Washington Hunter
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Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 12:00 AM
Bush plan: Cut harvests to increase wild stocks of salmon
By Seattle Times staff and The Associated Press
PORTLAND — The Bush administration wants to reduce the numbers of threatened and endangered wild salmon caught by U.S. and Canadian fishermen and close some hatcheries that may be harming wild stocks.
"We cannot improperly hatch, and we cannot carelessly catch our way back to salmon recovery," said James Connaughton, chairman of the White Council on Environmental Quality, who announced the new policy Wednesday at a salmon conference.
In the Northwest, there is considerable support for redesigning — or closing — hatcheries that may weaken wild stocks. But plenty of opposition is likely to new catch restrictions that could affect sport, commercial and tribal fishermen.
The new policy comes at a time when the Bush administration is under court order to make the federal hydropower system less lethal to salmon. Connaughton said extensive work has been done to make dams safer for salmon and restore habitat.
Now, he said, it is time to focus on reducing harm to wild fish caused by salmon harvests and hatcheries.
"Our goal is to minimize, and where possible eliminate, the harvest of naturally spawning fish that provide the foundation for recovery," Connaughton said.
Connaughton said he did not want to predict how sharply sport, commercial and tribal fishing might be restricted from Alaska to the California border or what specific measures might be taken. Millions of salmon are caught annually by commercial and sport fishermen in the Columbia River and off the Pacific Coast. The vast majority are hatchery-spawned fish or from other runs that aren't federally protected.
Within U.S. waters, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries would take a lead role in carrying out the new harvest policy. The agency is responsible for determining each year how many threatened and endangered salmon can die as fishermen pursue more abundant runs of salmon. Those numbers are forwarded to state and tribal harvest managers, who then set overall catch limits.
Connaughton said he thought NOAA Fisheries now allows fishermen to catch too many salmon from protected runs. So federal biologists — in collaboration with state and tribal officials — will determine in coming months what further harvest restrictions are merited, according to Bob Lohn, NOAA regional fisheries administrator.
Federal officials are hopeful that the take of protected fish can be trimmed without reducing the harvest of healthier runs. This would be accomplished through the increased use of selective fishing gear, changes in harvest timing and other measures.
But there are no guarantees.
If state and tribal officials don't like the new restrictions, they could challenge them in federal court, said Jeff Koenings, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Internationally, the administration would work to reduce harvests of wild salmon as part of 2008 fishing negotiations with Canada.
The administration also is calling for an independent review of 180 Columbia Basin hatcheries to determine which facilities are harming wild salmon. Those that harm protected salmon runs would be shut down or revamped.
Scientists long have blamed hatcheries for producing salmon that dilute the gene pool, spread disease and compete for food and habitat, while being less fit to survive in the wild.
Connaughton, the top environmental adviser to President Bush, outlined the new policy at the Salmon 2100 Conference, where 350 scientists from government agencies, universities, Indian tribes and conservation groups gathered to consider new ways to prevent the extinction of wild salmon.
The Salmon 2100 report, produced by 33 scientists and policy analysts, concludes that too many people using too much energy and natural resources make it inevitable that wild Pacific salmon will be reduced to remnant runs without a major change in the way people live.
Salmon runs are 5 percent of historical levels, said Robert Lackey, a fisheries scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency and chairman of the conference. Wild runs disappeared from Europe, most of Asia and the Northeast as populations grew. Human population in the Northwest and British Columbia is likely to increase from 15 million to 65 million over the next century.
Connaughton's announcement came on the same day that fishing and environmental groups announced that they will sue the administration to challenge the amount of Puget Sound chinook that fishermen are allowed to catch. Several of those groups sued in November to contest a treaty that they said allowed too many West Coast salmon to be netted in Canadian waters.
The new policy found favor with some environmentalists.
Connaughton's speech represents an important policy shift, and could help address concerns that spurred those lawsuits, said Svend Brandt-Erichsen, a Seattle attorney representing the environmental groups in both cases.
"I see this as a significant step in acknowledging the importance of addressing harvest as part of the salmon-recovery effort," he said.
But Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, which represents California commercial fishermen, said fishing accounts for only 5 percent of human-caused salmon deaths in the Columbia Basin, while hydroelectric dams account for 80 percent.
"The fundamental issue is what gives the biggest bang for the buck in salmon restoration," Spain said. "What the administration is doing is pointing the finger at the victims of salmon declines — that is, the fishing-dependent communities whose economy is being devastated.
"Hatcheries were intended to replace habitat behind dams," Spain added. "If they close all the hatcheries, we want some dams down, too."
Jack Williams, chief scientist for Trout Unlimited and former fisheries chief for the Bureau of Land Management, said Connaughton's proposals were "clearly inadequate."
Just as NOAA Fisheries will be examining individual hatcheries, the agency should examine individual dams to determine if their economic benefits outweigh the harm they cause salmon, Williams said.
Seattle Times staff reporters Hal Bernton and Warren Cornwall contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Bush plan: Cut harvests to increase wild stocks of salmon
By Seattle Times staff and The Associated Press
PORTLAND — The Bush administration wants to reduce the numbers of threatened and endangered wild salmon caught by U.S. and Canadian fishermen and close some hatcheries that may be harming wild stocks.
"We cannot improperly hatch, and we cannot carelessly catch our way back to salmon recovery," said James Connaughton, chairman of the White Council on Environmental Quality, who announced the new policy Wednesday at a salmon conference.
In the Northwest, there is considerable support for redesigning — or closing — hatcheries that may weaken wild stocks. But plenty of opposition is likely to new catch restrictions that could affect sport, commercial and tribal fishermen.
The new policy comes at a time when the Bush administration is under court order to make the federal hydropower system less lethal to salmon. Connaughton said extensive work has been done to make dams safer for salmon and restore habitat.
Now, he said, it is time to focus on reducing harm to wild fish caused by salmon harvests and hatcheries.
"Our goal is to minimize, and where possible eliminate, the harvest of naturally spawning fish that provide the foundation for recovery," Connaughton said.
Connaughton said he did not want to predict how sharply sport, commercial and tribal fishing might be restricted from Alaska to the California border or what specific measures might be taken. Millions of salmon are caught annually by commercial and sport fishermen in the Columbia River and off the Pacific Coast. The vast majority are hatchery-spawned fish or from other runs that aren't federally protected.
Within U.S. waters, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries would take a lead role in carrying out the new harvest policy. The agency is responsible for determining each year how many threatened and endangered salmon can die as fishermen pursue more abundant runs of salmon. Those numbers are forwarded to state and tribal harvest managers, who then set overall catch limits.
Connaughton said he thought NOAA Fisheries now allows fishermen to catch too many salmon from protected runs. So federal biologists — in collaboration with state and tribal officials — will determine in coming months what further harvest restrictions are merited, according to Bob Lohn, NOAA regional fisheries administrator.
Federal officials are hopeful that the take of protected fish can be trimmed without reducing the harvest of healthier runs. This would be accomplished through the increased use of selective fishing gear, changes in harvest timing and other measures.
But there are no guarantees.
If state and tribal officials don't like the new restrictions, they could challenge them in federal court, said Jeff Koenings, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Internationally, the administration would work to reduce harvests of wild salmon as part of 2008 fishing negotiations with Canada.
The administration also is calling for an independent review of 180 Columbia Basin hatcheries to determine which facilities are harming wild salmon. Those that harm protected salmon runs would be shut down or revamped.
Scientists long have blamed hatcheries for producing salmon that dilute the gene pool, spread disease and compete for food and habitat, while being less fit to survive in the wild.
Connaughton, the top environmental adviser to President Bush, outlined the new policy at the Salmon 2100 Conference, where 350 scientists from government agencies, universities, Indian tribes and conservation groups gathered to consider new ways to prevent the extinction of wild salmon.
The Salmon 2100 report, produced by 33 scientists and policy analysts, concludes that too many people using too much energy and natural resources make it inevitable that wild Pacific salmon will be reduced to remnant runs without a major change in the way people live.
Salmon runs are 5 percent of historical levels, said Robert Lackey, a fisheries scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency and chairman of the conference. Wild runs disappeared from Europe, most of Asia and the Northeast as populations grew. Human population in the Northwest and British Columbia is likely to increase from 15 million to 65 million over the next century.
Connaughton's announcement came on the same day that fishing and environmental groups announced that they will sue the administration to challenge the amount of Puget Sound chinook that fishermen are allowed to catch. Several of those groups sued in November to contest a treaty that they said allowed too many West Coast salmon to be netted in Canadian waters.
The new policy found favor with some environmentalists.
Connaughton's speech represents an important policy shift, and could help address concerns that spurred those lawsuits, said Svend Brandt-Erichsen, a Seattle attorney representing the environmental groups in both cases.
"I see this as a significant step in acknowledging the importance of addressing harvest as part of the salmon-recovery effort," he said.
But Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, which represents California commercial fishermen, said fishing accounts for only 5 percent of human-caused salmon deaths in the Columbia Basin, while hydroelectric dams account for 80 percent.
"The fundamental issue is what gives the biggest bang for the buck in salmon restoration," Spain said. "What the administration is doing is pointing the finger at the victims of salmon declines — that is, the fishing-dependent communities whose economy is being devastated.
"Hatcheries were intended to replace habitat behind dams," Spain added. "If they close all the hatcheries, we want some dams down, too."
Jack Williams, chief scientist for Trout Unlimited and former fisheries chief for the Bureau of Land Management, said Connaughton's proposals were "clearly inadequate."
Just as NOAA Fisheries will be examining individual hatcheries, the agency should examine individual dams to determine if their economic benefits outweigh the harm they cause salmon, Williams said.
Seattle Times staff reporters Hal Bernton and Warren Cornwall contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
