Study: The Massive Surge Of Hatchery Pink Salmon In North Pacific Harming Abundance Of Other Salmon Species, Whales, Birds
September 28th, 2023
Chinook, coho and sockeye salmon are in steep decline in the North Pacific and one of the causes is the proliferation of pink salmon, many of which originate from Russian, Japanese and Alaskan fish hatcheries, according to a recent study by scientists in Alaska, Canada and Washington.
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Biden Administration Says BPA To Provide $200 Million Over 20 Years To Advance Salmon Reintroduction In Upper Columbia River Blocked Areas
September 22nd, 2023
The Biden administration this week announced that the Bonneville Power Administration will provide three Upper Columbia River Tribes $200 million over 20 years for ongoing efforts to reintroduce salmon above Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams, which have blocked fish migration since 1942. The Tribes have agreed to a twenty-year pause to existing litigation while these actions are pursued.
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Global Synthesis Of Peer-Reviewed Research On Hatchery Impacts On Wild Salmonids (206 Papers, 1970-2021) Says 80 Percent Show Adverse Impacts
September 7th, 2023
For over a century, fish hatcheries across the world have produced salmonids to supply fisheries, mitigate habitat loss and boost depleted stocks. A newly published review of scientific literature examining the impacts of these programs on wild (i.e., naturally produced) salmonids shows that over 80 percent of global, peer-reviewed research on the topic has found that hatchery fish have adverse effects on wild salmonid populations in freshwater and marine environments.
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NOAA Taking Comments On Ongoing Hatchery/Genetic Management Plan That Keeps Snake River Sockeye From Going Extinct
August 23rd, 2023
NOAA Fisheries is asking for comments on its existing plan that allows for take of hatchery and listed wild Snake River sockeye to help in the recovery of the fish, listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Comments are due September 7.
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NOAA Court Filing Defends Hatchery ‘Prey Increase’ Program For Imperiled Orcas; A ‘Critical Tool’ To Provide Salmon For Whales Suffering Food Shortage
June 21st, 2023
A three-year-old hatchery production program spread across Puget Sound and the Columbia and Snake rivers, designed specifically to provide more food for Southern Resident killer whales should remain in place, according to NOAA Fisheries in its most recent declaration in federal court.
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Yakama Nation Upgrading Old Mitchell Act Hatchery To Use Supplementation To Increase Naturally-Spawning Spring Chinook In Klickitat River
June 16th, 2023
In a presentation to update the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the Yakama Nation says it will begin work at its existing spring Chinook salmon hatchery on southern Washington’s Klickitat River late summer this year, with construction extending out 18 months to March 2025.
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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.