United We Stand-Divided We Fall!

PLEASE HELP US RESIST THE ATTACK ON SALMON/STEELHEAD HATCHERIES-
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO STOP STEP ONE AND SAVE OUR HATCHERY SYSTEMS. PUGET SOUND WINTER HATCHERY STEELHEAD PROGRAM HAS A GOOD CHANCE OF FAILURE WITHOUT YOUR HELP, SETTING THE PRECEDENCE OF HATCHERY SHUTDOWNS THROUGH OUT THE STATE THROUGH LITIGATION!

Please send an email before Christmas to the National Maine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regional directors listed below, asking that they complete by April 1, 2016 their reviews and final approvals, of early winter hatchery steelhead programs for the Dungeness, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Skykomish, and Snoqualmie rivers:

Mr. William W. Stelle, Regional Administrator, NMFS, west Coast Region EWShatcheriesEIS.wcr@noaa.gov
Ms. Robyn Thorson, Regional Director, USFWS, Pacific Region Robyn_Thorson@fws.gov

Loss of Puget Sound winter hatchery steelhead production will lead to further attacks on salmon hatcheries as is occurring at the Leavenworth National salmon hatchery, the result of litigation by Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC). Consequently, salmon anglers must also engage now with the steelhead hatchery issue to protect your future salmon fishing opportunities.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under provisions of the National Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act, are currently reviewing five steelhead hatchery programs benefiting the Dungeness, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Skykomish and Snoqualmie River basins. This review and approval of the programs must be completed in time to allow hatchery steelhead smolts to be released into these river systems by no later than May 1, 2016, or risk permanent loss of the early winter hatchery steelhead fisheries. Failure to release by May 1 would result in no subsequent adult broodstock to continue hatchery production.

In a 2014 Federal District court settlement to a lawsuit filed by WFC, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife agreed to stop releasing early winter steelhead hatchery fish until Hatchery Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) for each of the cited river basins had been approved by the NMFS. A 45 day public review of a NMFS draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) assessing the HGMPs is scheduled to be completed on December 28, 2015.

NMFS will begin working on the final EIS in January. However, the time the federal agencies say they need to complete the final EIS and other documents could delay actual approval of the steelhead smolts releases well into May or even June, especially if litigation is pursued by WFC and/or other groups. This would be too late to save the hatchery steelhead programs.

Consequently, an expedited effort is required to reduce the current planned federal processing time by a month, if the early winter hatchery programs are to be continued following a careful review by the public and the approving federal agencies.

Our sport fishing/conservation organizations ask that you join us in demanding that the NMFS and USFWS regional directors expedite their reviews and approvals of the steelhead hatchery programs so that the steelhead smolts are released into the rivers by May 1, 2016.

Please tell them that not getting this done is not acceptable and to please expedite the Steelhead HGMPS for the 5 Puget Sound Rivers. There have been curve balls thrown at us to run the clock out. We have tried to keep this on track and need your help. Remember that hatcheries are mitigation for habitat loss. That is the reason they were built in the first place. If you agree please send in a quick reponse to the two names and email addresses above. Please forward to family and friends too for their help.

I'm curious. If this timetable is not met, does it really mean the end of any future Puget Sound Steelhead programs? I don't understand how these 5 rivers, I guess selected by a group behind closed doors, takes precedence over other rivers in P.S. anyway? Is there anything stopping an organized brood stock program from starting anywhere else? Do listed ESA populations prohibit managed brood stock enhancement programs? From what I understand the early component P.S. Steelhead came from Chambers Crk., a small hardly fighting piece of sht anyway. So start new? I'm no Bio. but correct me if I am wrong, their has to be a population of early fish to work with other than the Chambers stock? One that can be utilized to promote early wild enhancement at the same time providing opportunity. Seems the successful Sol Duc Snider Crk progam comes to mind? I'm in for something like that, not any more Chambers B.S. Please enlighten me!

On another note. If all early component P.S. stocks are in that bad of shape where nothing can be done, and the only stock available are the Chambers fish, I say bag it and enhance the later wild stocks. Those I do know exist enough to work with. Later opportunity is better than NO opportunity!

I guess my question to you is where are you going to get any broodstock? There is broodstock available with the chambers creek run. These were early timed/altered steelhead to not impact wild fish. With stocks being so low with all fish, getting any sizable amount to bring a run to life is not very probable. Trying to have hatchery fish competing with late run steelhead is not doable, the reason for altering the chambers creek fish to be early timed. These fish have been being used for over 50 years. I doubt they were always small fish.

Rest assured that if NOAA is not going to stand up to WFC on this, they surely are not going to on anything else. It is their job to approve these HGMPs, which they have averted for years.

Want to see all hatcheries go on the chopping block, sit back and do nothing. We have had to intervene a couple of times to keep this on track.

In Senator Pearsons hearing, NOAAs Rob Jones explained that they have sat on these HGMPs because they would rather have the state get sued than them. So this is what this is about, not allowing NOAA to run the clock out on our hatcheries.

If they dont approve this run, they sure arent going to approve another one. Once its gone, kiss it good by.

In steelhead, at least WA winters, the early timing is not genetic but environmental. Age at smolting is strongly correlated in hatchery and wild fish to time of adult return. The younger the smolt, the earlier the return.

The genetic changes in the hatchery fish were the result adaptation to the hatchery and small spawning populations.

With the Chambers Creek winter steelhead there is a strong genetic component to their early spawn timing. 40 years ago that hatchery stock spawned well into March (even early April some springs). It was through strong selective spawning practices (both unintentional and intentional) the spawn timing has been advanced to the point that spawning is now finished by the end of January. yet the smolt age remains the same.

Curt

With the Chambers Creek winter steelhead there is a strong genetic component to their early spawn timing. 40 years ago that hatchery stock spawned well into March (even early April some springs). It was through strong selective spawning practices (both unintentional and intentional) the spawn timing has been advanced to the point that spawning is now finished by the end of January. yet the smolt age remains the same.

Curt

Spawn time was certainly advanced through selective breeding/advancing spawn time through temp and lights.

But that doesn't change the biology that the younger a smolt is, the earlier it returns. And an age-2 or age-3 hatchery smelt comes back later. At least in the age data I am familiar with.

Blah, blah, blah...(tick, tick, tick)

(exactly what WFC wants as a response from the "Mighty Sport fishing Community"!)

Fishinnut, if you haven't pulled your hair out yet, at least your banging your head against the wall, I'm sure.

personally i dont want to lose the early run chambers creek fish. i plan my winter fishing around them. i made a personal decision a few years back to avoid fishing when i'm likely to encounter wild steel. my biggest fear though is without early timed runs that more angler pressure will be forced onto periods when more wild fish are present.

FN, i shot both of them messages asking them to speed up the process.

What is missing in the idea that we can have an early hatchery run and a late wild run. If that worked, steelhead wouldn't be listed or in trouble. But they are. We need the early wild fish to be restored and that can't be accomplished in same stream as early hatchery. Again, if it could occur, it would have.

What can we do to help?!

What can we do to help?!

Go to NOAA's page and submit comments via email. Voice your opinion. Tell them your concerns. Tell them why hatchery steelhead are important to you.

The Nooksack is a colossal waste of time & money. Can't speak to the others. No way can the cost of the Kendall Crk hatchery be justified for the pittance of tiny fish that return.

Comments sent to ewshatcherieseis.wcr@noaa.gov and Robyn_Thorson@fws.gov as suggested in the first post.

Almost correct........The Nooksack, with the current netting practices, is a tough sell. Remove the nets, fix the management and then see what returns.