Lewiston Morning Tribune, Oct. 1, 2004

Audience questions wild fish science


Eric Barker
People who attended a public hearing on salmon and steelhead protection
policies Thursday questioned the logic and science behind a proposal to
include hatchery fish in protected populations of wild fish.

They also criticized a proposal to include rainbow trout in protected
populations of steelhead trout.

John Claassen of Clarkston doesn't believe officials from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have sufficient understanding of
the
genetic differences between wild and hatchery fish to pursue the
policy.


"We need to be cautious in playing around and defining gene pools." he
said.


Others were more blunt.

"I'm not sure we know what the hell we are doing," said Ray Collard, a
fisherman from Pocatello, who is in the area steelhead fishing.

The comments were made during a presentation by Rob Jones of NOAA
Fisheries.
Jones and several other representatives from the agency were in
Lewiston
to
present information on the agency's new hatchery policy and its
reassessment
of Endangered Species Act protection for 26 salmon and steelhead
populations
on the West Coast, including Snake River salmon and steelhead. The
officials
also recorded public comments at the meeting.

The new policy was announced in May and stems from a federal court
decision
in Oregon that found fault with the way the agency listed coho salmon
there.
Judge Michael Hogan ruled the agency erred when it included both
hatchery
and wild coho in the same population, known as an evolutionary
significant
unit, but protected only the wild fish. Hogan said all of the
population
must be protected or none of it.

After analyzing his decision, the agency concluded it needed to
reassess
all
of its salmon and steelhead listings on the West Coast because most
were
prepared in the same way as the one Hogan found illegal.

"We agreed with the judge's decision and we recognized this situation
occurred coast-wide," said Jones.

The agency will add one run of salmon to the list of threatened species
and
move one run of steelhead from endangered to threatened.

The new policy includes hatchery fish in protected populations of
salmon
and
steelhead. For example, if adopted, steelhead from Dworshak National
Fish
Hatchery at Ahasahka would be considered a threatened species because
they
are genetically similar to wild steelhead in the Clearwater River.

But the policy also says rainbow trout in places like the Clearwater
River
drainage, and even those above Dworshak Dam, are similar enough to wild
steelhead to be included as part of the threatened population.

"It is clear to us where rainbow trout and steelhead coexist they share
a
common gene pool," said Jones.

In fact, he said rainbow trout can produce offspring that migrate to
the
ocean and return years later as much larger steelhead. But Jones said
listing rainbow trout with protected steelhead will not affect angling,
and
listing hatchery steelhead as a threatened species would not prevent
states
like Idaho from continuing to hold fishing seasons on them.

"We do not expect any regulations to change with respect to rainbow
trout
fisheries," said Jones.

Angler Collard asked if adding rainbow trout and hatchery steelhead to
the
populations of threatened wild steelhead would cause them to be
delisted
simply by bolstering their numbers. Jones said the answer is no and
assured
the audience salmon and steelhead need healthy wild populations to be
considered recovered.

"If we have 1,000 hatchery fish and one natural fish you have a
problem,"
said Jones. "It is the same with resident and anadromous fish."

But some, like Jeff Holmes, hunting and fishing coordinator for the
Sierra
Club at Spokane, said the policy is laying groundwork to remove salmon
and
steelhead from federal protection.

Holmes asked Jones to what extent rainbow trout contribute to steelhead
runs. Jones cited studies that suggest as many as 10 percent of the
steelhead in Oregon's Hood River are the offspring of rainbow trout.
But
he
also said the studies linking rainbow trout and steelhead populations
are
few and need more study.

"It seems very interesting," said Holmes. "But not very conclusive."