Bush Regime "Victory" Spells Disaster For Northwest Salmon

VOTERS ELECT FOUR MORE YEARS OF CRISIS FOR PACIFIC SALMON AND
STEELHEAD

PORTLAND, OREGON ? The outcome of the 2004 Presidential Election spells
disaster for wild fish runs native to the Pacific Northwest, according to
fish conservation experts.

"Kerry is not the only loser," said David Montgomery, a salmon researcher
and professor at the University of Washington. "This does not bode well for
wild salmon."

Salmon experts are concerned about a proposed new fisheries policy covering
the Columbia River Basin, which includes many rivers and streams in Oregon
and Washington. The government's plan would roll back wild fish
protections that have been years in the making.

"The Bush Administration has already pushed forward an agenda that threatens
native fish, " said Bill Bakke, Executive Director of the Native Fish
Society, a Portland-based conservation organization. "They now have four
more years to work on weakening the Endangered Species Act and stripping
away the legal protections that our salmon and steelhead need to survive."

The Bush Administration policy calls for counting wild and hatchery fish
collectively, creating the appearance of abundant numbers in the rivers.
However, many of those fish are genetically inferior hatchery stocks that
compete with wild fish for food, shelter and spawning grounds. Scientists
agree that hatchery-raised fish pose a serious threat to the survival of
wild salmon and steelhead.

Even scientists who work for the Bush Administration have taken a stand
against this damaging policy. After the government refused to accept their
findings ? which clearly showed the negative impact of hatchery fish ? they
published their research in the March 26, 2004 issue of Science magazine.

Bakke has extensively reviewed studies on this topic, and it validates the
government team's findings. “Hatchery salmon have been identified as one of
the main causes of salmon decline,” Bakke said. He has called the Bush
Administration policy an ill-conceived plan that "shoves us back to the
damaging fish policies of the 1870s" and " spells extinction for native
salmon runs."

Opponents of the Bush Administration's plan are galvanizing for a fight at a
public hearing on the proposal to be held November 9th at Portland's
Doubletree Columbia Hotel. Conservation groups and fishermen are expected
to testify against the policy.

For further comments or to set up an interview with Bakke or Montgomery,
contact Paige Wallace at the Native Fish Society, (503) 977-3133.


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Paige Wallace
Development & Communications Coordinator
Native Fish Society
PO Box 19570
Portland, OR 97280
(503) 977-3133
http://www.nativefishsociety.org