Yes, it's going to take alot more $$ to mark all salmon and steelhead from National Fish Hatcheries. There isn't much of a problem with spring Chinook, coho, or steelhead. However the issue is fall Chinook. The Feds (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) release millions of fall Chinook every year that aren't marked. Even with current technology, fall Chinooks are difficult to mark because they're so small when they migrate downstream (85-100mm or about 3 inches) and there are so many the Feds can't marked them all between March (when they hatch) and June (when they migrate). Maybe the Feds should stock fewer fall Chinook?

But there is also a bigger issue. That is, fishing opportunities may go down considerably, particularly on the Columbia River with a selective fishery for hatchery fall Chinook. If only marked fish can be harvested, the fall Chinook fishery for upriver brights that return to the Hanford Reach will likely be eliminated. The Hanford Reach fall Chinook are all wild fish, they are not endangered/threatened, and they are not marked. In fact, Hanford Reach fall Chinook are perhaps the healthiest population of fall Chinook in the Pacific Northwest. But with a selective fishery (i.e., harvesting only marked fish), Hanford Reach fall Chinook cannot be harvested. However, Hanford Reach fall Chinook are a major contribution to the Buoy 10 fishery in August and September. Without those fish, you might just as well shut down the Buoy 10 fishery.

So I have a question for the folks who think that marking all hatchery fish, including fall Chinook, is a good idea. How do the Feds mark them all and still maintain the fishery for the fall Chinook populations that are healthy (e.g., Hanford Reach)? Remember, there is no point in marking fish if there isn't a selective fishery to avoid them.

Nothing is ever easy in fishery management....