Washington Looking At Changes To Hatchery Reform Policies; First Report Details Risks, Benefits
February 13th, 2020
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff reviewed the findings of a recent report on hatchery reform at the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting Thursday, Feb. 6.
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WDFW Issues Justification For Steelhead Farming Permit In Puget Sound, Comments Expressed Concerns
February 6th, 2020
When the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife approved in late January a new permit allowing Cooke Aquaculture to begin growing rainbow trout/steelhead in its Puget Sound net pens, there were a number of groups and tribes that had already lined up in opposition to the permit. And one group may seek legal action to stop it.
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Hatchery Plan Proposes Producing One Million Additional Upper Columbia Summer Chinook Subyearlings To Aid Orca Recovery
January 9th, 2020
NOAA Fisheries has released for comment a Hatchery and Genetics Management Plan for the Wells Hatchery in the Upper Columbia River that would guide the additional production of up to one million subyearling summer chinook salmon to aid in orca recovery.
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Steelhead Hatchery Broodstock Concerns Prompts Continued Angling Closures; 2019 Return Far Below 10-Year Average
January 3rd, 2020
Oregon and Washington fisheries agencies are continuing their closure of a 17-mile stretch of the mainstem Columbia River upstream of McNary Dam to the state line to steelhead angling and retention through March 31, 2020 due to fears that some hatcheries may not make their steelhead brood stock collection goals. The run of summer steelhead in 2019 is the fifth lowest run size since 1954, when McNary Dam was built near the Oregon town of Umatilla.
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Ceremony Set For Construction Of New Walla Walla Fish Hatchery; Goal Is First Smolt Release 2023
January 2nd, 2020
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 10 for the South Fork Walla Walla River Fish Hatchery about 10 miles east of Milton-Freewater, Oregon.
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Atlantic Salmon Net Pen Collapse: Cooke Aquaculture Agrees To Pay Wild Fish Conservancy $2.75 Million In Settlement
December 4th, 2019
An aquaculture company in Puget Sound has agreed in a settlement with the Wild Fish Conservancy to pay a $2.75 million penalty for a collapse of one of its net pens near Cypress Island in 2016. More than 260,000 non-native Atlantic salmon escaped due to the collapse.
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Tough Year For Idaho Steelhead But IDFG Says Will Likely Meet Broodstock Goals; To Date Lower Granite Passage Far Below Normal
November 21st, 2019
Idaho Department of Fish and Game says it is “well on its way to meeting broodstock goals” for steelhead at Snake, Salmon and Clearwater River hatcheries.
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Study Looking At 65 Years Of Puget Sound Hatchery Practices Questions Trend Toward Releasing Larger Juvenile Fish
November 21st, 2019
A recent study examining salmon hatchery operations practices in the Salish Sea (Puget Sound) in Washington State for the past 65 years finds that current practices are releasing juvenile salmon at a larger size than in the past – a size preferred by predators – and with decreasing diversity. It calls for a consideration of modifying hatchery programs to allow for more diversity by reducing this size homogenization.
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Council Hears Review Of Report On Salmon Reintroduction Above Grand Coulee: ‘Grand Experiment, No Guarantees’
November 15th, 2019
Two of the scientists who reviewed the phase 1 report that assesses the feasibility of reintroducing salmon and steelhead upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council Wednesday that a cost analysis should be incorporated early in the process and in a stepwise fashion if the effort is to move forward.