The National Marine Fisheries Service announced today that it will list lower
Columbia River coho as a threatened species, but all other previously listed
stocks on the West Coast will remain under ESA protection for the foreseeable
future. The new
policy keeps the status of 14 of the 16 listed stocks unchanged from their
prior status, but the central California coast coho population was downgraded
from threatened to endangered status. "This policy reinforces our commitment to protect naturally spawning
salmon and their ecosystem," said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C.
Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., under secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere
and NOAA administrator. "A properly managed hatchery program can provide a
great boost to natural populations of fish and we intend to use this as a key
component of our overall salmon recovery efforts which, along with favorable
ocean conditions, have contributed to record returns over the last few
years." The new determinations have added more than 130 hatchery stocks for
protection to listed ESUs [Evolutionarily Significant Units] to satisfy a court
ruling (Alsea Valley Alliance vs. NMFS) that tossed NMFS' listing of
Oregon coastal coho a few years ago because the agency didn't offer the same ESA
protection to the hatchery component of the listed ESU as it did to the wild
portion. Now NMFS says the hatchery stocks that are similar to wild listed
populations will be listed as well, but will be exempt from take restrictions if
they have been marked. The agency said it needs another six months to decide whether the coastal
coho should remain listed. A recent study by Oregon state biologists said the
stock was healthy. NMFS also said it needs more time to reach a final decision
on 10 listed steelhead stocks. At issue, is whether to include the resident
steelhead populations, rainbow trout, as part of the steelhead ESUs. Russell Brooks of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented plaintiffs
in the Alsea Valley case, has ongoing litigation against NMFS over the rainbow
trout issue. He maintains that there is no way for the fisheries service to
determine the genetic difference between a seagoing steelhead from resident
hatchery rainbow, and when all are counted, no populations should be listed. He told NW Fishletter that his group will file another lawsuit in a
few days to force NMFS to comply with the spirit of the Alsea Valley decision.
"It's rocket science only if you're trying to get around what the court
said," Brooks said. NMFS policymakers say that the listing determinations recognize that the
long-term health of the fish populations depends on more than just large numbers
of fish, but also on productivity, genetic diversity, and geographic
distribution. But Brooks says the agency's admitted focus on the conservation of wild fish
and allowable harvest of surplus hatchery fish in that same ESU still violates
the Sept. 2001 ruling by Oregon District Court judge Michael Hogan. -B.
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NMFS Announces New ESA Hatchery Policy, Stock Status
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