Personal attachment and emotion aside, there is ZERO evidence that wild Satsop kings aren't capable of sustainable NATURAL production on their own.

There is no credible basis for believing that hatchery-origin spawners on the Satsop are the cornerstone of chinook production out of the gravel beds. I'd be happy to reconsider that position if you can find me a document or study that says otherwise. Fairly confident it DOESN'T exist. I don't believe the agency even bothers to assess pHOS... the most basic metric of ANY well-run modern-day hatchery program.

The Satsop hatchery chinook program has been running for EIGHT full chinook generations now. The Satsop population is essentially flat over those same eight chinook life cycles. Looking at it objectively, what's the point in continuing the program at all. Just trying to be intellectually honest here. What say ye, SalmoG?
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"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)

"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
Long Live the Kings!