Final Joint Wild Salmonid Policy

ARCHIVED PUBLICATION

This document is provided for archival purposes only. Archived documents do not reflect current WDFW regulations or policy and may contain factual inaccuracies.

The goal of this joint Wild Salmonid Policy of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Western Washington Treaty Tribes is to protect, restore, and enhance the productivity, production, and diversity of wild salmonids and their ecosystems to sustain ceremonial, subsistence, commercial, and recreational fisheries, non-consumptive fish benefits, and other related cultural and ecological values.

Executive Summary

Summary of Joint Policies

  1. Framework for Implementation of joint policy for fish populations, escapement, harvest management, and hatcheries: The fishery and hatchery management principles that are stated in this joint policy shall be implemented by affected signatory tribal parties and WDFW, who shall cooperatively review and, where there is agreement, jointly amend management agreements and plans relating to affected fisheries. Such review and agreements shall utilize best available science and be made with appropriate consultation with affected stockholders.

  2. Spawner Escapement Policy: The wild populations or management units to which this spawner escapement policy applies will be defined on a comprehensive, statewide, or regional basis, recognizing scientific uncertainty, in accordance with policy statement #1. The parties will review existing court orders, joint agreements, and management plans to determine if it is agreed whether modifications are necessary to be consistent with the goals of this policy. Within this context, sufficient escapement of appropriate naturally spawning fish will be provided to encourage local adaptation and maximize long-term surplus production that sustains harvest, and to provide for recreational opportunities and ecological benefits. Exceptions to this general policy may be developed on a regional basis through agreement of the Department and affected Tribes to provide for recovery and rebuilding of wild stocks or where natural productivity is low.

    Hatchery Fish and Spawner Abundance Where hatchery fish are cultured to augment the naturally produced population in a stream, spawning of hatchery origin adults beyond what is needed for broodstock will be evaluated through a case-by-case analysis of the effects on the naturally spawning stock characteristics. However, the goal would be to develop harvest strategies that optimize harvest on the hatchery production and hatchery production strategies that are consistent with section 6 of this Policy and protect naturally spawning populations.

  3. Conserving Genetic Diversity Policy: Genetic diversity within and among stocks will be maintained or increased to encourage local adaptation and sustain and maximize long-term productivity. Conditions will be created that allow natural patterns of genetic diversity and local adaptation to occur and evolve.

  4. Ecological Interactions Policy: Wild salmonid stocks will be maintained at levels that naturally sustain ecosystem processes and diverse indigenous species and their habitats.

    Healthy populations of other indigenous species will be maintained within levels that sustain or promote abundant wild salmonid populations and their habitats.

  5. Harvest Management Policy: The fisheries will be managed to meet the spawning escapement policy as well as genetic conservation and ecological interaction policies.

  6. Cultured Production/Hatcheries Policy: Use programs of stable, cost-effective artificial production to provide significant fishery benefits while having no significant adverse impacts on the long-term productivity of naturally spawning salmon and their ecosystems.

    Protect, rehabilitate, and re-establish naturally spawning populations using integrated principles of genetic conservation, ecology, hatchery production, and fish management.

  7. Habitat Protection and Management Policy: Maintain or increase the quality and quantity of habitat necessary to sustain and restore salmonid populations.

  8. Basin Hydrology and In-stream Flow Policy: Maintain or restore the physical processes affecting natural basin hydrology. In addition, manage water use in a manner that would optimize stream flows for salmonid spawning, incubation, rearing, adult residency, and migration, that would address the need for channel-forming and maintenance flows, and that would address the impacts of water withdrawals on estuarine and marine habitats.

  9. Water Quality and Sediment Quality, Delivery and Transport Policy: Provide for water and sediments of a quality that will support productive, harvestable, wild salmonid populations, unimpaired by toxic or deleterious effects of environmental pollutants.

    Manage watersheds, stream channels, wetlands, and marine areas for natural rates of sediment erosion, deposition, and routing, that will allow salmonids to live, grow, and reproduce. There should be no net loss of wetlands that are utilized by salmonids or that support salmonid habitat through water quality and stormwater retention. When possible, wetlands supporting salmonids and their habitat should be increased.

  10. Stream Channel Complexity Policy: Maintain or restore natural stream channel characteristics for channel sinuosity, gravel quality and quantity, in-stream cover, large woody debris (LWD), pool depth and frequency, bank stability, and side-channel, off-channel, and flood plain connectivity, and function.

  11. Riparian Areas and Wetlands Policy: Functional riparian habitat and associated wetlands are protected and restored on all water bodies that support, or directly or indirectly impact, salmonids and their habitat. There should be no net loss of wetlands that are utilized by salmonids or that support salmonid habitat through water quality and stormwater retention. When possible, wetlands supporting salmonids and their habitat should be increased.

  12. Lakes and Reservoirs Policy: Maintain and restore lake and reservoir habitats that are conducive to wild salmonid passage, rearing, adult residency and spawning.

  13. Marine Areas Policy: Provide nearshore marine, estuarine, and tidally influenced marine ecosystems that contain productive, balanced, integrated communities of organisms having species composition, abundance, diversity, structure, and organization comparable to that of natural ecosystems of the region.

    Ensure that functions and values of the following habitat types are maintained or increased: eelgrass habitats, herring spawning habitats, intertidal forage fish spawning habitats, intertidal wetlands, intertidal mudflats, and safe and timely migratory pathways for salmonids in marine waters.

    Allow natural rates of erosion and transport of sediments, nutrients, and large woody debris that affect habitat quality in tidally influenced estuarine and marine shorelines.

  14. Fish Access and Passage Policy: Provide and maintain safe and timely pathways to all useable wild salmonid habitat in fresh and marine waters, for salmonids at all life stages.

    Ensure salmonids are protected from injury or mortality from diversion into artificial channels or conduits (irrigation ditches, turbines, etc.).

    Ensure natural fish passage barriers are maintained where necessary, to maintain biodiversity among and within salmonid populations and other fish and wildlife.

  15. Habitat Restoration Policy: Restore usable wild salmonid habitat to levels within the range and frequency of natural variability to promote natural watershed processes and wild salmonid utilization of habitats.

  16. Continued Public Input and Science Upgrades: This policy reflects Department and Tribal Parties’ consideration of the best science and public input that could be agreed to and incorporated at this time. The Department and Tribal governments believe that this Policy identifies important Fish Management and Habitat parameters and frameworks that will lead to rebuilding of salmonid stocks. However, the Department and Tribal parties intend that this Policy be a living document, to be updated with improved science as it is developed.

Related documents

Draft documents

Draft documents are provided for informational purposes only. Drafts may contain factual inaccuracies and may not reflect current WDFW policy.