Pilot salmon hatchery project in Bellingham to aid orcas supported by this proposal
Republican state legislators have introduced a bill, which includes a pilot hatchery project in Bellingham, that they believe will help increase the salmon population and help the orca whales.
Called the Salmon Repopulation Act, Senate Bill 6509 and House Bill 2741 were recently introduced and referred to committees. The bills would attempt to bring a public-partnership in state-approved hatcheries, and potentially build a new hatchery on Bellingham’s waterfront.
In a news conference held in Olympia on Tuesday, Jan. 28, several Republican legislators talked about the need for this public-private model to get more fish in local waters.
“This is about acting now for the orca,” said Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, at the press conference. “What the orca need more than anything else is food to eat and we can’t wait on this.”
The public-private partnership is a system that has worked exceedingly well in Alaska, said Luanne Van Werven, R-Lynden, who co-sponsored the house bill.
“We are in the position Alaska was in the early 1970s. We have the opportunity to try to turn that around,” Van Werven said.
The idea for a hatchery in Bellingham gained momentum last year after local business leaders and legislators toured Alaska hatcheries and learned about that system.
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A nonprofit organization called the San Juan AREA Sea Life was formed and began looking for local support as well as funding. Doug Thomas, chairman of the organization and president of Bellingham Cold Storage, said in an interview last fall that the goal is to create a community legacy centered around restoring the salmon and the whales in this area. The increased numbers would also be a boon to tribal, commercial and recreational fishermen.
Bellingham’s waterfront is an attractive spot for another hatchery, Thomas said, because of the pipeline once used by Georgia Pacific to get fresh water from Lake Whatcom. The pipeline provides up to 60 million gallons a day, providing cool water that salmon thrive on.
Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, wrote in an email that if the bill passes, it would still need approval from federal government agencies before it can start.
“The sooner we start, the sooner we will see results,” Ericksen wrote, estimating that results would happen in 4-6 years. “It does not matter if you are a Republican, Democrat or Libertarian — you want to be able to take your family fishing and catch a limit of salmon.”
Democrats skeptic
The bill is being met with skepticism from some Democratic legislators. House Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, wrote in a statement that while no doubt well-intentioned, the proponents of this project are asking for more than $500,000 in funding without addressing major questions about where it would even fit within the legal or scientific framework for fish management in Washington.
“When spending tax dollars, we need to look for opportunities that address problems while achieving the biggest bang for our buck,” Shewmake wrote, noting that Washington state already has shovel-ready plans for hatcheries that, if properly funded, could boost salmon populations before this proposed feasibility study is even complete.
As a local example, Shewmake noted that Bellingham Technical College has an existing hatchery near the Bellingham waterfront that needs just $65,000 for a water filtration system that would support fish populations more quickly.
House Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, said in an interview that while she loves the idea of putting in a Bellingham waterfront facility for children to learn about, adding another type of hatchery system on top of the current one doesn’t make financial sense.
She said investing in the existing hatcheries and working with other entities such as the local tribes is the smart way to go. That way they can look at the bigger picture to solve the overall problem, like the low food system that includes what the salmon eat.
“This will build sustainability in our economies,” Lekanoff said.
