A bipartisan group of Oregon coastal lawmakers is urging the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to reverse its decision to cut funding for a salmon hatchery program they say is critical to the state’s commercial and recreational fisheries.
BPA announced in June that it plans to end its more than $2 million in annual funding for the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) program. Which is managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to reporting by OPB. The funding has covered more than one-third of the program’s operating costs since 1993.
BPA is a federal nonprofit agency under the U.S. Department of Energy that also markets wholesale electricity generated by 31 federal dams and one nuclear plant in the Pacific Northwest.
According to OPB, BPA said it is ending its support because the program has not made sufficient progress toward improving populations of salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
In a July 1 letter to BPA Acting Administrator and CEO Robin Furrer, members of the seven-person Oregon Coastal Caucus warned the decision could eliminate the roughly 7 million hatchery fish currently being raised for release.
The lawmakers said those hatchery fish are vital to coastal economies and commercial fishing communities.
"Everyone from hotels, restaurants, boat builders, and mechanics, just to name a few, benefits from the business that the sport fishing community brings into these communities while they spend time fishing for these SAFE area fish," the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
The letter stated that hatchery fish provide anglers and commercial fishermen with harvest opportunities while helping reduce pressure on ESA-listed wild salmon.
State Rep. Cyrus Javadi, D-Tillamook, told OPB that eliminating the funding would further strain an industry already facing strict regulations, high fuel costs and other economic challenges.
"What exactly is the goal here, and what are we planning to do to support these fisheries?" Javadi said. "Because there's going to be a whole lot of folks that are really upset if wild salmon, and other fish on the Endangered Species Act, start getting more fishing pressure on them, because there's a lack of hatchery fish."
According to OPB, BPA invests more than $300 million annually in fish and wildlife programs throughout the Columbia River Basin. The agency had not responded to OPB's request for comment regarding the lawmakers' concerns.
