Washington State Passes Salmon Policy; Tribal Approval Is Pending Story-Date: 01:16 p.m. PST Sunday , December 28, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------ Washington State Passes Salmon Policy; Tribal Approval Is Pending By Midori Baer, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News OLYMPIA, Wash.--Dec. 29--The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has voted unanimously to commit Department of Fish and Wildlife fish managers to implementing the principles of a Wild Salmonid Policy. Developed over months of negotiations with treaty tribes, the policy provides a framework for salmon restoration efforts already in effect among many tribes. The policy is intended to ensure abundant, genetically diverse and productive wild salmonid populations. The policy strategy will work to develop a combination of regular and selective fisheries that sustain harvest while putting abundant numbers of wild fish on the spawning grounds; to provide for a restoration effort of salmon habitat; and to conserve and maintain the genetic quality of the fish. Bern Shanks, director of the Fish and Wildlife Commission in Washington proposed the policy in a drastic attempt to preserve wild salmon whose numbers are dangerously low. "We have a crisis," Mr. Shanks said with regard to the salmon situation in a Seattle newspaper. "If we haven't hit bottom, we're close to it." Over $900 million annually goes into salmon management, conservation and restoration; there has been no significant improvement in the fish runs. Mr. Shanks said that some hatchery costs run up to $200 a fish. The depletion of the salmon runs has been attributed to area hydroelectric development, genetic decline through hatchery and wild salmon interbreeding, and habitat deterioration caused by urbanization. Over-harvesting has also been blamed for the critical state of the fish and Mr. Shanks has suggested harvest cutbacks. For most western Washington treaty tribes, the salmon is integral to their culture and livelihood. The 1974 Boldt decision entitles treaty tribes to 50 percent of the annual salmon harvest and an equal voice in managing fisheries. The policy is now under review by treaty tribes. "This is one very important part of the wild salmon restoration initiative by the tribes," Tony Meyer of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission said. As part of the policy, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will continue to release millions of hatchery fish in order to maintain a foundation for commercial and recreational salmon fishing. Hatchery fish released will be marked by removing their adipose fins, located on the back just forward of the tail. Jim Peters, director of natural resources for the Squaxin Island Tribe, said that the tribe has been working on a more efficient net pen for the past eight years to enhance existing salmon populations. Of the Wild Salmonid Policy, Mr. Peters said it must be flexible enough to deal with certain tribal issues. The Fish and Wildlife Commission also directed the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to follow additional policy guidance on science-based conservation principles. The guidance will be used by department biologists as they negotiate implementation plans with tribes, the public and other governments at the watershed level. Final adoption of the policy, however, depends on tribal approval, which could take several months, Mr. Meyer said. Lisa Pelly, the Fish and Wildlife Commission chairperson, hopes tribal agreement will be reached soon. "The Commission and the Department of Fish and Wildlife will continue to work closely with the tribes to resolve remaining issues so we all can get on with the daunting challenge of rebuilding these wild fish runs," she said. "I feel both sides are very close to agreement on a Wild Salmonid Policy. It will be a real breakthrough in our efforts to restore wild runs while we still provide fishing opportunities." "The treaty Indian tribes in western Washington and the State Fish and Wildlife Commission have worked hard to develop a joint Wild Salmonid Policy. (The decision to pass it) by the Fish and Wildlife Commission is another positive step toward completing development of a joint policy," Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Chair Billy Frank said in a recent press release. "The working relationships developed over the past several months of negotiations have resulted in a strong, new commitment to cooperative co-management between the new Fish and Wildlife Commission and the treaty tribes in western Washington." ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------