Ceder River Hatchery

[huntnphool]

Well after years and years its finally going to happen, the city of Renton was finally given the go ahead and funds to build a hatchery on the Ceder River, they say it should be up and running in 5 years. I am going to assume that the sockeye will be a target of theirs but have not heard if they plan on rearing steelhead, chinook or coho. If managed properly we should have a Lake Washington sockeye fishery every year, and potentially could have a great run of each species depending on how large the hatchery will be and whether or not they rear anything besides sockeye.

[Shootmoore]

Nice!

Speaking of hatcheries, the Colvilles are supposed to break ground on there hatchery on the Columbia this spring.  IF they can get good workers for the hatchery it should make the okanogan and upper columbia a premier fishery for salmon.

Shootmoore

[fishcrazy]

Nice!

Speaking of hatcheries, the Colvilles are supposed to break ground on there hatchery on the Columbia this spring.  IF they can get good workers for the hatchery it should make the okanogan and upper columbia a premier fishery for salmon.

Shootmoore

I have been following this for about a year. I'm looking forward to what it should do for the lower river below the BIG WALL. I was told they are going to plant both spring and summer nookie. Not sure of the return numbers they are hopeing to get.

Kris

[Shootmoore]

Nice!

Speaking of hatcheries, the Colvilles are supposed to break ground on there hatchery on the Columbia this spring.  IF they can get good workers for the hatchery it should make the okanogan and upper columbia a premier fishery for salmon.

Shootmoore

Springs, Summers and they are bouncing the idea of coho as well.  I'm not sure what there eact return goals are.  But I do know that it is a higher production number than the 4 state hatcheries in the Wells complex combined.  IF they can get the springer numbers up and the State allows us to fish them it could be a huge spring/summer run through the Columbia. 

Shootmoore

I have been following this for about a year. I'm looking forward to what it should do for the lower river below the BIG WALL. I was told they are going to plant both spring and summer nookie. Not sure of the return numbers they are hopeing to get.

Kris

[huntnphool]

If done right Lake Washington should be full of decent fish year around.

[Shootmoore]

If done right Lake Washington should be full of decent fish year around.

Who's going to be running the hatchery?  The city, state or a private outfit?

Shootmoore

[huntnphool]

No idea

[Shootmoore]

No idea

Ok sure make me do my own research.  It is a replacement hatchery for the one that opened in 1991.  Its paid for by Seattle Public Utilities and run by the wdfw.  To be completed in 2011.  Production capacity will be 34 million fry.  We will see if the bio's will allow them to produce that many.  Most state hatcheries don't produce anything close to production capacity do to the bio's desire to protect "wild stock".  But I am always exicited to see upgrades and capacity increases in our hatcheries.  To bad they are talking about shutting down other hatcheries and contiunue to cut production numbers.

Shootmoore

[huntnphool]

Production capacity will be 34 million fry.  We will see if the bio's will allow them to produce that many.  Most state hatcheries don't produce anything close to production capacity do to the bio's desire to protect "wild stock".

Sounds like they will be able to rear more thsn just sockeye, that would be fantastic, although I am really excited that the sockeye fishery could be a lot more frequent.

[Dmanmastertracker]

 I have read in the past that one function of the hatchery will be to help rear wild chinook in the Cedar and of course sockeye. As dismal as the returns have been to the lake system, it will still take many years to build those numbers back up even with a new hatchery, they are still at a loss to explain the very high mortality of Lake Wa. sockeye in recent years.

[O_mykiss]

Nothing like a bunch of non-native sockeye to spread disease and stamp out the last of those pesky wild Cedar River steelhead.......oh, maybe some increased competition from hatchery zombit steelhead smolts will be the final kick to the teeth....go WDFW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[huntnphool]

So what are you saying mykiss, you are not for the hatchery?

[O_mykiss]

I understand the social need for the hatchery....salmon=good, no salmon=bad. Its just that millions of dollars will be spent keeping a non-native and artificial run of fish going (maybe) to support a fishery that is not historically very solvent when it comes to actually providing oppurtunity. Its got a 99.9% chance of becoming just another hole to pour money in.

 A new hatchery won't change the survival of the sockeye in the river,Lake Washington, or Puget sound/Pacific. WDFW already releases 17 million plus fry per year(at least thats the goal). Being able to rear more fry and conseqently release more fry is a dead end. There is not a linear relationship of input to returns and in fact, there might be the reverse relationship in most cases....

There ARE however, three native species of Onchorhynchus in the river already (Fall chinook, coho and steelhead) that are basically on life support. Money would be much better spent on habitat issues in the lower Cedar (which all these fish rely on) than ramrodding sockeye into the Cedar in perpetuity...

These native fishes will certainly not benefit from a new sockeye hatchery and especially won't benefit from hatchery supplementation to "recover" their numbers....research in the last decade+ has shown time and time again that hatcheries produce inferior product as compared to wild production and, in fact, lower the fitness of wild production fish. Look at what is happening on the Quillayute system RIGHT NOW...The Snyder Creek "supplementation" steelhead returning right now that were ment to provide oppurtunity for sportsmen contracted IHN in the hatchery as smolts, were released anyway, and now are interbreeding and infecting wild fish as we speak.

It is ludicris to continue to expect that hatcheries are the answer to our problems... especially in the light of the historical poor performance of the Cedar sockeye hatchery...especially in light of evidence that suggests hatcheries lower the fitness of wild fish and especially with the potential demise of steelhead on our coast looming as a direct result of hatchery influence and the incompetence of WDFW and tribes at the helm. 

So no, I'm not in favor of the hatchery.

[fishseeker]

i would be willing to bet that you are also against GOD FORGIVE ME "Eating a fish"!!! Fish with nothing but a Fly Rod and wear a dandy looking hat as you do.

[huntnphool]

Well thanks for posting your opinion mykiss, I don't agree myself but to each his own.