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AUGUST 30, 2000

Tribes in the Northwest and Senator Slade Gorton are trying to figure out why the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery in Winthrop, Washington, are planning on clubbing surplus spring chinook salmon to death and get rid of most of their eggs this week.

Along with state Senator Bob Morton, they are seeking an explanation from the National Marine Fisheries Service for the proposed plan. The NMFS hasn't officially ordered the hatchery directly to destroy the eggs, but has issued constraints that drove the decision and has rejected other plans, according to hatchery employees.

The Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, representing the treaty rights of four tribes, and the Colville Confederated Tribes are criticizing the practice, saying the eggs could be used elsewhere. The fishery says the salmon and the eggs have to be killed to protect the gene pool of the wild chinook.

The salmon to be killed are of a different stock than the native one.

Get the Story:
Tribes protest plan to kill salmon eggs (AP 8/30)

Relevant Links:
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission - www.critfc.org