Endangered Species

Past Actions Taken to Assist Columbia River Salmon Gao ID: RCED-92-173BR July 13, 1992

Concerns about declining populations of wild salmon prompted the National Marine Fisheries Service to list several kinds of Snake River salmon as either endangered or threatened species. This briefing report examines past efforts to reverse declines in salmon runs. GAO discusses the actions, and their costs, that federal agencies and organizations in the Pacific Northwest have taken to maintain and restore runs of salmon--both wild and hatchery-bred. GAO also discusses the results of studies and research on the effectiveness of the salmon recovery measures undertaken.

GAO found that: (1) the cost of federal and state efforts to improve salmon fisheries since 1981 has been over $1.3 billion; (2) construction of fish ladders and construction and operation of fish hatcheries comprise 74 per cent of the total cost for salmon habitat and salmon research improvement; (3) 1988 hatchery operations produced about 250 million juvenile salmon, but hatchery fish are believed to negatively impact wild salmon; (4) facilities to assist salmon migration have varied in effectiveness; (5) specific species respond well to tank truck and barge transport of juvenile salmon past dams; and (6) studies of the effectiveness of improved habitat show varying results.



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