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NOAA
Fisheries Service Announces Actions to Mitigate Effects of Hydropower
System, Recover Salmon Stocks
Product
of two-year collaboration with states and tribes
Salmon
Video.
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as Quicktime
(Credit: NOAA)
NOAA
Fisheries Service today announced a series of actions to protect and
recover salmon stocks by mitigating the effects of the
The
actions, detailed in two draft biological opinions (BiOps), spell out an
aggressive and comprehensive series of hydropower system improvements,
hatchery reforms and habitat enhancements. The BiOps reflect hundreds of
millions of dollars of research over more than a decade to affirm that
the actions will not only prevent harm to threatened and endangered
salmon, but will ultimately move the species towards recovery.
“There
is no single cause for salmon population declines and there will be no
single solution,” said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for NOAA
Fisheries in
Working
with fertilized eggs in a salmon hatchery.
+ High
Resolution
(Credit: NOAA)
The
biological opinions, which analyze a comprehensive proposal presented in
August by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power
Administration and Bureau of Reclamation, contain more than 70 specific
actions. They respond to direction from Judge James Redden of the U.S.
Ninth District Court in
An
unprecedented collaboration of the Northwest states, affected Indian
tribes, and federal agencies helped to identify recovery needs and
select appropriate solutions, The collaboration group worked
exhaustively to resolve issues, holding over 300 technical and policy
meetings in the course of the last two years. “This process taught us
that the commitment and resolution for salmon recovery have not
diminished,” added Lohn.
The
BiOps are based on a much broader, more comprehensive and more rigorous
method of analyzing salmon-population changes than has ever been
attempted before. NOAA Fisheries analyzed a wide variety of measurements
and factors for each individual salmon population. Measurements included
a species’ current abundance trends, its likelihood to rebound from
low population levels, and the geographical distribution of the
population. The result is an analysis far more detailed and tailored to
individual fish populations than has been used ever before.
Salmon
returning up stream to spawn at
+ High
Resolution
(Credit: NOAA)
“Through
this process, our understanding of the salmon lifecycle has increased
dramatically,” said Lohn. “This rigorous scientific review provides
us with a great degree of certainty that these actions will lead to
salmon recovery.”
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to
the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by
Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the
Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of
NOAA is
dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the
prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and
information service delivery for transportation, and by providing
environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.
Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and
the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is
as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those
who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Source:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/20071031_salmon.html