OAR 635-100-0191: Lower Columbia River Coho Hatchery Programs

(1) Conservation Hatchery Programs: ODFW shall take advantage of existing and new hatchery facilities to supply hatchery fish for selected projects to help restore natural production of wild coho. These projects will be treated as interim and experimental until their conservation value is demonstrated. (a) In 2002 ODFW shall initiate at least 3 projects using hatchery fish to re-establish wild populations in stream sections upstream of artificial barriers at ODFW hatcheries. (b) In 2003 ODFW shall initiate projects to restore natural production using hatchery fish in selected locations within the portion of coho habitat in the lower Columbia basin that in 2000, 2001, and 2003 had a density of wild spawners less than 2 wild fish per stream mile. Implementation of these projects is conditional on adequate funding for appropriate conservation hatchery approaches and monitoring and evaluation programs to assess project success and to manage the risk to wild populations while the projects are being conducted. (2) Mitigation and Harvest Augmentation Hatchery Programs: ODFW shall operate hatcheries in such a manner that adverse genetic and ecological interactions between hatchery and naturally produced fish are minimized through management of hatchery broodstocks, hatchery rearing environments and fish releases.