Yet some scientists fear that hatchery fish are 

 not nearly as adept at survival as wild fish. In 

 the wild, only the fittest survive. Wild fish pass 

 on their proven resilience by breeding with 

 other well-adapted individuals. For any species, 

 its ability to adapt determines whether it will 

 survive whatever nature — or man — throws at 

 it. 



Biologists are also concerned about timing 

 hatchery releases with wild runs. When a par- 

 ticular stock of fish is ready to migrate, the 

 hatchery will release all of them — several 

 thousand — in a matter of a few hours. This 

 sudden influx of hungry mouths can destroy 

 the natural balance existing in the river. The 

 hatchery fish compete with wild fish for food 

 and can overwhelm them through sheer 

 numbers. 



Separating Fish Stocks. Fish managers have 

 another concern. One estimate shows that 

 more than half of the Columbia's naturally 

 spawning chinook are caught by commercial 

 fishermen off the Pacific coast between Alaska 

 and northern California. When vessels troll for 

 fish, they do not discriminate between the few 

 wild fish and the plentiful hatchery stocks. 

 Harvest levels are based in part on the number 

 of hatchery fish available. As a result, naturally 

 spawning salmon have been overharvested. 



Some biologists call for limiting catches. 

 Others are looking for ways to separate wild 

 from hatchery fish. 



Despite the problems, hatcheries have 

 become indispensable to the Columbia River 

 fishery. While wild salmon were losing habitat, 

 more hatcheries were being built and more 



Studying 

 salmon 

 diseases to 

 increase the 

 number of 

 hatchery fish. 



Newly hatched 



sdlmon, 



Leavenworth 



National Fish 



Hatchery, 



Washington 



(tl.S, Fish & Wildlile 

 Service) 



hatchery fish were being released. And biolo- 

 gists often depend on using hatchery fish to 

 stock reopened habitat until a new run can 

 establish itself. 



However, investments in steel and concrete 

 must be balanced with investments in research. 

 The simple fact remains that sturdier stocks, 

 relatively free of disease, will mean a greater 

 number of adult fish coming back up the river. 



Under the Program, new hatcheries will 

 have master plans. The plans offer an organ- 

 ized way to make sure dollars invested in hat- 

 cheries will be a good investment in fish. 



The plans show that we now know that 

 increasing the numbers of hatchery — and 

 wild — fish is not enough. We have to get fish 

 past the dams. And we have to regulate harvest 

 more wisely. 



How Do We Get The Fish Out To Sea? 



Since salmon and steelhead migrate from 

 shallow streams to the ocean and back to 

 complete their life cycle, much of Program's 

 emphasis is on getting fish safely past the dams. 

 Improving fish ladders for adult salmon is not 

 especially controversial. But getting young fish 

 past the dams and out to sea is another matter. 



One way is to increase water flow through 

 the reservoirs when the fish need it most. Each 

 spring, from April 15 to June 15, some 60 mil- 

 lion young salmon and steelhead migrate out 

 to sea. Reservoirs are deep and slow, quite 

 unlike the fast-running river of old. Fishery 

 managers use a "water budget" to move fish 

 down the river more quickly. 



Water that might have been used to gener- 

 ate power at other times of the year — when it 

 could get a better price — is stored and 

 released in the spring to speed young fish 

 toward the ocean. In dry years, Bonneville 

 could lose as much as $60 million dollars to 

 meet the needs of fish. In years of heavy 

 snowpack and bountiful runoff the water 

 budget will cost much less. 



The Program has called on the Corps of 

 Engineers to install new fish screens and bypass 

 systems to steer young fish away from the 

 potentially deadly turbines at the dams. Until 

 screens are installed, the Program has directed 

 operators of unscreened dams to spill water 

 when a substantial number of fish reach the 

 dam. 



There is another way to help young salmon 

 past the dams: collect them upstream and 

 physically transport them, by truck or barge, to 

 release points below Bonneville Dam. 



14 



Backgrounder 



