Landscape Hatchery Approach Case Study: Oregon Coast Coho
Trout Unlimited's A Blueprint for Hatchery Reform (pdf) provides the foundation to our advocacy on hatchery reform. Case in point: Oregon Coast Coho. The State of Oregon recently embarked in a two year process to develop an Oregon Coast coho conservation plan. As part of the process, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) reviewed its coho hatchery operations along the entire coast.
As the Landscape Hatchery Report directs, the first question to ask is "what is the goal for the watershed?" In the case of Oregon Coast coho, ODFW responded with sustainable, fishable wild coho. With that goal in mind, it then evaluated each of its coho programs and found that some of the programs were not appropriate and in fact hindering wild coho recovery, namely in the Salmon and North Umpqua rivers. In the Coos and Coquille rivers, it found the programs were inefficient and in fact, harvest opportunity on wild coho was close at hand. In other cases, it found that changing the size and location of the hatchery releases would also benefit wild coho recovery, such as in the South and Middle Umpqua Rivers and Cow Creek. Finally, in two cases, the Nehalem and Trask, the agency is not proposing any changes.
While not the perfect solution, this approach and diverse response is exactly the comprehensive, watershed approach that the Landscape Hatchery Report directs. We advocated for additional changes suggested by the Landscape Hatchery Report, both inside and outside the hatchery fence, such as advanced rearing techniques, changes in other hatchery programs like fall chinook, that may be impacting wild coho recovery, and changes to at least one of the Tillamook Bay programs. While not adopted or even addressed in the plan, the overall reduction from 725,000 hatchery releases to 260,000 in response to a watershed analysis that focuses on wild fish recovery, is exactly the approach that should be repeated throughout the Pacific Northwest.
It is an unfortunate postscript that we must ultimately oppose the Oregon Coast coho conservation plan because this same critical analysis and targeted management response was not repeated for any other program, especially habitat based programs such as timber harvests, agricultural management, water quality and real estate development.
To review the complete plan and comment to ODFW before the March 16th Commission meeting in Salem (the official deadline for commenting on the Plan), please visit:
Links:
Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: Coastal Coho Project
A Blueprint for Hatchery Reform in the 21st Century (pdf)
Integrating Artificial Production with Salmonid Life History (pdf)
Kaitlin Lovell
Salmon Policy Coordinator
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