Improve hatchery practices 



The ancient Columbia Basin had no fish 

 hatcheries. Salmon reproduced in the shallow, 

 graveled areas of rivers and streams. 



As overfishing, dams and other develop- 

 ments took their toll, fish hatcheries were 

 built to compensate for the loss of salmon. 

 Nearly everyone agreed with this approach at 

 the time. 



T, 



he remarkable homing instinct of salmon 

 worked well with hatchery production. 

 Salmon return to the waters of their birth — 

 in this case, to the hatcheries where they were 

 released as juveniles. 



But there have been problems. Some fish 

 hatcheries failed because there was a critical 

 lack of knowledge about fish biology, disease 

 and genetics. 



Ironically, as understanding increased and 

 hatcheries became more successful, problems 

 occurred elsewhere. Hatchery fish mix in the 

 ocean with salmon spawned in rivers, and 

 both are caught by fishers. In this mixed- 

 stock fishery, fish that spawn naturally can be 

 overharvested because fishing levels have tra- 

 ditionally been set based on abundant hatchery 

 runs. 



In the rivers, too, hatchery fish are a prob- 

 lem because they compete for food and space 

 with naturally spawning salmon from those 

 rivers. There needs to be a better understand- 

 ing of how many juvenile fish the Columbia 



Basin can support. This "carrying capacity" 

 has an impact on the survival of all salmon in 

 the river basin. Our strategy calls for research 

 on this issue. 



It is a vexing puzzle: the number of fish 

 spawning in rivers is declining, and hatchery 

 fish could help; yet interbreeding could fur- 

 ther imperil the naturally spawning species. 



What to do? 



State and federal fishery managers are de- 

 veloping uniform hatchery practices that 

 enable hatchery fish to survive in the natural 

 environment without harming the fish that 

 spawn there. 



When hatchery fish are released into 

 streams to rebuild runs that are facing extinc- 

 tion — a practice called "supplementation" 

 — caution must be taken to measure and 

 minimize genetic and environmental impacts. 



We call for experiments .to test supplemen- 

 tation as a means of conserving and 

 rebuilding naturally reproducing salmon 

 populations. Both existing and new supple- 

 mentation projects must be evaluated in terms 

 of their cumulative effects on salmon runs. 



Finally, we need additional research into 

 fish survival requirements so that we can tai- 

 lor our actions to improve conditions for all 

 salmon. In particular, vye need a clearer under- 

 standing of how many salmon are needed to 

 sustain a given run over many future genera- 

 tions, and what protections these fish need in 

 their environment. 



1949-1957 



Ten new dams planned or 

 completed in Columbia River Basin. 



1956 



On April 20, Columbia Basin Indians conduct the last of the "First Salmon" rites 

 at Celilo Village before it is flooded by the reservoir behind The Dalles Dam. 



30 



^^ \\ 



