Posts Tagged ‘ Salmon ’

Court Stops Killing of Sea Lions At Bonneville Dam

November 23, 2010
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Courtesy ODFW

Pull out the traps – a federal appeals court says there won’t be any more killing of sea lions at Bonneville Dam.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a stop to the killing saying that wildlife officials didn’t really explain how killing sea lions is supposed to help salmon and steelhead.

At first look, the answer to that question seems obvious. Bonneville Dam is a big bottleneck for salmon working their way upstream to spawn. It forces them into a small area and makes them easy pickings for California and Steller sea lions.

But the legal standard appears to require a “significant negative impact” and the court says federal and state wildlife officials didn’t prove that’s what was happening.

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The Million Dollar Fish

November 23, 2010
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Bonneville Power Administration is writing some big checks to fishermen this fall. One guy is getting more than $81,000.

Each year, BPA pays a bounty for northern pikeminnow caught in the Columbia River. The fish, according to BPA, eat millions of young salmon and steelhead.

For 2010, BPA will pay a total of $1.2 million for 173,112 pikeminnow.

Continue reading for the full press release.

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Hatchery Salmon Are Bad For Wild Fish

May 5, 2010
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There’s no doubt that salmon raised in hatcheries are important. They make up the bulk of what’s caught in the ocean. But researchers meeting this week in Portland say hatchery salmon pose a threat to their wild cousins.

OPB: Scientists Determine Hatchery Salmon Threaten Wild Fish

Feds Back Off From Plans To Barge Salmon Past Dams

April 19, 2010
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Columbia River Sockeye Salmon. Courtesy WDFW.

The Obama Administration is walking away from what could have become the first big salmon fight of 2010.

NOAA Fisheries is dropping plans to cut off spring time spills at four dams on the Lower Snake River.

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First Coastwide Salmon Season In Three Years

April 16, 2010
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After three years of depressing news, there’s finally enough salmon to allow for fishing everywhere on the West Coast this summer.

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Science Panel: Don’t Cut Off Spills For Salmon This Spring

April 12, 2010
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Photo from BPA.

An independent science panel has looked at the Obama Administration’s plans to barge salmon around dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers this spring.

The conclusion? Not a good idea.

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A Slow Barge To Recovery: Should Salmon Swim Or Be Shipped Past Dams?

April 9, 2010
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Columbia River Sockeye Salmon. Courtesy WDFW.

In any other part of the country, the idea might sound too crazy to be true.

The feds want changes in how they help young salmon in the Columbia River Basin migrate to the Pacific Ocean this summer. Instead of making sure there’s enough water to help salmon swim past dams, the feds propose rounding them up, putting the fish on barges, and shipping them down river.

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Could This Be The Year For Another Klamath River Fish Kill?

March 24, 2010
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In 2002, tens of thousands of salmon died in the Klamath River after the Bush Administration decided to give farmers priority over fish and wildlife. Photo from Water Watch.

A rather disturbing story from the Times-Standard newspaper in Northern California.

Reporter John Driscoll interviewed scientists, including some from OSU, who say there’s so little water in the Klamath River we may see a repeat of 2002 when as many as 60,000 salmon died.

The problem is a tiny parasitic worm that lives in river silt. Driscoll reports that silty river bottoms are spreading across the Klamath River and scientists are finding higher concentrations of worms in those areas. Releasing more water from dams could flush away the silt and help the fish. But with the area facing a historic drought, will there be a enough water in the system to do that?

For the entire story see: Klamath River fish diseases spreading

Tip from the Pacific Fishery Management Council

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Water. Groups Say Let’s Help Salmon Instead.

March 8, 2010
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Fishing and conservation groups want the Washington Department of Ecology to loosen up some regulations and allow more water to be spilled over dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

If the timing is done right, spilling more water over dams helps young salmon migrate down river to the ocean. Conservationists compare it to the ride salmon used to get when they went over free flowing waterfalls. It speeds them along during a crucial phase of life, increases their survivability, and is a heckuva lot safer that being flushed through turbines.

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Salmon Forecast: Could Be Worse

February 24, 2010
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Chinook Salmon Courtesy USGS

After a few brutal years, things are looking somewhat better for Oregon’s coastal salmon fishermen.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council released its salmon forecast for 2010. Salmon numbers on the Sacramento and Klamath rivers are high enough to allow for some kind of commercial fishing season off Southern Oregon and California.

Along the Northern Oregon and Washington coasts, the situation looks better. Coho numbers are down about a third from last year, but Chinook numbers are up.

Still to be determined… how much actual fishing will be allowed.

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