Police seek steelhead bandits who released 25,000 fish

[vandeman17]

FALL CITY, Wash. -- Washington state’s five steelhead hatcheries are on high alert after someone broke into a facility overnight and released approximately 25,000 juvenile fish into the Snoqualmie River.

State Fish and Wildlife Hatchery managers are concerned it was an act of defiance against a new agreement that sharply curtails the state’s steelhead hatchery program. The agreement resulted from a lawsuit filed by a fish protection group, Wild Fish Conservancy, which accused the State of violating the Endangered Species Act. State Fish and Wildlife Managers agreed to stop planting winter steelhead hatchery fish in all but one river.

This set off a wave of criticism by some sport anglers who eagerly await the steelhead runs each year.

It also left the state with huge numbers of steelhead that could not be released into tributaries of Puget Sound. Whoever struck the Tokul Creek facility on the Snoqualmie appeared to know the hatchery was planning to truck its large inventory of steelhead to the east side of the state where they would be released into lakes that would not allow them to migrate to the Sound.

State Fish and Wildlife Enforcement officers and King County Sheriffs deputies are investigating the break in. Hatchery workers say whoever did it cut the lock off a tall chain link fence, entered the hatchery grounds and pulled the screens that prevented the steelhead from entering the creek and Snoqualmie River.

Private security officers have been hired to patrol the other hatcheries until police figure out if this is an isolated case or part of an organized resistance to the settlement.

[Mfowl]

Sweet! No way I would ever turn those guys in! 

Stupid NFS can stick it where the sun don't shine!

[h20hunter]

Sweet! No way I would ever turn those guys in! 

Stupid NFS can stick it where the sun don't shine!

Sorry but there is no way this is a good thing. Think of the rivers and streams (or lakes per the article ) that now will not get planted. I'm no expert but I assume that the release of fish is a fairly controlled act when it comes to timing and conditions. What makes anyone think that these hatchery fish will even survive the release?

Crime and vandelism will never achieve anything positive.

[jackelope]

Sweet! No way I would ever turn those guys in! 

Stupid NFS can stick it where the sun don't shine!

Sorry but there is no way this is a good thing. Think of the rivers and streams that now will not get planted. I'm no expert but I assume that the release of fish is a fairly controlled act when it comes to timing and conditions. What makes anyone think that these hatchery fish will even survive the release?

Per a recent WDFW settlement, all hatchery steelhead stockings have been eliminated for all puget sound rivers except the Sky for the next 12 years virtually eliminating steelhead fishing on any of these rivers.

Not condoning it by any means...just saying...the river wasn't going to get planted anyway.

[baker5150]

Sweet! No way I would ever turn those guys in! 

Stupid NFS can stick it where the sun don't shine!

Sorry but there is no way this is a good thing. Think of the rivers and streams (or lakes per the article ) that now will not get planted. I'm no expert but I assume that the release of fish is a fairly controlled act when it comes to timing and conditions. What makes anyone think that these hatchery fish will even survive the release?

Crime and vandelism will never achieve anything positive.

I agree,  there's more science involved than just opening the pen and letting them swim out.  This is more than likely all for nothing.

[h20hunter]

I'm with you Josh...I edited my post regarding the comment about lakes. I still maintain that crime and vandelism is the wrong way to go about it.

[MtnMuley]

Backfire!!!

[snowpack]

Sweet! No way I would ever turn those guys in! 

Stupid NFS can stick it where the sun don't shine!

Sorry but there is no way this is a good thing. Think of the rivers and streams (or lakes per the article ) that now will not get planted. I'm no expert but I assume that the release of fish is a fairly controlled act when it comes to timing and conditions. What makes anyone think that these hatchery fish will even survive the release?

Crime and vandelism will never achieve anything positive.

Most I can think of release steelhead smolts late April to early May.  They should survive the river part of the release fine.  Who knows about the sound where they have about an 80% chance of being eaten since the herring are so depressed.

[Bullkllr]

Sweet! No way I would ever turn those guys in! 

Stupid NFS can stick it where the sun don't shine!

Sorry but there is no way this is a good thing. Think of the rivers and streams that now will not get planted. I'm no expert but I assume that the release of fish is a fairly controlled act when it comes to timing and conditions. What makes anyone think that these hatchery fish will even survive the release?

This is likely within the window they would normally be released. Main reason streams open June 1 instead of earlier is most steelhead smolts are migrated out by then.
It may have been someone with some knowledge...
As far as rivers and streams that will not get planted- that ship already sailed. The only stream in the Puget Sound basin that was going to be planted (per new "settlement") was the Sky. All other steelhead smolts at PS hatcheries were going to lakes on the Eastside. Looks like there may be some in the Sno/Tokul 2/3years from now after all.

Only thing I have to add is that if the perps were really organized they should have hit all the hatcheries at once for a simultaneous release.

[pd]

I edited my post regarding the comment about lakes. I still maintain that crime and vandelism is the wrong way to go about it.

H20 Hunter, I agree with you that crime and vandalism are usually neither appropriate nor effective.  However, you surely are aware of the long history of civil disobedience in this country, starting with the Whiskey Rebellion and continuing through the Civil Rights movement.  Sometimes these activities are eventually effective (MLK Jr.), and sometimes they result in hangings (John Brown's raid on the armory at Harper's Ferry comes to mind).

Which way will this episode develop?  Care to venture a guess?

[Mfowl]

25,000 smolts is not going to give any of us great fishing in the future. But I tip my hat to the responsible party all the same! As far as crime and vandalism go...I think this act demonstrates a passion for a fishery that many of us loved and is now a thing of the past. If you think the good 'ol days of steelheading will return, IMO your in for disappointment. WDFW let a small special interest group take a way a large resource from us, the sport fishing community. I venture to guess that they will lose the same amount of $$ in license fees in the future as they would have fighting this lawsuit.  Increased pressure on the few remaining nates is gonna hurt these rivers more than ever. As far as planting the smolts in a lake...lol...what a waste!

[h20hunter]

I edited my post regarding the comment about lakes. I still maintain that crime and vandelism is the wrong way to go about it.

H20 Hunter, I agree with you that crime and vandalism are usually neither appropriate nor effective.  However, you surely are aware of the long history of civil disobedience in this country, starting with the Whiskey Rebellion and continuing through the Civil Rights movement.  Sometimes these activities are eventually effective (MLK Jr.), and sometimes they result in hangings (John Brown's raid on the armory at Harper's Ferry comes to mind).

Which way will this episode develop?  Care to venture a guess?

how it will develop? My guess is a waste of time.  As mentioned the days of yore are gone and past.

[KFhunter]

Where's BH45?

[Bullkllr]

25,000 smolts is not going to give any of us great fishing in the future. But I tip my hat to the responsible party all the same! As far as crime and vandalism go...I think this act demonstrates a passion for a fishery that many of us loved and is now a thing of the past. If you think the good 'ol days of steelheading will return, IMO your in for disappointment.

I don't think anyone here alluded to that. 25,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to what used to go into every system. Hopefully some %, however small, will survive to return. And hopefully a few will be caught. Any steelhead to fish for is better than no steelhead to fish for, even if it's a 1-time deal. Basically, it's more a slap in the face to our (mis)managers than anything.

Increased pressure on the few remaining nates is gonna hurt these rivers more than ever. As far as planting the smolts in a lake...lol...what a waste!

  I wonder if they even considered moving the plants to other rivers?

[BOWHUNTER45]

  I am sorry but this is what needs to happen ....extreme measures need to start taking place in-order to let them know we are freakin tired of this crap ..... and it needs to happen in huge numbers ...