WDFW proposed Hatchery Closure

[fireweed]

I was just looking through the next wdfw commission meeting agenda, and to save money, looks like they are proposing to close many fish Hatcheries.  YEEKS
Hatcheries listed:

Close six salmon and steelhead hatcheries, including:
Forks Creek, Nemah, Reiter, Tokul Creek, Mayr Bros, and
Whitehorse hatcheries

Closure of Elwha, Toutle, and Skamania hatcheries

Close four trout hatcheries, including: Arlington, Chelan,
Naches, and Mossyrock hatcheries.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/7_july31_2020_2021-23perflevel.pdf

[Mfowl]

F that! They should forego the wolf research and channel those funds in to hatchery production!

[Special T]

I wonder what the Tribes are gonna say about that... Didnt they just have some kind of agreement to get past ESA fish requirements?

[duckmen1]

That's pretty typical. Keep limiting fish production and oh now we got no fish to fish for. Bye bye salmon and steelhead. Seems like salmon and steelhead are always first on the list to reduce opportunity. Also get rid of warmwater species because they compete with salmon. Now we just have nothing to fish for. Hurray wdfw for a great job managing money and your wildlife.

[fireweed]

I hope this is just a scare tactic.  Last year they were all set to boost chinook for the orcas.

[WSU]

It's a scare tactic, just like every time they want more money.  They never threaten to cut things nobody cares about. 

[duckmen1]

The one thing I can say about the tokul hatchery is steelhead returns in my opinion arent even worth it. Look at the returns. They aren't even getting 100 fish a year to return to the hatchery.

[TriggerMike]

What would a scare tactic like this accomplish?

[WSU]

To try and get the legislature to give them general fund money and/or strong arm the legislature into passing the fee increase that has gotten requested but rejected the last few years. 

[duckmen1]

Scare tactic. Good thought but I'm not convinced. Usually seems like when a thought or proposal is put out there its either everything listed or more. Once its put out there usually it happens.

[duckmen1]

Hope for the best but fear the worst.

[Bill W]

Budget issues were caused by Inslee screwing with the state economy.  He caused the shortage.

[WSU]

Look at the cuts to hatcheries: Forks Creek, Nemah, and Mayr Brothers.  All mainly benefit commercial fishers and are located in Brian Blake's district.  Brian Blake is a known commercial fisheries advocate and chairs the house Rural Development, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee.  Brian Blake has historically been the bread winner for WDFW and, in exchange, WDFW scratched his back by providing for his pet constituents.  That's been changing.

Tokul and Reiter are important to Puget Sound fishers as basically the only steelhead hatcheries left in PS that may support a fishery. 

Whitehorse is stilly chinook?  Without those fish, PS fisheries would be almost impossible (for example, they are the purported reason all blackmouth fishing was closed this year) and that hatchery is keeping that strain alive.  Is it even feasible to do away with it?  Can WDFW let those ESA listed fish go extinct?  I think not and I suspect we'll see.

The list has little to do with cost savings and everything to do with make sure the outcry is too big to allow the cut.  It's all about the money.

[duckmen1]

WSU that's a lot of good points.

[fowl smacker]

Doubt it's a scare tactic.  They're trying to make the Toutle a "Natural Native" river and have been.  Eliminate the hatchery, accomplish "their" goal!  Very sad!