing habitat on many streams and rivers specifically to benefit salmon, steelhead and other anadromous fish species. With the rather large exception of the Columbia and Snake River system, hydro has been a bright spot in wild fish restoration and recovery.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
• GET RID OF HATCHERIES
• SCIENCE SAYS NO HATCHERIES
• STEELHEAD AND THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT
• PUGET SOUND VICTORY
• WDFW WILD STEELHEAD PLAN
• NICKEL MINING
As larger dams have come up for relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, wild fish conservationists have successfully required that fish passage be included as conditions for new operating licenses, and in other cases dams have been removed, such as the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in Washington, while others are on the docket for eventual removal, most notably four dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California. Many small and mid-size dams have been removed in recent years that have opened miles of formerly blocked fish habitat.
But hatcheries still stand in the way of wild fish recovery, despite overwhelming evidence that hatchery fish harm wild fish and often supply diminishing returns to anglers as well.
One recent example of how strongly fish managers are attached to the hatchery system can be found in recent research showing that wild fish are better biters than hatchery fish (long known by Deschutes steelheaders, who catch more wild fish, even though they are outnumbered by hatchery fish). Instead of recognizing the better value of wild fish to anglers and striving to increase their numbers, scientists at Oregon’s Hatchery Research Center want to develop a hatchery fish that bites like a wild one.
In this issue of The Osprey, you will find a strong selection of articles about hatcheries and hatchery fish that offer critiques, solutions, and even some rare good news.