Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Salmon hatcheries are under attack by people with very short memories. They have forgotten why many hatcheries were built in the first place.

Most were built to make up for lost natural salmon production caused by habitat damage and destruction. Today, more than half of the chinook and coho we harvest are hatchery fish. That’s a direct reflection of the huge amount of natural salmon production …

Polluted stormwater runoff is one of the biggest obstacles to salmon recovery and the cleanup of Puget Sound.

Scientists have seen adult coho salmon dying within 24 hours of returning to some polluted urban streams in western Washington. In some cases, 60 to 90 percent of the coho are dying before they can spawn.

What’s killing the fish? It’s a poison soup of brake pad dust, …

These short, cold, rainy and sometimes snowy days of winter always make me think about our treaties. It was during this time of year more than 150 years ago that the U. S. government negotiated most of its treaties with tribes here in western Washington.

The federal government wanted our homeland. They viewed us as sovereign nations with independent authority to govern our people, lands and …

We are losing the battle for salmon recovery in western Washington because salmon habitat is being destroyed faster than it can be restored. Despite massive cuts in harvest, careful use of hatcheries and a huge financial investment in restoration during the past four decades, salmon continue to decline along with their habitat. As the salmon disappear, so do our tribal cultures and treaty rights. We are …

I’m starting to wonder if the state’s budget problems mean it will no longer be able to co-manage natural resources with the treaty tribes. Even President Obama has said recently that the state’s budget crisis is a “huge problem.”

Like most of state government, natural resources agencies are likely going to see a huge hit during this upcoming legislative session as the state seeks to fill …

How much fish and shellfish do you eat?

For more than 20 years the state of Washington has based its water quality standards on the idea that we eat one small bite a day, or 6.5 grams. About the size of a sugar cube.

That number is very important to everyone who lives here because it is used to set state standards for how much pollution …

Salmon are on the same downward trend as the amount and quality of their habitat, and until we turn that around, there’s little hope for their recovery.

The tribes believe the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ streamlined nationwide permit system for bulkhead construction and other shoreline changes is making it too easy to damage and destroy important nearshore salmon habitat in western Washington. We think a …

We all owe a big “thank you” to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. They never gave up on getting those two dams torn down, and today that dream is becoming a reality. For 100 years they have had to wait for their treaty rights to be restored and for the salmon to return.

The salmon never gave up either. At a recent dam removal celebration, I …

I’ve been talking a lot lately about the connection between salmon, habitat and treaty rights. That connection is pretty simple. No habitat equals no salmon; no salmon equals no treaty rights; and no treaty rights equals a breach of contract between the tribes and U.S. government.

It is the U.S. government – not the state of Washington – that has the responsibility to recover salmon in …

Our treaty right to gather shellfish depends on the shellfish being safe to eat.

Samish Bay is one of the traditional shellfish gathering areas for the Swinomish and Upper Skagit tribes. It has some of the highest levels of fecal coliform in the state.

Fecal coliform is bacteria that’s found in the poop of warm-blooded animals. It ends up in the water when septic systems fail …