HARVEST
III. C. 201 Draft Statewide Strategy to Recover Salmon – Volume
2 Harvest Management to Meet the Needs of Wild Fish III. C. HARVEST MANAGEMENT
TO MEET THE NEEDS OF WILD FISH
SECTION 1: OVERVIEW
Several broad resource management principles and strategic resource
and fishery outcomes form the critical underpinnings for successful salmonid
protection and recovery. These principles and outcomes are outlined in
the Harvest and Hatchery Chapters of the Statewide Salmon Recovery Strategy
as are the specific guidelines of the state’s Wild Salmonid Policy (WSP),
the provisions of which have been incorporated into the statewide strategy
in their entirety. The policy contains a set of fish management strategies
and habitat conditions that, when used together, have proven successful
at maintaining healthy wild populations which can support sustainable fisheries.
Application of the policy, then, reflects a commitment by the state not
just to ensure perpetuation of species and populations with respect to
the Endangered Species Act but achieve healthy resource conditions.
Strategic Principles and Outcomes for Protection and Recovery
1. Stewardship of salmonid populations will come first in managing
the resource.
This basic principle of ensuring adequate annual wild spawning
populations will be a central focus of protection and restoration. Ensuring
healthy populations is the first step to providing sustainable fishing
opportunity. When faced with uncertainties, managers will err on the side
of the resource. Past practices used in some areas to intentionally over
fish wild populations in order to harvest hatchery fish will be discontinued.
2. Maintaining and increasing the productive capacity of fish habitat
will be an absolute requirement and commitment for recovery.
Current harvest impacts typically only represent a small fraction
of the historic production capacity of Washington’s wild salmonid populations.
Fishery and hatchery actions alone will do little for sustainable recovery
in most cases. Determined, effective actions to protect and restore habitat
are the key for long-term resource productivity. Resolving serious hydroelectric
impacts to salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River is essential for
sustainable recovery.
3. Hatchery programs will be held to a standard of “doing no harm”
to wild populations, and used to aid recovery where appropriate.-