[8] Enviro Groups Pick New Water Fight
On Nov. 6, members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a new hatchery and fishery reform policy.
Key elements of the new policy include more focus on the harvest of abundant hatchery stocks by commercial and recreational fisheries to support sustainable fisheries and reduce the number of hatchery fish spawning in rivers; developing and promoting alternative fishing gear to maximize the harvest of hatchery fish and reduce their numbers on spawning grounds; improving the fitness and viability of wild salmon and steelhead runs by working towards the broodstock standards developed by the regional Hatchery Scientific Review Group in all state hatchery programs by 2015, and integrating hatchery-reform initiatives into comprehensive action plans designed to meet conservation and harvest goals for specific watersheds throughout the state.
With the state facing another $2-billion deficit, it may be hard to pay for the reforms, but the new policy also directs WDFW to seek funding "from all potential sources," expand selective fisheries and ensure state facilities comply with fish-passage standards, water-intake screening and pollution control. -B. R.
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