Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1982)
SPILYAY TYMOO JUNE 22, 1982 PAGE 11 Salmon reared, ranch-style by Marsha Shewczyk To the Indian, salmon is not only food but is traditionally a part of this culture. The salmon swimming upstream is a gift. In the past it was only after ceremonies were complete that the Indian fisherman could pursue the salmon. But salmon, as a basic source of sustenance, is becoming more and more important as time goes on. Fishing the river as the early Sahaptin people did continues but without thought for ceremony. Fishing has become a competitive business. The number of salmon has diminished due to dams, fluctuating water levels, heat arid chemical pollution, and sport and commercial fishermen. Too, the salm on must survive two to three years in the Pacific Ocean foraging for food a m o n g st p r e d a to r s an d fishermen. Approximately one percent of the' salmon survive to return to the river.’ H a tc h e rie s h ave been constructed by state and federal agencies in an effort to increase the number of salmon returning to spawn in order to meet the demands. But this . does not seem to be enough. ^Fisherm en are looking to increase their catch. Salmon have come to be looked upon as a resource, a controllable resource. An in creased p ro d u c tio n of salmon would be profitable, especially to private hatchery owners. With the salmon’s natural instinct to return to its rearing site it wouldn’t be difficult to make a profit and at the same time increase the number of salmon in ocean waters for p u b lic use ac c o rd in g to supporters of privately owned hatcheries located on the coast. This system of releasing salmon at ocean hatcheries, having them return to complete their natural cycle, has come to be known as salmon ranching. Salmon ranchers operate their own hatcheries with their own funds. They rear the salmon in ponds and then release them into the sea. The ranchers then catch the adult fish in traps once homing instincts bring them back to the hatchery to spawn. Private hatcheries have been permitted only on the coast, not upriver. These aquaculture facilities subtract the river frorn the salmon’s life cycle. At these plants the fish are reared tof the. smolt state, ■ *grbtviftg 'a t a r i accelerated rate through the use of warm w ater and intensified nutrition. But because of competition for food in the ocean, predators and sports and commercial fisherm en, less than one percent return to their place of origin. One aquaculture plant at Newport reports a .5% return last year, much below anticipated. A q u a c u ltu re hopes to improve nature’s efficiency in the production of salmon. But the existence of these ranches produces fear in the hearts of some. With large companies such as Weyerhauser and Gamp- bell’s Soup Company owning these million-dollar facilities coastal fishermen feel these companies will soon control the fishing industry. Some of the- fears run along the lines that ranchers will be able to produce salmon at a low cost and reduce the price to the point where fishermen can’t make a profit. This type o f enterprise “is a positive contribution” Ocean fishermen also fear that these companies will drive the fisherman out of business by m a n ip u la tin g fish in g s e a s o n s a n d th e f is h themselves. p e rm its to ,12 d iffe re n t companies have been issued to date. A permit is required for each species of salmon reared “ a ll p r iv a te sa lm o n p rop ogation program s s h a ll be c a r e fu lly m onitored.. for release, that is, pink, coho and chum. Chinook have not been allowed to be reared at these hatcheries. The permit allows the ranch to release 180 million salmon annually. The eggs used h a t c h e r ie s at these r e q u ir e s ta te 1985. During this five year moratorium environmentalists have the o p p o rtu n ity to observe the impact of these hatcheries on wild fish and the ocean. In allowing saltnon ranching to exist apd issuing permits to these companies, the Oregon D epartm ent of Fish and Wildlife has made a policy statem ent regarding these aquaculture facilities: It is the policy of the Oregon Fish and W ildlife Com m ission th a t private salmon release and recapture facilities...shall be sited in close proximity to the ocean and utilize stocks of fish that are disease free and genetically compatiable with native stocks of salmon, and shall be limited in size to the capabilities of the permittees and/ or the subject govern ment. . ..and that all private salmon propogation programs shall be carefully monitored to determine the economic and biologic feasibility of existing operation and the opportunity o f e x p a n s io n o f su c h programs.” those in both groups that favor the existence of aquaculture plants. According to Jim Lannan at the Oregon State University Marine Science Center at Newport, Oregon, the greatest fear towards salmon ranches is expressed by those who fear big business will regulate the .fishing industry and its laws. Many conditions are placed on the ' permittees in the establishment of aquaculture plants. The Oregon State Legislature passed the Private Hatchery Act amidst the concern that ocean ranching might adversely affect other stocks of fish and traditional commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. As is stated in a published release by ODFW, the law says, “the young salmon must be examined for disease by an ap p ro v e d pathologist” prior to release. The law goes on to state, “if the department finds that a private operation, within the waters covered by its permit, has caused deterioration of the natural run of anadromous fish or any population of resident The ODFW states in their r e g u la tio n s fo r sa lm o n ranching: the ranches “enhance the production of salmon for utilization by public recrea tional and commençai fisheries and/or increase the supply of w holesom e fish p ro d u c ts available to consumers.” approval after inspection. Ideally, the eggs come from thè surplus at state hatcheries. But because of limited supplies some eggs have been imported. Chum eggs have been imported from the Soviet Union while some pink eggs have been brought into Oregon coastal hatcheries from Washington. Biologists express some fear at importing eggs with the game fish, it may require the spread of disease in mind. They operator to return the fish also have some concern that the p o p u la tio n to the sam e capacity of the ocean has condition th a t previously already been reached because existed.” of state and federal hatchery production. Despite the fears and the A moratorium has been many objections to salmon enacted halting the issuance of ranches by both fishermen and private hatchery permits until environmentalists there are Lannan feels the state has good control over it now. He feels, , .too, that salmon ranching encourages the free enterprise concept. L an n an ex p ressed th e opinion that this type of enterprise “ is a positive contribution to commercial and recreational fishing.’’ These fish are raised by private hatcheries at no cost to the people. They are released into th e o c e a n w h e re b o th commericial and recreational fishermen can catch them. Those that are not caught return to the hatcheries. It is only then that the salmon becomes the property of the hatchery once again. “We are responsible for all salmon” —O D FW — Close watch over these ranches is; emphasized by state law and enacted by the ODFW. There use of Oregon stocks is preferred. Ken Durbin at the ODFW office in Portland states, “We are responsible for all salmon.” Salmon ranching is an industry that is being closely watched and regulated. The potential for increasing the ocean’s supply of salmon is tremendous unless just the opposite should occur. It is O r e g o n ’s fin a l f r o n tie r , according to many. Because salmon ranching is actually still at an experimental stage environmentalists also express fears about ranching salmon. They are afraid that the salmon produced at the ranches will threaten the endangered native fish by interbreeding and competing with them for food. Taxing the o c e a n ’s c a p a c ity m ig h t contribute to decreased salmon runs. Upriver state and federally owned hatcheries have recently shown a decline in the number of returning adult salmon despite the increased number released. Records for coho salmon indicate a 9 to 20 percent annual decrease. It is not known whether or not private coastal hatcheries have had an effect in contributing to this decline. The first private hatchery permit was issued by the Oregon .Department of-Fish arid Wildlife in 1971. Twenty Replacing the o ld picnic shelter used during Pi-Ume-Sha and other activities is a much sturdier structure. The Pi-Ume-Sha com m ittee requested a new shelter as the old one was rotting out and required approximately $600 every year to make it usuable. The new shelter is 24 x 50 fee t arid is bemg'constructed by'D el Kennel Construction Cd. from Bend at aeoqt, o f $3700^ ‘ ;• - ,S pUyay Tym oo ph o to by Shewczyk
