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Washington Fishers Brace for Blow as Key Hatchery Funding Ends by Staff San Juan Islander, August 16, 2026

Association of Northwest Steelheaders, said the funding loss
could mean the end of some recreational fishing seasons

Commercial and recreational salmon fishing on the lower Columbia River could be changed forever after the Bonneville Power Administration decided to pull funding for its long-standing hatchery program.

The Select Area Fisheries Enhancement program was created to mitigate the harmful effects of dams on the river and fisheries. It will be defunded at the end of September.

James Adkins, executive director of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, said the funding loss could mean the end of some recreational fishing seasons, including coho season, which starts right now.

"In August, which is typically when the, quote, buoy 10 season kicks off, that season may just go away. You may still be able to harvest fall Chinook, but coho would just disappear altogether," Adkins contended. In a statement, the Bonneville Power Administration said it is canceling the Program because it only augments the fish harvest and has not helped threatened wild salmon and other species recover. Both the Washington and Oregon departments of Fish and Wildlife run the program with Bonneville and said they were surprised to hear it was being defunded.

Davia Palmeri, federal policy director for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said Bonneville is obligated to offset the profound loss of wild fish populations as well as recreational and commercial fishing opportunities caused by the dam system, adding canceling the program at the end of September is especially rough, as 7 million hatchery fish will not be ready for release by then.

"We do not have the resources to pay for those fish beyond October 1st. So those fish are currently at risk. And then if those fish don't make it back into the system, we will lose fishing opportunity in future years," Palmeri emphasized.

Palmeri added the program does aid endangered fish by reducing pressure on wild fish migrating up the Columbia. Palmeri noted Bonneville just got a new administrator after the decision to cancel the program was made, so she hopes it will create an opportunity for the decision to be reversed.

Related Sites:
Legal Settlement Reached to Protect Wild Salmon and Steelhead from Harm by Lower Columbia River Hatcheries Wild Fish Conservancy, 10/4/24