Transcript Oregon`s Salmon : A Cost Or A Benifit

Oregon's Salmon : A Cost Or A
Benifit
Scott Fenters
Expert Fisherman
150+ Years Of Persecution
• “Wild Salmon have been on a 150 year
downward trend and runs are now at low levels
in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and
southern British Columbia, and in spite of
substantial interannual and interdecadal
variation. By the end of this century in these
four states and southern British Columbia, wild
salmon are probably not going to disappear
entirely, but will most likely survive as remnants
of once-flourishing species in small portions of
their original range.”(Lackey[2], 3)
Why I Don’t Catch Fish
• Columbia, once considered the strongest salmon
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producing river in the lower forty-eight states, now runs
are at less than eight percent on average and over
eighty percent of the returning salmon runs are hatchery
raised. (Lakey[3], 2)
In Oregon prior to the 1850’s the Coho salmon runs
were estimated to be between 1.5 and 2.5 million. Using
known historical data it is estimated that the average
Coho run in “Good” ocean years is currently at 281,736
and is at 84,188 on “Poor” ocean years. (Meengs, 18)
In poor years this is only between three to six percent of
historical predictions. If these trends continue, the Wild
Oregon Salmon will be more of a memory than a reality.
Cause Of Decline
• The main reasons are intense commercial, recreational,
and subsistence fishing, freshwater and estuary
altercations due to urbanization, farming, logging, and
ranching practices, dams built for electricity, flood
control, irrigation, and other purposes, water diversions
for agriculture, municipal, or commercial requirements,
stream and river alterations, especially diking, hatchery
production, predation, competition, especially from
exotic species, disease and parasites, loss of nutrients to
water sheds because of smaller returning run, and there
are possibly other reasons.
What We Have Spent To Stop It
• . The Bonneville fish and wildlife budget is at
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$252 million per year already.
Gross value of commercial salmon fisheries from
1986 to 1990 was $17 million
Recreational fishing is around $14 million
The General Accounting Office estimates that
between 1981 and 1991 $1.3 billion dollars has
been spent to try to protect the Oregon salmon
runs.
Brief History Of Policy Affecting
Salmon
• January 24th, 1848 the day gold was struck in
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California. The effect of mining on the salmon
was immediate and massive. As more people
came more salmon habitat was destroyed.
By 1880 the hatchery program was viewed as
the solution. The policy was to replace lost
habitat with hatcheries to save the salmon.
The depression hit in the 1930s. Then instead of
saving the salmon, the policies shifted focus to
employment. This led to the United States
creating huge dam such as on the Columbia
River that destroyed a large percentage of
salmon spawning grounds.
• 1971 the United States switched focus back to
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saving the salmon and entered into agreement
with Canada on The Pacific Salmon Treaty
although it was probably to late.
Alaska has almost no economic incentives to
help sustain Oregon salmon and British
Columbia loses millions every year reducing their
catches to help sustain the lower 48 states
salmon populations. For Alaska and Canada the
costs seem to far outweigh the benefits to
continue the Treaty causing a lot of tension
between Alaska, British Columbia, and the lower
forty-eight states.
• In 1991 several salmon populations were listed
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under the First Salmon Distinct population
Segment under the Endangered Species Act.
“The policy debate shifted away from restoring
salmon runs to support harvest and fishing, to
protecting salmon runs from extinction, two very
different policy objectives.” (Lackey[3],2)
Hatcheries are now considered one of the main
problems.
in 2001 Oregon was experiencing drought
conditions and California was having rolling
blackouts. The Bonneville Power Administration
had to abandon the previous goals and use the
water that was allocated to salmon for power
production.
• “In one of the most striking recent barometers of
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societal priorities, air conditioners, hair dryers, and
toasters, won out over both hatchery bred and wild
salmon – and with scant public opposition.”(Lackey[2],
5)
Looking at present day policy, the federal government
follows the Economic and Environmental Principles and
Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources
Implementation Studies or the WRC for guidelines. For
Bonneville to consider a project it must use a costbenefit approach considering municipal and industrial
water supplies, agriculture, urban flood damage, power
production, inland navigation, deep-draft navigation,
recreation, commercial fishing, and other direct effects.
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Are previous and present policies wrong?
Policies biased on monetary values.
Free Markets and Free trade
“We should not hide behind political drivel that
computers, automobiles, and potatoes can be
produced just as cheaply in a salmon friendly
manner. They cannot. How many individuals are
willing to forego purchasing a bright red tomato
in February grown in a hot house heated with
electricity from salmon killing dams? Not Many.”
(Lackey[2], 4)
• Individual tastes must change (A/C)
• More people, more competition