Please Support Puget Sound Recreational Steelhead Fishing

[Nelly]

Thank goodness for Hans Dunshee
Of all our Legislators, Hans has proven time and time again that he "gets it" !

Remember the crab allocation issue? Thanks Hans!

Remember the Hatchery capital improvement bill?? Thanks Hans!

Remember who punched through funding for the No Point ramp? Thanks Hans!

Next time comes up for re-election??? Remember Hans Dunshee!!!

[Robbo]

Here's another press release that just rolled in from the Lummi, Skagit, and Tulalip Tribes.

Press release on WDFW decision to not release Chambers steelhead production.

Fisherman in Northern Puget Sound are about to lose steelhead fishing opportunity and all of the associated enjoyment.

The natural origin steelhead populations in Washington State are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and directed harvest is prohibited. The depressed state of the steelhead and other salmonid populations is due largely to the loss of habitat associated with regional development. Fishermen are only able to enjoy some steelhead fishing opportunity now by harvesting early winter steelhead released from State hatcheries operated by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

WDFW has said that they will not release 900,000 Chambers Creek steelhead from hatcheries this year that are destined to support fisheries in the Skagit, Snoqualmie, and Nooksack River in 2016 and 2017 unless WDFW has ESA take coverage or they are able to reach agreement with the Wild Fish Conservancy, whichever comes first. The state has been pressured into the decision by a lawsuit filed by the Wild Fish Conservancy, which erroneously concluded that hatchery production, rather than the loss of habitat, is responsible for the depressed state of the Puget Sound Steelhead populations.

"The sportsmen and the tribes depend on these hatchery steelhead and we all need to take a step back so we can use the best available science instead of making these rash decisions especially when habitat and other factors are a larger problem than these hatchery fish," said Tulalip Ray Fryberg

“We need to have hatcheries to provide fish for everyone’s grandchildren, tribal and non-tribal,” said Lummi Natural Resources ESA Policy Representative Randy Kinley.

In the guise of protecting fishing, the Wild Fish Conservancy will eliminate sport fishing opportunity. Current and past land use practices have resulted in loss of salmon and steelhead habitat and production, making harvestable surpluses of natural origin steelhead and salmon impossible to produce on a sustainable basis. The political will to protect existing and restore lost salmon and steelhead habitat is lacking. Recent advances in hatchery practices provide a scientific basis for salmon hatchery operations that provide fishing opportunities and mitigate for habitat loss while the process of protecting natural origin steelhead and salmon stocks until the habitat can produce a sustainable harvest.

“As mitigation for habitat loss and decreased natural production, hatcheries are integral to providing fishing opportunity and to the recovery of natural populations,” said Upper Skagit Tribe’s Natural Resources Director Scott Schuyler.

The motivation of the Wild Fish Conservancy seems to be to finance their legal team rather than to manage fish in a scientifically credible way that conserves the species and also provides fishing opportunities. The Lawyers will take the money, and there will be no improvements to steelhead and salmon recovery. Without hatcheries or habitat protection and recovery there won’t be any fisheries.

“Hatcheries were built for one reason. That is to make up for lost natural steelhead and salmon production caused by damage to their habitat. Both Indian and non-Indian fishermen depend on tribal and state hatcheries and the fish they provide,” said NWIFC Chairman and long time tribal treaty rights activist Billy Frank.

Fishers who want to catch salmon and steelhead rather than watch museum specimens at risk of extinction should contact the Governor, WDFW Director, and the Fish and Wildlife Commission and encourage them to stand their ground, backed by the best available science, and not to give into this misguided effort by the so-called Wild Fish Conservancy.

Contact Randy Kinley Sr., Lummi Natural Resources ESA Policy Representative 360-312-2322 Scott Schuyler, Upper Skagit Tribe Natural Resources Director 360-854-7100
Ray Fryberg, Tulalip Tribe’s Executive Director of Natural and Cultural Resources 360-716 -4598.

[Robbo]

Here's the final outcome of the lawsuit between the Wild Fish Conservancy and WDFW

WDFW and Wild Fish Conservancy settle lawsuit
over 'early winter' hatchery steelhead releases

OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today it has reached an agreement with the Wild Fish Conservancy that will stop litigation against the department over its Puget Sound hatchery programs for 2½ years and permit the release of hatchery steelhead this spring into the Skykomish River.

No early winter steelhead will be released into other Puget Sound rivers in 2014.

The agreement is reflected in a federal court consent decree signed by WDFW Director Phil Anderson and Conservancy Executive Director Kurt Beardslee. The decree is designed to settle a lawsuit filed by the Conservancy last month in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

In its March 31 complaint, the Duvall-based non-profit group claimed the department's Puget Sound hatchery steelhead programs violate the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) by impairing the recovery of wild steelhead, salmon, and bull trout. All three species are listed as "threatened" under the ESA.

While acknowledging that certain hatchery practices may pose risks to wild fish productivity and recovery, WDFW officials denied the Conservancy's claim and said the department has taken numerous steps based on current science to ensure its hatchery operations protect wild steelhead and other listed fish species.

The department's Hatchery Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) are designed to ensure that all steelhead hatcheries support wild fish recovery, but those plans are still under review by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

"While I am disappointed the agreement does not allow for the release of more of the early winter hatchery steelhead we have on hand into Puget Sound rivers, I am gratified that we were able to reach agreement to release fish from our Skykomish hatchery in 2014 and support a popular recreational fishery," Anderson said.

He added that the most important element of the agreement is the 2½-year suspension of lawsuits initiated by the Conservancy over the department's Puget Sound hatchery programs. The suspension will allow the department to work with tribal fishery managers to resubmit HGMPs for other species raised in Puget Sound hatcheries for NMFS' review and approval.

The federal court agreement includes the following provisions:

WDFW may release up to 180,000 hatchery steelhead in 2014 and again in 2015 into the Skykomish River, which flows into the Snohomish River near Monroe.
The Conservancy will not sue WDFW over its Puget Sound hatchery programs during the next 2 ½ years, or until NMFS approves those programs, whichever comes first.
WDFW will refrain from planting early winter (Chambers Creek) hatchery steelhead into most rivers in the Puget Sound region until NMFS completes its review.
A 12-year research program will be established in the Skagit River, during which no early winter steelhead will be released into the watershed. In cooperation with the Conservancy, WDFW will work with tribes to evaluate and potentially implement a steelhead hatchery program in the Skagit River using native steelhead.
The department may release hatchery steelhead into other rivers around Puget Sound when NMFS approves the department's HGMPs. This provision will not apply to the Skagit River watershed, which will not receive early winter hatchery steelhead releases during the 12-year study period.
Early winter steelhead from WDFW hatcheries that cannot be released into Puget Sound-area rivers will be released into inland waters that have no connection to Puget Sound. The department will give the Conservancy 14 days' advance notice of those releases.
WDFW will pay the Conservancy $45,000 for litigation expenses.

Jim Scott, who heads the WDFW Fish Program, said that until the Conservancy filed the lawsuit, the department had planned to release about 900,000 juvenile steelhead this spring into several rivers that flow into Puget Sound. The settlement means that hatchery steelhead will continue to be released into the Skykomish, while the remaining steelhead will be used to enhance the state's inland trout fishing programs, he said.

When the lawsuit was filed, WDFW officials said the department was vulnerable to litigation because its hatchery steelhead operations had not been approved by NMFS following the ESA listing of Puget Sound steelhead in 2007. Scott said WDFW worked with tribes to revise and update its HGMPs for all Puget Sound steelhead hatcheries, and resubmitted them to NMFS earlier this year.

With the litigation settled, Scott said the department will work with tribal and federal officials on an aggressive schedule to complete the NMFS review.