If this were happening on any other river, we'd be hearing how it was the hatchery's fault for releasing inferior fish.
Let us start by asking the right questions. What is the percentage of the mortality and is it higher that usual? The number of dead mean nothing, what calls attention to a situation is simply, is this a higher percentage of mortality than usual?
The second thing to keep in mind is, in years of high water there are more gallons of water per fish, therefore less chance that as many dead fish will be found. Put these facts together with the agenda of government biologists, WE HAVE ANOTHER AGENDA DRIVEN SCARE TACTIC! What say yea?
For those that refuse to believe government biologists have an agenda, I offer the following.
CHURCHVILLE, VA Do government wildlife biologists know a fish from a file memo? Their official work doesn’t seem to show it.
The National Academy of Sciences just concluded that government biologists had no scientific basis for cutting off virtually all the irrigation water to farmers in the Klamath Basin of Oregon and Washington last year. The water shutdown coincided with the worst drought in the region’s recorded history, leaving most of the farmers with no crops—and no income—for a year.
http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=1599 The whole article is a must read. If we let them get by with starving the Klamath farmers again this year, it is a big shame on us.
If this were happening on any other river, we'd be hearing how it was the hatchery's fault for releasing inferior fish.
Bingo!
How's the Columbia Basin doing?
D.