The smolt-to-adult return rate of Columbia Basin hatchery salmon and
steelhead have been declining during the 1990s, along with the adult
fish’s value to fishers, according to natural resource economist Hans
Radtke.
The result has been a skyrocketing cost for producing each harvestable
hatchery fish.
That double-edged sword should force policy makers to rethink their
strategies both for hatchery operations and harvest management, Radtke
told the Northwest Power Planning Council …
