PORTLAND, Ore., — March 14, 2014 — A judge has ordered federal fish managers in Oregon to release fewer young salmon into the Sandy River this year to ensure that hatchery fish don't harm wild fish — but has left other hatchery operations intact.
Federal Judge Ancer Haggerty ordered Friday that the National Marine Fisheries Service allow releases of no more than 200,000 coho smolts into the Sandy this year — 100,000 fewer than planned.
But the judge did not order a complete temporary shutdown of hatchery releases as requested in the lawsuit filed by two Oregon nonprofit groups, nor did he require an environmental review of the hatchery. He also did not further reduce releases of fish other than the coho from the hatchery.
"It's less than what we sought, but it's still … protective of wild fish, though it doesn't go as far as we think it should," said Dave Becker, the attorney who represented the Oregon City-based Native Fish Society in the lawsuit.
Read the full story at The Republic