Tribal Mass Marking 2019

The project will fund mass marking of fish, by means of an adipose fin clip, on juvenile Chinook and coho salmon at tribal hatchery facilities. Mass marking these fish provides for the protection of ESA listed salmon populations through selective harvest of hatchery fish, protection of natural-origin and ESA listed fish, broodstock management of integrated and segregated hatchery production and increased accuracy of natural-origin stock assessments, status and trends. Using Auto-Fish systems and/or manual marking trailers with contracted labor, WDFW will mass mark approximately 10 million juvenile Chinook and coho at tribal hatchery facilities in Puget Sound and along the Washington coast. This is a continuation of WDFW mass marking projects since 2011. Each year state, federal and tribal fishery managers gather to plan the Northwests recreational and commercial salmon fisheries. This pre-season planning process is known as the North of Falcon process, which involves a series of public meetings involving federal, state, tribal and industry representatives and other concerned citizens. This planning process coincides with the March and April meetings of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PMFC), the federal authority responsible for setting ocean salmon seasons three to 200 miles off the Pacific coast. Since 2003, every federal appropriation bill including those currently proposed in the U.S. House and Senate has included a provision requiring mass-marking at all federally owned or financed salmon hatcheries.

The goal of mass marking these fish is to provide for the protection of ESA listed salmon populations through selective harvest of hatchery fish, protection of natural-origin and ESA listed fish, broodstock management of integrated and segregated hatchery production and increased accuracy of natural-origin stock assessments, status and trends.