Columbia Basin Herald Online Newspaper

Local News - Moses Lake, WA - Grant County

Salmon misstep

Posted: Thursday, Jul 12, 2007 - 03:38:39 pm PDT
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Killing salmon to save them?

The first step in phasing out production of spring Chinook salmon at the Entiat National Fish Hatchery was to kill the returning salmon.

Huh?

At least 575 returning spring Chinook salmon were caught in nets, killed and given to the Colville Confederated Tribes and the tribes on the Spokane Indian Reservation, according to the Wenatchee World.

They were clubbed to death before being allowed to spawn.

Officials at the hatchery explained how hatchery salmon compete with wild salmon for food and spawning grounds.

For years government officials proclaimed the trouble with hatchery salmon is they are genetically inferior to wild salmon, despite there often being only a single generation difference between them. For years hatcheries took wild salmon eggs and sperm to make hatchery fish. But their later studies showed how this made them inferior in resisting disease and a threat to wild salmon.

This logic would mean our children are genetically inferior to us, the parents.

Spring Chinook have been at the center of a battle to save them for years, once placed on the endangered species list. The government determined the salmon to be on the precipice of extinction.

What's puzzling is how destroying returning salmon saves them.

Why kill returning spring Chinook salmon before they spawn? Wouldn't the salmon created during natural spawning become wild salmon? Shouldn't nature take its course?

It is always odd when any agency advocates killing an animal to help it survive. It is even stranger when there is no outbreak of disease or mass starvation being offered as logical reasons for reducing the number of an animal species.

The primary reason for killing the returning salmon is to make room for their wild counterparts.

But as the Entiat hatchery is phasing out production of spring Chinook salmon, they are pondering the production of a species extinct in the Columbia River basin, coho.

Coho will compete for food and habitat with the spring Chinook salmon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They spawn and grow in the same habitat. The hatcheries, should they decide to produce coho, will continue to create competition for the wild spring Chinook salmon.

It is too late for this year's returning salmon, but spring Chinook salmon will be returning through 2012. It takes the species four to five years to return to spawn. Maybe next year the hatchery can take a more passive approach to saving salmon -- perhaps by letting them spawn and die naturally.

The worst it could do is produce more wild salmon.

-- Editorial board


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DoctorSteve wrote on Jul 18, 2007 11:50 AM:

" Foil hat time. Andrew, how does the killing of 575 fish amount to a liberal conspiracy? In the long run, the killing of 575 fish creates a tiny dent in the overall population, and you ignore the fact that it was done to free up habitat for natural species that will live longer and create more offspring. Liberals manufacturing a crisis? Are you saying that if no action is taken, salmon will just magically come back on their own? There is certainly a crisis. However, rather than look at it, you choose to invoke the magic word "liberal," which excuses you from having to think at all. "I called it liberal, so it must be bad." We've covered the logic of killing those fish. At least read and understand before you respond. "

Andrew wrote on Jul 17, 2007 6:40 PM:

" As most of us have figured out already, and as this latest salmon killing shows, the 'green' movement is not about saving salmon, trees or the air. It is instead about manufacturing a crisis so the liberals can gain control over something, in this case the power industry, which they would otherwise have very little to do with. It is the same approach which leads to annual 'water shortages' in the Seattle area, despite abundant rainfall. Put liberals in charge of the Sahara Desert, and in a very short time, they would manufacture a sand shortage. Count on it. "

DoctorSteve wrote on Jul 16, 2007 7:21 AM:

" Daler, I agree that these guys can make mistakes and can try to play God. But have you looked at the specifics of this case? The killing of these salmon was an attempt to fix a problem caused by a mistake where biologists tried to play God. An experiment in selective breeding led to unsuitable fish. And you're jumping on them now, when they're fixing their error? Blind mistrust often leads to worse thinking than blind faith. Witness Glenn M Sand's letter, which essentially says "Because there are governmental conspiracies, all governmental activities should be seen as conspiratorial." "

DoctorSteve wrote on Jul 14, 2007 8:04 AM:

" Chris, I didn't say we should have blind faith in experts, or in the powers that be. I'm merely pointing out that a blind faith in common sense, or a blind skepticism of things one doesn't understand is dangerous. In this case, there's no blind faith involved. The experts have stated that they have discovered a problem with the adult versions of fish they hatched years ago which makes them a danger to natural populations, and they are doing the responsible thing by destroying them. It sounds like they discovered that hatching environment (captivity vs. wild) has far more impact than they thought, so they're abandoning an experiment before it does damage to the ecosystem. More scientists need to think this way. "

Daler wrote on Jul 13, 2007 11:10 PM:

" The problem I see is the Fisheries Dept experts are generally college educated idiots that have never been hunting or fishing and are trying to play God with wildlife. I know. I have worked with them in the past more than once. Not all of them are idiots, just the ones that have no practical experience. Anyone who thinks that the experts always know what they are doing, doesn't know what's going on. The fish and wildlife experts in this state have made a lot of mistakes in the past. And WE are the ones that have or will pay for it. Ask any hunter or fisherman how smart those experts are and sit back and wait for an answer. Oh. You better bring a lunch because you will be listening for a while. "

Glenn M Sand wrote on Jul 13, 2007 8:44 PM:

" DoctorSteve : You still haven't figured out that you/we were lied to about 9/11 and WMD's, either, huh? You must be one of them 'spin doctors' that I read about. Good luck...you're surly going to need it. "

Sam wrote on Jul 13, 2007 6:39 PM:

" Here is the reason that they did it. Maybe you should try looking things up before you submit them for printing. "Substantial experimental evidence demonstrates that domestication selection can genetically alter hatchery populations in a few generations and that hatchery-origin adults returning from the ocean and spawning in the wild produce fewer progeny than adults of wild origin spawning in the wild. More limited evidence suggests that interbreeding between hatchery-origin adults and wild fish can reduce the fitness of the wild population" from the AFS (american Fishery society) online journal "

DoctorSteve wrote on Jul 13, 2007 3:14 PM:

" Yes, but blind faith in "common sense" can be the most dangerous. Assuming that something someone else does which makes no sense to you is thus nonsensical is a dangerous leap. I don't profess blind faith in experts. However, I am of the opinion that the actions of experts, especially in as heavily-monitored an area as species conservation, is well considered. The editorial even claims that the biologists have good reason for what they do. Harvesting eggs and sperm from wild fish and raising them in captivity led to fish that were inferior in resisting disease, and the diseases these fish carried would spread to wild salmon. The extrapolation that "This logic would mean our children are genetically inferior to us, the parents" is ludicrous. The biologists aren't discussing genetics. They're discussing environment, and claiming that the environment that a fish is born in has an affect on its immune system. Is that really so hard to believe? "

Chris wrote on Jul 13, 2007 11:55 AM:

" Ahh yes steve we should trust the powers that be..Its not like they make mistakes too. Blind faith in anything including so called experts can be dangerous. "

DoctorSteve wrote on Jul 12, 2007 10:42 PM:

" I'm sure none of this every occurred to the wildlife biologists, and you should be doing their jobs for them. Come on! These are experts. They know what they're doing. It may seem illogical to you, but if they say there's a substantial difference between captive-bred salmon and wild salmon, you can bet there's a difference. Perhaps the fry of the captive-bred salmon have an immediate advantage right after hatching, but die off too soon. Perhaps they have less of a sense of a home to return to. Perhaps you could contact the biologists and find out more, instead of just assuming that they're incompetent. Often, people in public offices have to do things that look bad to you and me, but are for the greater good. "

Glenn M Sand wrote on Jul 12, 2007 4:16 PM:

" fugheddaboutit! You're making way too much sense here! "