Originally Posted By: Salmo g.
McMahon, WN1A,

All hatchery and wild fish are included in the ESU, but only the named stocks in the listing are "ESA listed." I'll have to check on the Snake R fall chinook, but the area I mainly work in is Puget Sound. In PS no hatchery steelhead are included in the threatened ESU listing except wild hatchery broodstock being used to recover certain wild populations. If the hatchery steelhead were included in the listing, we would not have any hatchery steelhead harvest season. Same with hatchery chinook. The majority of PS chinook are hatchery origin fish, and they are not ESA listed. Otherwise they would not be available for harvest. Wild PS chinook are all listed and may not be retained if caught in a recreational fishery. They are retained as allowable ESA take in treaty Indian commercial net fisheries.

Which hatchery and wild populations are listed and which ones aren't varies by region or river of origin and the specific population's status with respect to abundance.

Sg


If listed hatchery origin fish have their adipose clipped, they lose their protection and can be harvested. It's this way from CA to Whatcom Co. and points in between. This is why we can harvest clipped hatchery origin individuals of a listed stock -- this is why fisheries remain open despite listed stocks. This is why I can bash a clipped steelhead on the head but not a wild one.

Additionally, many rivers in the PS area have hatchery steelhead from non-indigenous stocks, therefore they cannot be listed. The one weird exception to this that I'm aware of are Green River fall chinook which are spread throughout PS which I'm sure you're aware of. Their ESU area contains rivers as far north as the Nooksack.