Could Fish Numbers Be Hurt by Fish Manager Decisions?

A review by the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association said there could be fewer salmon returning this year and next year due to poor decisions made by fish managers.

Darryll Olsen with CSRIA said, “It appears to us that there is such a bias on the part of some of the fish managers, particularly the state-related fish managers, that they want to keep the fish in river no matter what even when you got conditions that they know are lethal.”

The study was done in response to an injunction filed in U.S. District Court by the State of Oregon and environmental groups.

Olsen said the conditions in 2015 were the worst since 2001 with low water flows and warm temperatures.

“PhDs from Montlake had twice called for the initiation of the juvenile transport program. They were effectively rebuffed for about two weeks and by the time the program was started, already 65 percent of the fish had passed.”

Olsen said he doesn’t think that anyone acted maliciously, but he did note that it was negligent and that it is important to understand why there might be fewer salmon returning up the river.

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