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FISH WATCH — WILD FISH NEWS, ISSUES AND INITIATIVES
Federal Court Recommends Ending Southeast Alaska Salmon Troll Fishery
Last December, in a massive international and coast-wide decision for wild Chinook salmon and Southern Resident orca recovery, Seattle’s federal Court issued a landmark opinion that recommends terminating unsustainable commercial southeast Alaska troll fisheries that has persisted for decades until new environmental reviews of those fisheries occur. Overfishing was found in a previous ruling to illegally harm the recovery of both endangered Southern Resident orcas and wild Chinook salmon across the Pacific Northwest.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson issued a report and recommendation on a lawsuit brought by the Wild Fish Conservancy, agreeing that halting the summer and winter seasons of the Southeast Alaska Chinook troll fishery is the most appropriate remedy. Simultaneously, the judge found the federal government’s inadequate biological opinion should be remanded back to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in order for the agency to address violations of environmental law.
larger and more diverse life histories of wild Chinook these whales evolved to eat, which are fundamental for rebuilding both populations.
While these Chinook are harvested in Southeast Alaska marine waters and currently certified by major U.S. seafood certifiers as ‘sustainable wild caught Alaskan Chinook’, approximately 97% of all Chinook harvested in the Southeast Alaska troll fishery actually originate from rivers throughout British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. Currently, these Chinook are harvested prematurely, before they can migrate back into southern waters where the Southern Resident orcas encounter them. In 2021, the fishery of concern harvested approximately 150,000 Chinook, many of which were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
For the first time in decades, Magistrate Peterson’s recommendation to terminate this fishery would finally allow these Chinook to migrate back down the coast and pass through the Southern Resident orcas’ key foraging areas. Similarly, this action would support the coastwide recovery of wild Chinook stocks by allowing far more wild Chinook to return and spawn in rivers in B.C., Washington, and Oregon.
Southern Resident orcas were listed as Endangered in 2005. Currently, there are only 73 individuals in the population, an alarming decrease from nearly 100 only 25-years ago. Reduced prey availability, specifically large and abundant Chinook, has been identified by orca experts and NOAA as the primary cause of their decline.
In the coming months, the Magistrate Judge’s report and recommendation and any objections from the defendants will be considered by the District Judge presiding over the case for a final ruling.
Find more information on the Wild Fish Conservancy website at: https://wildfishconservancy.org
2022 Skeena River Summer Steelhead Run Increases, But Not Out of the Woods Yet
In August 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones issued a stunning summary judgment based on a previous report and recommendation by Magistrate Peterson confirming that NOAA violated the law by improperly relying on undeveloped and uncertain future mitigation to offset ongoing overfishing authorized by NOAA.
In their most recent analysis of this fishery’s impact on threatened and endangered species, NOAA admits that over the last decade and continuing today, Chinook harvest is occurring at levels that are unsustainable for the long-term survival and reproductive success of both threatened wild Chinook salmon populations and endangered Southern Resident orcas. The overharvest of the orcas’ prey has been ongoing for decades.
If adopted by the District Judge, this recommendation will result in the first scientifically-proven recovery action in the Pacific Northwest to immediately provide Chinook for starving orcas. The decision will also recover and restore the
While the 2021 run of British Columbia’s wild Skeena River steelhead run was the lowest on record — 5,400 fish, or about 20% of average (and low returns for the previous two years as well) the 2022 run increased to 15,680 summer-run steelhead. However, that is still below the historical average and if the situation doesn’t improve, additional conservation action will need to be taken.
The river’s sockeye salmon run has been faring better. The 2022 sockeye salmon return was 4.33 million that permitted strong commercial, subsistence and recreational fishing opportunities. The 2021 Skeena River sockeye salmon return was 1.2 million.
The Chinook salmon return was 45,000. This was twice the number forecasted as well as double the 2021 return. However, this is still below the historical long-term average and commercial and sport fisheries that targeted Skeena Chinook were closed or reduced in 2022.
Learn more at: https://skeenawild.org, 2021 and 2022 annual reports. SkeenaWild Conservation Trust is one of The Osprey’s supporting partner organizations.
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International River Conservation Groups Warn of Severe Climate and Human Rights Risk from New Hydropower Dam Proposals
Last November, a global river and human rights coalition at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, called on world governments to avoid including new large hydropower projects in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and financiers to avoid funding projects due to the climate and human rights risks associated with hydropower.
The Rivers for Climate Coalition, a collective effort of environmental, indigenous, and human rights groups, pointed to the immense loss and damage suffered by the more than half a billion people impacted and displaced by hydropower dams, especially Indigenous Peoples. They also highlighted the multiple recent studies showing that emissions, especially methane, at hydropower plants are much higher than previously understood. In some cases, hydropower dams emit twice as much carbon as they store. A 2018 study, showed 14 dams in the Mekong River basin release more carbon emissions than fossil-fueled power plants, with researchers determining, “hydropower in the Mekong Region cannot be considered categorically as low-emission energy.” Another study last year found that hydropower in the Amazon river basin and the tropics have significant greenhouse gas emissions. This is especially worrisome as most new planned hydropower is in tropical areas.
In the lead-up to last year’s climate meeting, UN agencies urgently warned the world of the dangers and opportunity to reduce methane emissions — a greenhouse gas more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Dams and hydropower schemes create major loss and damage, including producing significant amounts of methane, biodiversity loss, and community displacement. In a warming world, droughts and flooding make hydropower an unreliable energy choice and an increasing danger to downstream communities. An urgent shift away from false solutions that harm people and ecosystems is essential.
Hydropower is being falsely marketed as “clean,” “green,” or “carbon-emission free.” This narrative must be challenged, and accurate data provided so decision-makers can make the best investments to reduce emissions and harm, according to the Coalition.
Learn more at: https://www.internationalrivers.org
Draft Legislation Proposes to Establish NOAA as an Independent Agency
On December 21, Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) released a draft to enshrine the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in law and establish it as an independent agency.
NOAA was created by executive order in 1970 and has never been established in law. It currently resides within the Department of Commerce. Lucas’ proposed legislation would give NOAA formal statutory authority and authorize its critical mission.
From weather prediction to environmental observations to managing fisheries, NOAA’s work supports more than onethird of our economy, according to Lucas.
In addition to giving NOAA statutory authority, the NOAA Organic Act will promote scientific integrity and critical research within the agency by requiring NOAA’s Science Advisory Board to develop a strategic plan for their research and development activities every five years.
Importantly, the NOAA Organic Act ensures the National Weather Service will continue to operate within NOAA as it provides essential weather forecasts, monitors severe weather, and communicates life-saving information to communities and government agencies.
It also consolidates NOAA’s work by refocusing it on its core mission areas. It moves the Office of Commercial Space out of NOAA and elevates the office, making it an individual office within the Department of Commerce, with an Undersecretary reporting directly to the Secretary of Commerce. Additionally, it directs a study on transferring NOAA’s work on endangered species and marine mammal protection to the Department of the Interior, which has extensive expertise in this area. See: https://science.house.gov/2022/12/lucas-releases-draft-legislation-to-establish-noaa-as-an-independentagency
Coho and Steelhead Return to San Vicente Redwoods One Year after Dam Removed

One year after the Mill Creek dam was removed, coho salmon and steelhead have returned to spawn. Located in the San Vicente Redwoods, a 8,532-acre property in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. The land is owned by the Sempervirens Fund and Peninsula Open Space Trust, and managed in a partnership with the Land Trust Of Santa Cruz County and Save the Redwoods League for its conservation values.
For the past century, Mill Creek dam blocked access for anadromous fish to upstream habitat and transport of cobble needed for high-quality spawning habitat. Because the dam was providing no current value, the previous owner of the San Vicente Redwoods, CEMEX, agreed to remove the dam, which came down on October 4, 2021.
Nature immediately got to work, as winter storms began moving cobble and sediment downstream, and creating sandbars that provided first-rate salmon and steelhead habitat. By September 2022, fisheries biologist found the first recorded coho salmon in the creek downstream of the former damsite, as well as steelhead upstream — for the first time in 100 years.
To learn more visit: https://sempervirens.org/news/cohocobble-and-creek-beds/
NOAA Fisheries Releases Assessment for Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead
On September 30, 2022, NOAA Fisheries released its report Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead, drawing on recommendations provided by the Columbia Partnership 2020. The assessment looks towards what is required to make significant progress to rebuilding salmon and steelhead stocks in the interior Columbia River basin to attain the goal of healthy and harvestable population levels.
These recommended actions include: Increasing habitat restoration; reintroducing salmon into blocked areas; managing predators; breaching dams; reforming fish hatcheries and harvest; improving water quality, especially toxic pollutant levels; managing marine ecosystems and; reconnecting floodplain habitat.

These recommendations go beyond the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, and are anticipated to take many decades to accomplish according to NOAA.
The assessment is available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/rebuilding-interior-columbia-basin-salmon-and-steelhead
Recent Research Finds that Salmon Help the Flowers Grow
Researchers at Simon Fraser University studying the effects of nutrient distribution from decomposing salmon carcasses have found that it can have a signficant effect on the growth and reproduction success of plant species in nearby habitat. For certain flowers, these nutrients may cause an increase in abundance and plant size.
Over the course of three years, the scientists planted pink salmon carcasses along a small river on the central coast of British Columbia in Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) territory. Habitat along the river featured large meadows of wildflowers and grasses.
What researchers discovered was that during some years, plant communities adjacent to where the carcasses were placed produced larger leaves, and in other years some species produced larger flowers and more seeds. The scientists also experiented with other natural fertilizer combinations, including rockweed, but found salmon carcasses provided the most benefit. Yarrow and common red paintbrush seemed to benefit in particular.
See: http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2023/01/how-salmonfeed-flowers---flourishing-ecosystems--study.html
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