I was going to stay quite, but decided to open my fingers up. If you shut down the hatcheries people will stop fishing. So where will the state get the money to rebuild wild runs? Will TU and Washington Trout fork over the money from their pockets? Not likely. I have seen science say what ever the person wanted it to say. The same with statistics. I do know that most hatchery fish and wild are genetically identical. The problem is how they live, canned in a pond. I think that the state should take every wild fish in a river, spawn them, then place the eggs in the same river. In a protected area. This will allow for better escapement and overall increase in fish. If we know every fish possible is spawning, then the runs will get better. There are some neat fish spawn cages that allow eggs to mature in the river, protected from predators, and still let in the food needed. This would be cheaper I bet in the long run too. I do have to say that most of these so called nonprofit groups are trying to force their beliefs down the throats of others. I will not support them. To me, I would feel like I am holding down a woman while she is being raped. As one final point, I have added the link from WDFW that talks about the biggest run since 1948. Gee, how did that happen if all the hatchery fish were killing the natives. And I have seen the posts on this board about how great the Columbia run of fish are. Strong fighters, great eating, and lots of them.
http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/do/jun02/jun2602b.htm