Judge Rejects Challenges On Ruling Halting Southeast Alaska Salmon Troll Fishing; Parties’ Appeals Now Move To Ninth Circuit
June 8th, 2023
All parties, both plaintiffs and defendants, along with the State of Alaska, have unsuccessfully challenged the results of a recent lower federal court decision that vacated a part of NOAA Fisheries’ 2019 biological opinion governing Southeast Alaska’s summer and winter commercial troll fishing for Chinook salmon. The litigation now moves to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Department Of Commerce, Cantwell Announce Millions Of Dollars For Northwest Salmon Recovery, Hatcheries, New Science Center
June 8th, 2023
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) this week joined U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad to announce an $83 million commitment to rebuild the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, $240 million for Northwest salmon and steelhead hatchery infrastructure, and $60 million for Mitchell Act hatcheries.
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Yakama Nation Reintroduction Programs Bringing Once Extinct Coho Salmon Back To Upper Columbia River Tributaries
May 26th, 2023
Once extirpated, coho salmon are making a rebound in two upper Columbia River tributaries. It’s taken nearly 25 years, but the year 2021 saw a record run in the Wenatchee and Methow rivers, a result of reintroduction work in the two basins by the Yakama Nation to bring the salmon back.
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Council/BPA Moving Closer To Approving Huge Increase For Hatchery Maintenance Due To Flush Revenue Year For BPA
May 18th, 2023
Spending on maintenance of Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead hatcheries, as well as fish screens, could see a significant bump in fiscal year 2024 if the full Northwest Power and Conservation Council approves a plan endorsed this week by the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Committee. That approval could come as early as the body’s June meeting.
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Science Review Of 50-Year-Old Lower Snake Compensation Program (Hatcheries) Shows Missed Return Goals For Spring/Summer Chinook
May 18th, 2023
The number of spring/summer Chinook salmon adult returns produced by the eleven Lower Snake River Compensation Plan hatchery programs has declined by 75 percent since the program’s first years and, overall, has not produced the nearly 59,000 returning Chinook adults that is the program’s goal, according to a recent review by an independent panel of scientists.
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With Large Boost In Revenues, BPA Steps Up Funding For Aging Hatcheries’ Maintenance, Repairs, Upgrades
March 16th, 2023
The Bonneville Power Administration says it will spend each year more than five times the amount it has spent in recent years for non-recurring maintenance needs at existing hatcheries beginning next year.
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California Salmon: Shrinking Age Distribution Of Returning Spawners Increases Impacts Of A Bad Year, Warming Climate; Older Fish Rarely Observed
March 9th, 2023
By returning to spawn in the Sacramento River at different ages, Chinook salmon lessen the potential impact of a bad year and increase the stability of their population in the face of climate variability, according to a new study by scientists at UC Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries.
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Legislatures Consider Bills To Further Restrict Gillnetters From Lower Columbia River Mainstem; Off-Channel Spring Chinook Fishing Days Approved
February 17th, 2023
Oregon and Washington legislatures are considering bills that would move more commercial gillnetters off the mainstem Columbia River. Washington lawmakers have introduced a bill that would prohibit gillnetting in the mainstem as of January 2025 and it would renew a gillnet license buyback program it began last year that cost about $14 million.
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WDFW Seeking Comment On Draft Policy To Guide Hatchery Management With Tribes As Co-Managers
February 16th, 2023
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public comment on a draft policy to guide management of hatcheries in cooperation with tribal co-managers.