Native Wild Fish Conservation Policy Criteria

2002

Wild Fish Management Goals

Adopt legal and science based standards for the protection and health of native fish populations to include the following:

· Define the conservation management unit as the population by watershed

· Prevent the depletion of indigenous species in their native habitats by managing for the protection and recovery of every population

· Maintain and protect the life history and genetic diversity of populations by species and watershed

· Maintain and recover the adaptive and productive capacity of each population by species and its supporting habitats recognizing that managing for diversity will maximize production and species resiliency

· Protect and restore habitats capacity to support life history diversity of populations

· Prevent interbreeding and ecological interactions between hatchery and wild fish

Wild Native Fish Research, and Monitoring and Evaluation Criteria

· Establish research program to support management and increase knowledge of indigenous fish

· Develop and fund a monitoring and evaluation program to determine the efficacy of management program

· Inventory biological diversity and establish a biological baseline for each population including life history and genetic attributes

· Determine smolt to adult survival and smolts per female for each population by population and establish standards

· Establish reference watersheds and populations for long-term monitoring and evaluation

· Establish long term data base on life history and the biodiversity of populations and species

· Establish optimum freshwater, estuary, and marine habitat conditions for each life history stage by species and set standards.

· Establish a life history and genetic diversity benchmark per population by species

· Research will strive to validate management assumptions

· Present program plan to public and Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission

Independent Scientific Audit

· Impanel an independent scientific body to evaluate biological objectives, management plans and research

· Panel will identify research needs and identify critical uncertainties

· Meet annually and make findings available to public

Funding

· Fund monitoring, evaluation and research at beginning of process

Hatchery Management Goals

· Establish legal and science based standards for hatchery operations consistent with native, wild fish conservation

· Provide a cost effective product for harvest

· Reduce domestication selection

· Reduce stray rates to less than 5%

· Manage for maximum number of families

· Manage for maximum effective breeding size

· Support the wild fish management goals

Hatchery Monitoring and Evaluation Criteria

· Smolt to adult survival rate per release group

· Cost per adult per release group

· Contribution to catch and to ecosystem criteria achieved?

· Was domestication selection minimized?

· Were stray rates within standards?

· Were life history and genetic diversity criteria achieved?

· Were the maximum number of families criteria achieved?

· Was the production cost effective?

· Was the maximum effective breeding size criteria achieved?

· Was the hatchery operation supportive of native wild fish management goals and was there any harm to the ecosystem?

Harvest Management Goals

· Establish a legal and science based standards for harvest so that it supports native, wild fish conservation standards

· Harvest fish at sustainable levels while causing no harm to the ecosystem

· Harvest rate on native wild populations is less than 15%

· Support native wild fish management goals

· Establish and achieve spawner abundance goals by species per population in each watershed

· Support rebuilding goals by species and population

· Harvest shall be cost effective

· Establish spawner abundance goals by species and stock in each stream

· Establish spawner abundance criteria to fully seed habitat by species

· Establish nutrient enrichment criteria from salmonid carcasses by species and watershed

· Maintain the natural distribution and abundance for each population in streams

· Maintain life history and genetic characteristics by species and population

· Support rebuilding and recovery actions for declining populations

· Provide a public review of harvest evaluation relative to these criteria.

Harvest Management Monitoring and Evaluation Criteria

· Were the harvest management goals achieved by species and population in watersheds?

· Was harvest consistent with native wild fish management goals?

· Were spawner abundance goals achieved?

· Were standards and criteria achieved?