Sandy river hatchery being sued

B
Bad Tuna
This is garbage, and is wasting taxpayer money defending it. There is no doubt the native fish society wants this river to have no hatchery fish. I'm all for saving native fish, but native worshiping is out of hand. This is a political agenda, not science.
 
M
metalfisher76
Politics will NEVER, NOT play a roll. ALL that aside, saving NATIVE fish should be considered AND more importantly talked about. Not tossed aside as political BS. That river reshaped to it`s former self in days! After the fall of Marmot:clap::clap:BTW) Almost over night, aside from debris in Troutdale. Experts predicted years, if not decades. This water has a chance to set the bar, IMHO. But that`s why we`re all here...
 
K
Kais
id rather not fish for a year or two in sandy, if it means a healthy future for fish
 
  • Like
Reactions: OnTheFly
Irishrover
Irishrover
If they close the hatchery on the Sandy River the next best move would be to close the river to all fishing. The river is located to close to the Portland Metro area for a sustainable wild fishery to survive under a catch and release system. The death rate from poachers and catch and release would doom the runs. The population in Multnomah County alone was 727,000 in 2000. When you add in Clackamas County and Washington's Clark county you add a mass of population that would reak havock on that river. Too many hooks targeting to few fish. I have fished that river for close to fifty years and had a good idea this would be the next step after they took out the Marmot Dam. I used to fish the Salmon River in the Sandy system. They closed it to fishing as well as the Zig Zag and upper portions of the Sandy. Now they have opened a short blip of a season on those rivers again. But if they take out the hatcheries it won't be long before they close the whole system. They will have to. Then the pressure will move to the Clackamas. They have had hactcheries on that river system dating back to the 1890s. If it were not for the population increases in the metro area they might be able to pull it off but with an area population of near 2 million I don't see it happeneing. Just my opinion.;)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: OnTheFly
M
metalfisher76
Now that`s an argument. That`s true, since they only opened `em to get the strays. Which is why it has made no sense for the last few years that I can`t kill those springers.
I think at some point a line`ll have to be drawn. Peoples fishing rights. The rights of a species survival. That fish doesn`t get a vote....
 
S
skunk
So in a way its a rotten deal for the clack, pressure wise, if the sandy got closed down. I guess its really nice to have such close fisheries and in a way its not. I personally don't see how there are any strains of wild actually left so that makes it all the more confusing as to how its managed. Population will never fall, fishermen will never stop fishing, so the only true answer is close a river. Are so called 'native' fish really worth it? Seems to me they may already be gone, so we perhaps we should all put our thinking caps on about how to truly manage the fish better. Seems the issue comes down the that it was never done properly in the past. Probably has to be give and take on both sides of the table or it'll be no fishing in lots of areas.
 
M
mlw
About time. The Deschutes, Metolius, and state of Montana are good examples of no-hatchery fishing.
 
E
eggs
skunk said:
So in a way its a rotten deal for the clack, pressure wise, if the sandy got closed down. I guess its really nice to have such close fisheries and in a way its not. I personally don't see how there are any strains of wild actually left so that makes it all the more confusing as to how its managed. Population will never fall, fishermen will never stop fishing, so the only true answer is close a river. Are so called 'native' fish really worth it? Seems to me they may already be gone, so we perhaps we should all put our thinking caps on about how to truly manage the fish better. Seems the issue comes down the that it was never done properly in the past. Probably has to be give and take on both sides of the table or it'll be no fishing in lots of areas.
Well until marmot was removd they stopped all hatchery fish from making it to the spawning grounds.. for the last few years they haven't been able to stop hatchery fish from making it up river.. so the sandy should(and I believe it does) have fairly pure native dna as 95% of the spawning grounds were above the dam..
 
K
Kais
About time. The Deschutes, Metolius, and state of Montana are good examples of no-hatchery fishing.
exactly, really good point.
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
MLW I agree the Deschutes, Metolius, and state of Montana are good examples to a degree. However we are comparing the old apples to oranges thing here.

Montana is a very large state with a population of less than a million people. Oregon's population is close to four million and we put a lot more pressure on our resourses. Montana is for the most part a trout fishery where here in Oregon we have a combination of an anadromous fishery and a trout fishery.

The Deschutes River is 252 mile long and for the most part wonders through unpopulated areas, the exception being Bend and Redmond. That population is nothing compared to the Portland Metro Area. They do have hatcheries on the Deschutes, Oak Springs hatchery, and Round Butte hatchery. The do plant hatchery steelhead and chinook in the Deschutes.

"The Round Butte fish hatchery, located at the base of Round Butte dam, is run by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and funded by PGE. It produces about 240,000 spring Chinook salmon and 160,000 steelhead every year. Fisheries personnel capture adult returning salmon and steelhead below the dams and transport them to the fish hatchery. There the eggs are removed and incubated on screen trays. Once the eggs hatch and the fry are big enough, they are transferred to small tanks and then to larger areas that more closely resemble natural conditions. The smolts (juvenile fish ready to migrate to the ocean) are released during the spring. After a few years in the ocean, the adult fish return to the river and the cycle begins again." quotes from ODFW webb page.

I do think they have done a darn good job of managing the trout on that river. I can remember when they used to stock it with trout and we would fish for them with worms and salmon eggs. (early 1960s) Now it's a trophy trout river with wild trout.

The Sandy River is only 56 miles long, with 2 million people living very close. It gets fishing pressure 365 days a year. There have been fish hatcheries on that river since prior to 1895. There was one on the Salmon River and there was one 6 miles ubove the Marmont Dam site. In the Sandy system we have already lost many miles of water to fish. That was a trade off, we could fish the lower river for hatchery fish and make the Salmon, Upper Sandy, Zig Zag and Still Creek off limits to fishing. We have also lost fishing water in the Clackamas system just over the hill from the Sandy system. Like I mentioned before if they close the hatchery I hope the just close the entire river system, because there won't be a fish left in the river if they dont.

The Metolius is another river that is located away from large population centers. It is 29 miles long and does not get the pressure that a metro area rivers get. There are some good things happening on that river as far as the attemps to reintroduce non hatchery anadromous fish runs. The Metolius also used to get a strong dose of hatchery fish from the hatchery located on that river. Now they have stopped the planting of hatchery fish in that river to allow the wild fish a better chance. The Wizard Falls hatchery fish now go into various lakes.

For rivers that have done well without hatcheries The John Day and the Crooked River are great examples. Neither river has a harchery on it. The Crooked is a central Oregon Jewell, but again it is located far and away form any large population center. The same goes for the John Day River in eastern Oregon. No large population centers near it unless you count Spray or Service Creek.;)

My main concern is that with the states population growth we need to manage the fisheries taking into account the totality of the circumstances. I have seen Oregon's population go from less than 1.5 million to 4 million in just my lifetime. I worry for the future of fishing, and want fish to be there for my grand kids. I believe we need a blended approach with some rivers having hatcheries and some not. I also believe that sports fishermen may see things differently but we all want the best for Oregons future fisheries.

I have seen what happened to Oregons hunting. I used to buy a deer tag and could hunt anywhere in the state with the last part of the season being doe season. It was similar with the elk hunting. You bought one tag and could hunt anywhere. It's not even close to that anymore and I no longer hunt. I figured if they have to manage it so tightly I would do my part and not put any hunting pressure on the critters. It's the same reason I no longer fish for sturgeon. I hope what happened to hunting does not happen to fishing. Tight lines;)
 
Last edited:
E
eggs
And don't forget about Warm Springs hatchery on the reservation for the Deschutes..
 
O
OnTheFly
oak springs:think:
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
OnTheFly said:
oak springs:think:

Just down River from Maupin on the west bank. The main effect is the steelhead they are trying to reintroduce into the Crooked system that dumps into the Deschutes.

Eggs you are right I forgot about the Warm Springs hatchery and the chinook they add to the system.



http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/HOP/Oak Springs HOP.pdf
 
Last edited:
O
OnTheFly
I stand corrected! Obviously steelhead doesn't come to mind with me often.lol
 

Similar threads

N
Replies
19
Views
2K
scched
scched
Admin
Replies
0
Views
252
Admin
Admin
troutdude
Replies
2
Views
2K
troutdude
troutdude
T
Replies
2
Views
1K
cchinook
C
F
Replies
15
Views
1K
Fred
F
Top Bottom