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Federal managers are expected to announce this week that they will close the country's second largest salmon-producing run, a move that follows the staggering collapse of salmon stocks along the West Coast.
And, earlier this week, three federal agencies announced a nearly $1 billion proposed deal with four tribes to restore salmon runs along the Columbia and Snake rivers, which represent the largest salmon-producing runs in the nation.
The two developments reflect the struggle federal regulators, states, tribes, commercial fishers, and others are entangled in as they face an unprecedented drop in salmon stocks.
The announcement on the West Coast fishery by the Pacific Fishery Management Council is expected to be made either today or tomorrow.
The closure, if adopted, would affect salmon runs from the Gulf of Mexico to north Oregon.
The council, which is responsible for fisheries off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington and was established along with seven other fishery management councils under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, last month floated three recommendations for dealing with the sharp decline of West Coast salmon: a complete closure of the fishery, a near-complete closure that would allow only for a catch-and-release genetic research experiment for chinook salmon, or an option that would allow for a "small amount of recreational and commercial ocean chinook fishing."
Though at press time, the council's decision had not been announced, the incredibly low levels of returning spawning salmon to the fishery all but forces closure, many sources say.
"There's no choice," commented Glen Spain, Northwest regional director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.
According to the council, the minimum conservation goal for salmon in the Sacramento River, which is the "driver" of commercial and recreational fisheries off California and southern Oregon, is 122,000 to 180,000 spawning adult salmon; this amount is the number of salmon needed to return to the river to maintain the health of the run. As recently as 2002, 775,000 adults returned to spawn. This year, even with all ocean salmon fishing closed, the return of fall run chinook to the Sacramento is projected to be 58,200. Under the option that allows small fisheries in specific areas, returns would be approximately 51,900.
The decline is due primarily to "record" water diversions and pollution, especially agricultural pollution, said Spain, who added that restoring the salmon runs would require these "root causes" to be addressed. "We're the victims of a long series of events. There are many bites to the apple before the apple gets to us."
Feds announce deal to help restore stocks in the Columbia and Snake rivers
And in another historic event regarding salmon stock management, on Monday, the Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed agreement with four Columbia River Basin tribes to improve habitat and strengthen fish stocks in the Columbia River Basin over the next 10 years.
The proposed agreement is open for public comment until April 23 after which the parties expect to finalize the plan and present it in conjunction with federal biological opinion due before the U.S. District Court of Oregon on May 5, explained Diana Cross with Reclamation.
"This agreement provides tangible evidence, not just promises, of our plan to collaborate to restore the stocks," Cross continued.
The federal biological opinion, considered the critical component to the federal salmon restoration efforts, will be presented in its fifth form to the court early next month. All four previous biological opinions have been struck down in the courts. Judge Jim Redden required collaboration with stakeholders in developing the fifth version.
Steve Wright, BPA administrator, said, "Today these parties are saying let's lay down the swords, let's spend more time working collaboratively to implement measures that help fish and less time litigating. I give Judge Redden credit for leading us down the path of collaboration."
"These agreements should provide greater certainty for Columbia River Basin fish recovery activities and for Northwest ratepayers," Wright added. "The Columbia River has provided innumerable benefits to all of us here in the Northwest, and these agreements are about giving back to the river and helping to meet our tribal treaty and trust responsibilities by providing even more support for the fish species of our region."
Though everyone agrees that the measures in the proposed plan would be beneficial, many say the plan lacks a critical component -- removal of four dams along the Snake River.
"Any scientifically sound plan must include increased spill and flow for juvenile salmon survival and removal of four outdated dams on the Lower Snake River," charged Bill Shake, former assistant regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "While increased spill and flow and Snake River dam removal are not silver bullets, they are a necessary part of a larger plan. This deal suggests that salmon can recover without that action, which goes against everything the science tells us."
"This deal defies decades of salmon science that say salmon recovery in the Columbia and Snake River Basin is not possible with habitat and hatchery programs alone," Shake added.
"This issue can't be dodged any longer," Spain said. "The biggest elephant on the table and what everyone wants to ignore are the impacts of the dams themselves." Spain added that not only do scientific analyses support dam removal, but economic studies also point to the importance of removing the dams.
"Without dam removal, it's like putting a Band-Aid on a major hemorrhage," Spain exclaimed.
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