Outcomes
Over 1,000 Recommendations for Programmatic and Systemic Changes
The HSRG's three-year review of over 200 hatchery programs at over 100 Washington hatcheries resulted in more than 1,000 recommendations for change. These changes ranged from programmatic adjustments at some facilities to system-wide management changes, to the closure of some hatcheries. In April 2004, the HSRG announced its findings in the publication Hatchery Reform: Principles and Recommendations of the Hatchery Scientific Review Group.
Working to Implement the Recommendations of the HSRG
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is now working with the tribal co-managers to implement the changes recommended by the HSRG during the Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project. An important step towards implementation was WDFW's 2009 completion, in partnership with Long Live the Kings, of the 21st Century Salmon and Steelhead Framework, a new decision-making tool that will enable integrated management of hatcheries, harvest, and habitat.
The HSRG in the Columbia River Basin
In 2005, Congress directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) to replicate the Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project in the Lower Columbia River Basin. The scope was then expanded to include the entire Basin, with additional support provided by the Bonneville Power Administration under the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Fish and Wildlife Program. To learn more about the HSRG's work in the Columbia Basin, visit www.hatcheryreform.us.
