About the Project
The purpose of our hatchery review is to ensure that our hatchery
programs meet the current and future fishery and conservation needs
of salmonid populations in the Columbia River Basin. This internal review will in many ways resemble the recent and successful Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project led by Long Live the Kings. A Hatchery Review Team, composed of Service and outside scientists, will review briefing materials, conduct field tours and meet with hatchery managers and other personnel to get a clear understanding of the goals for and status of each wild and hatchery population and its associated habitat and management strategiest. The Review Team will then apply the Puget Sound Coastal Washington Hatchery Scientific Review Group’s (HSRG) framework and tools to create reform recommendations for each hatchery program. We plan to complete this review in 2008.
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In
the past 150 years, habitat alterations, hydroelectric development
and consumptive fisheries have impacted the productivity of most
salmon and steelhead populations in the Pacific Northwest. To mitigate
for those impacts, hatcheries have been used to increase the number
of fish available for harvest. However, long-term conservation
needs of natural salmonid populations and their inherent genetic
resources require a re-examination of the role of hatcheries in
basin-wide management and conservation strategies. 