Wild fish advocates warn stocking after dam removal could stymie salmon recovery

A plan to restore fish populations in Washington state’s Elwha River after a long-sought dam removal calls for stocking the river with hatchery-raised salmon and nonnative steelhead.
Scientists say the stocked fish will interfere with recovering wild salmon runs when restoring wild fish was the reason for the dam removal in the first place.

Though the hatchery plan calls for stocking cuts if wild fish either fail to colonize the upper river or begin to thrive there, opponents say the plan offers no specific benchmarks for cuts and past dam removals have shown that salmon can recover without a boost from stocking.

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Image Credit: National Parks Service