Ocean Warming, Hatchery Fish Crowding In North Pacific Reducing British Columbia Sockeye Survival
May 29th, 2020
The northeast Pacific Ocean from the Fraser River to the Aleutian Islands is warming, but it is also becoming more crowded with hatchery pink and chum salmon produced in Alaska and Russia. The competition for food in a warming ocean has resulted in a drop of about 15 percent for sockeye salmon returning to the Fraser River and other streams in British Columbia, but only about a 5 percent drop in the northern range, according to a study released this week.
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ODFW Proposes Expanded Fishing By Boat On Sandy River To Help Reduce Hatchery Salmon/Steelhead That Might Interact With Wild Fish
May 14th, 2020
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to allow more fishing from a boat or other floating device on the Sandy River starting in 2021 in order to reduce interactions between hatchery and wild fish.
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Cooke Aquaculture Seeks To Modify Water Quality Permits To Allow Steelhead Farming In Puget Sound
April 16th, 2020
Cooke Aquaculture has submitted applications to the Washington Department of Ecology requesting to modify its existing water quality permits for four Puget Sound net pens. The company wants to raise all-female, sterile rainbow trout – steelhead -- instead of non-native Atlantic salmon.
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NOAA Fisheries Evaluating Hatchery Programs Aimed At Supplementing Natural Salmon Populations In Central Idaho
April 2nd, 2020
NOAA Fisheries is accepting comments on two proposed Endangered Species Act determinations for salmon hatchery operations in Yankee Fork and Panther Creek, upper Salmon River tributaries in central Idaho.
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Draft Report Pegs BPA’s 2019 Fish/Wildlife Costs At $788 Million, $17 Billion Since 1981; 25 Percent Of Wholesale Power Rate
March 19th, 2020
Direct expenses in fiscal year 2019 by the Bonneville Power Administration for costs it incurred by funding the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program amounted to $240.4 million, some $19 million lower than its direct expenses in FY 2018, according to a draft report released this week for public review by the Council.
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Corps Seeks Comments On Assessment For Increasing Fall Chinook Production To Mitigate John Day, Dalles Dam Impacts
March 19th, 2020
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, is seeking public comment on the draft Finding of No Significant Impact for The Dalles and John Day Mitigation Program Limited Reevaluation Report and Environmental Assessment. The program produces and releases hatchery fall chinook as mitigation for impacts to fisheries.
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Science Panel Reviews Yakama Nation Master Plan To Use Hatcheries To Boost Tribal Fisheries
February 27th, 2020
A panel of scientists completed this month its fourth review since 2012 of a master plan for Yakima River fisheries submitted by the Yakama Nation. The master plan describes a far-reaching plan to use hatcheries to boost tribal fisheries in the Columbia River.
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Science Panel Wants More Answers On Hood River Hatchery Program Seeking Increased Smolt Releases, Steelhead Supplementation
February 20th, 2020
Operators of the Hood River hatchery program want to increase the number of yearling spring chinook smolts by 40 percent, from 150,000 smolts released every year to 250,000 smolts, but a panel of scientists says it has more questions before the program should proceed.
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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.