SAVING A SYSTEM IN PERIL A SPECIAL REPORT ON THE NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY SYSTEM BY THE SPORT FISHING AND BOATING PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 2000 A note about the cover: The 20 squares on the front depict the 20 recommendations contained in the report, while the intersecting circles, with the fish at the nexus, represent the consensus reached by the wide variety of stakeholders involved in the project. CONTENTS Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council 1 SFBPC Members 2 SFBPC National Fish Hatchery Project Steering Committee 3 Membership and Representation Executive Summary 6 Introduction 10 Evaluation 12 Roles, Responsibilities, and Operation of the National Fish Hatchery System 14 Recommendations 15 Summary 25 National Fish Hatchery System Map 27–28 Attachments 1–7 29–51 S A VING A SYSTEM IN PERIL THE SPORT FISHING AND BOATING PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL (SFBPC) serves as a unique adviser to the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Council, formed in January 1993, represents the interests of the public and private sectors of the sport fishing and boating communities and is organized to enhance partnerships among industry, constituency groups and government. The Council is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Its membership of up to 18 people includes the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the president of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, who both serve in ex officio capacities. Other Council members are directors from state agencies responsible for managing recreational fish and wildlife resources and individuals who represent the interests of saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing, recreational boating, the recreational fishing and boating industries, recreational fisheries resources conservation, aquatic resource outreach and education, and tourism. More information about the SFBPC can be found on the Internet at http://sfbpc.fws.gov or by contacting the Council’s offices at 703/358 1711. 1 SPORT FISHING AND BOATING PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL SPORT FISHING AND BOATING PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL (SFBPC) MEMBERS COUNCIL CHAIR Barbara Knuth Helen Sevier Associate Professor Chief Executive Officer Natural Resource Policy and Management Bass Anglers Sportsman Society Cornell University (B.A.S.S. Inc.) Ryck Lydecker Associate Director for State Affairs James Anderson BOAT/U.S. Executive Director Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Robert McDowell Director Tom Bedell New Jersey Division of Fish, Game Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Wildlife Pure Fishing Alfred Russo Jamie Clark (ex officio) Business Unit Manager/Director Director Stren Fishing Lines Division U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Remington Arms Co. Inc. Doug Hansen Eddie Smith Director Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Division of Wildlife Grady-White Boats Inc. South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks William Taylor Vice Provost and Dean Paul Hansen Michigan State University Executive Director College of Agriculture and Izaak Walton League of America Natural Resources Charles Harter III David Waller (ex officio) Board of Directors President Coastal Conservation Association International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Mike Hough President Director States Organization for Boating Access Wildlife Resources Division Georgia Department of Natural Resources Jim Kalkofen Executive Director Carl Wilgus Professional Walleye Trail Administrator Division of Tourism Idaho Department of Commerce S A VING A SYSTEM IN PERIL 2 SFBPC NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP AND REPRESENTATION The National Fish Hatchery Project Steering Committee was assembled by the Technical Working Group of the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council in the latter months of 1999 and the early months of 2000. Each person on the steering committee served in his capacity as an individual fisheries professional. It is important to note that these individuals have served the fisheries community for a number of years and have represented many fisheries interest groups during their careers. Their breadth and depth of knowledge of a diverse array of fisheries management issues and constituents’ perspectives were extremely beneficial to this project. The following list contains the name of each steering committee participant, accompanied by the name of the participant’s employer or the interest group with which the participant is affiliated. The listing of these organizations does not imply endorsement of this report by these groups. Rather, these organiza- tions are listed to provide context for the report by illustrating the diversity of experience and philosophies that came into play during the report’s creation. It should be noted that the organizations on this list recognized the importance of this report by essentially donating the time each steering committee member invested in this process. 3 SPORT FISHING AND BOATING PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL SFBPC NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS STEERING COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Mark Hudy Norville Prosser National Fisheries Program Leader Vice President U.S. Forest Service American Sportfishing Association Phil Hulbert Robert Behnke Superintendent of Fish Culture Professor Division of Fish, Wildlife and Colorado State University (retired) Marine Resources Scientific Adviser New York State Department of Trout Unlimited Environmental Conservation Arthur Blazer John Kimball President Director Native American Fish and Division of Wildlife Resources Wildlife Society Utah State Department of Natural Resources Jesse Chappell Representative Past President International Association of Fish National Aquaculture Association and Wildlife Agencies Doug Dompier William Knapp Senior Tribal Policy Analyst Deputy Assistant Director Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fisheries and Habitat Conservation Fish Commission U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Richard M. “Mike” Gennings Robin Knox Chief President Fisheries Management Fisheries Administrators Section Wildlife Resources Division American Fisheries Society Georgia Department of Natural Resources Ron Lukens Assistant Director Delano Graff Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Director Bureau of Fisheries Jim Martin Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Conservation Director Pure Fishing Reginal Harrell Past President Joe McGurrin American Fisheries Society Director of Resources Fish Culture Section Trout Unlimited S A VING A SYSTEM IN PERIL 4 Gary Myers Robert Wiley Executive Director Section Manager Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Fisheries Management Representative Wyoming Game and Fish Department International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY PROJECT MANAGER Jim Range Noreen Clough Representative President American Fly Fishing Trade Association NKC Environmental Consulting Inc. Bruce Shupp STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING FACILITATORS National Conservation Director Barb Springer Beck Bass Anglers Sportsman Society President (B.A.S.S. Inc.) Beck Consulting Stephen Smith John Mundinger National Marine Fisheries Service (retired) Proprietor Bruce Suzumoto Consulting for Creative Solutions Manager SPORT FISHING AND BOATING PARTNERSHIP Special Projects COUNCIL COORDINATOR Northwest Power Planning Council Laury Parramore Whitney Tilt Director of Conservation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 5 SPORT FISHING AND BOATING PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “Forty million anglers will be watching to see For more than a century, the National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) has played a valuable role in providing cultured fish to benefit Americans. if Congress and the The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) U.S. Fish and Wildlife manages the system, consisting of 66 national fish hatcheries, seven fish Service will respond technology centers, and nine fish health centers. to these consensus Unfortunately, the NFHS has serious problems that have developed over several recommendations.” decades. Funding for hatchery operations and maintenance has declined by —JIM MARTIN, CONSERVATION DIRECTOR, PURE FISHING about 15 percent since 1992. NFHS facilities are old and outmoded. As a whole, the system suffers from a maintenance backlog of approximately $300 million. Twenty-five percent of hatchery personnel positions are vacant. To a troubling degree, these problems reflect an erosion of congressional and public support. In March 1999, U.S. Representative George Miller, of the House Committee on Resources, asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct a review to evaluate the NFHS and to gauge the need for changes to refine and clarify the system’s legal mandates. In May 1999, 10 members of Congress requested that the FWS begin a process to determine the role and mission of the NFHS. In August 1999, the FWS asked the federally chartered Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (SFBPC) to undertake that review. Following the FWS request, the SFBPC convened a special National Fish Hatchery Project Steering Committee to review the NFHS and develop recommendations regarding the system’s roles, responsibilities and strategic funding policies. Overall, the steering committee believes the NFHS is uniquely positioned to influence and benefit state and tribal fishery programs, fulfill tribal trust responsibilities, and provide technical assistance to private aquaculture. Although the intent of the steering committee’s report is to provide recom- mendations for future management of the NFHS, the steering committee con- cluded