Biologists call for changes to Columbia River salmon hatcheries

In a report released Friday to Congress, biologists called for big changes in the sprawling Columbia River hatcheries so the operations support, not hinder, the massive regional effort to restore natural salmon runs.

The hatchery system encompasses 178 different programs run by state, federal and tribal operators, and it has soaked up billions of taxpayer dollars in recent decades as many of the major wild runs have gained protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Hatchery Scientific Review Group report includes detailed recommendations for each program, offering federal and other funding agencies a blueprint on how to evaluate future projects.

"If hatcheries continue to be operated the way they are, the plight of natural populations may become worse rather than better," said Lars Mobrand, a Seattle consultant and former chairman of the review group.

"We have so narrowed the genetic makeup of these populations that when we see things like changing ocean conditions, and perhaps even climate change, we don't have the ability for salmon to adapt to those things," said Peter Paquet, a member of the Hatchery Scientific Review Group. "Historically, salmon have been good at this — they have been for 10,000 years of various climate conditions."

More than 80 percent of fish returning to the mouth of the Columbia are spawned in hatcheries, and 13 wild runs are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Sometimes the big volumes of hatchery fish cannot be fully harvested without overfishing wild stocks, so surplus fish end up flooding back to hatcheries and produce little economic benefit, the report stated.

The report recommends reductions in the numbers of fish produced at some hatcheries.

The report also notes that hatchery fish stray into streams frequented by wild stocks. As the stocks interbreed, the genetic survival traits of the wild fish can be weakened, the report notes

Some of the biggest changes are proposed for the lower Columbia River. There, scientists said the hatcheries should be more focused on using local brood stock that are better adapted to the area, and using weirs and other tactics to prevent too many hatchery fish from straying into wild spawning grounds.

Many of the reforms proposed in the report already have been launched by hatchery managers who in recent years have been rethinking management efforts.

But court cases and treaties could create obstacles to carrying out some of the changes. The report was greeted warily by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which released a statement saying hatchery managers may have other options "that better meet their program principles and goals."

Seattle Times reporter Hal Bernton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.