Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife
Biennium 2005 - 2007 General Information and Financial Projections

FISH PROGRAM

Program Purpose and Description

The Fish Program is one of five programs in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The Fish Program's purpose is to preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage the state's fish and shellfish resources in state and offshore waters. This responsibility includes management of all game fish, food fish, shellfish, unclassified marine aquatic species, aquatic pest and predator control, and all fish culture activities for the agency. The Fish Program serves the resource and the public through the use of best available science and effective, innovative approaches to protect and restore wild fish while providing fishing opportunities.

The Program is currently organized into four divisions: Administrative Operations, Hatcheries, Fish Management, and Science. These divisions are responsible for effective policy and budget development, customer service, public outreach, science-based fish culture, and fishery resource management. In addition to the divisional organization, the Fish Program has five Regional Program Managers who are the policy and operational leads for issues, activities, and staff in their specific regions.

Strategic Objectives

The Fish Program's role is to:

• Provide healthy and diverse fish and shellfish populations.
• Provide and enhance recreational and commercial fishing opportunities.
• Produce game fish, food fish, and shellfish for release into state waters for recreational, commercial, and tribal fishers as well as to meet mitigation responsibilities for permanent habitat losses.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate programs designed to recover federally listed and other depressed stocks of indigenous fish species.
• Develop, improve, and facilitate partnerships and volunteer activities that assist in achieving the Department's mission.
• Develop science-based projects, programs, methods, and standards that will be communicated throughout the agency.

The Fish Program's priorities focus on the use of staff and financial resources to meet the following objectives of the WDFW Strategic Plan:

• Develop, integrate and disseminate sound fish, wildlife, and habitat science.
• Protect, restore, and enhance fish and wildlife populations and their habitats.
• Ensure Department compliance with ESA and other government regulations.
• Provide sustainable high quality fish and wildlife related recreational and commercial opportunities while improving the economic well-being of Washington, compatible with maintaining healthy fish and wildlife populations and habitats.
• Provide excellent customer service.
• Connect with those interested in Washington's fish and wildlife.
• Provide sound sustainable operational management of WDFW lands, facilities, and access sites.
• Ensure WDFW's activities are in compliance with ESA and other government regulations.
• Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of WDFW through sustainable operational and support activities.
• Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of WDFW through sustainable operational and support activities.

Strategies

• Pro-active Stewardship - Seek, develop and utilize the best available science to determine the status and needs of fish and shellfish species and their habitats. Ensure the health of Washington's resources by conducting pro-active, modern fish management and fish culture operations. Restore the state's depressed fish and shellfish resources.
  
  
• Pro-active Utilization - Provide a broad range of high quality and diverse consumptive and non-consumptive opportunities. Enhance current, and develop new, opportunities for the state's fishers and residents. Increase public awareness and access to non-consumptive fish activities.
  
  
• Pro-active Public Service - Provide accessible, helpful, timely, and informative customer service to meet public needs and expectations. Provide the public with: 1) information to enhance catching a fish; 2) an understanding of the seasons and bag limits; 3) public access through boat launches, stream easements, and fishing piers; and 4) an understanding of fishing opportunities, as well as agency services and programs.
  
  
• Pro-active Management And Business Functions - Provide for ongoing evaluation and improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of program business functions.

Appraisal of External Environment

Washington State has an abundance of fish and shellfish resources that are protected and managed, some are managed in conjunction with tribal managers to preserve the resource and to provide commercial and recreational opportunities. There is concern for some specific salmonids, marine fish, and shellfish due to declining and depressed populations. The Fish and Wildlife Commission and WDFW have classified three game fish species as endangered, threatened, or sensitive, and has designated another 42 fish species as candidates for listing. Many of these species also hold federal protection designation in those same categories. This means that the management and protection of these species and other species occupying the same waters must be carefully monitored and controlled. This requires careful scientific evaluation of both harvest and production indicators.

Washington's human population is increasing at a very high rate. As population increases, the demands increase for housing, industry, and recreational opportunities. Fish habitat continues to decline, along with the quantity and quality of the waters required for fish spawning and rearing. The challenges are increasing to provide for healthy and diverse, self-sustaining fish and shellfish populations and opportunities for both commercial and recreational fishing.

The economy of the state has been under-performing in recent years and is beginning to make a very slow recovery. As a result, the pressure remains on government to help stimulate the economy by encouraging business and development. This pressure challenges decision making regarding stimulating the economy and providing protection for our natural resources.

In order to provide opportunities that have been permanently lost due to dam construction and other long-term habitat loss, the agency manages over 90 fish hatcheries throughout the state. Over 60 of these hatcheries are salmon-rearing facilities. Hatchery operations are being modified to ensure consistency with the federal Endangered Species Act. These improvements will provide greater protection for wild stocks while providing recreational and commercial fishing opportunities. An ever-increasing role of hatcheries provides large-scale aid in the recovery of threatened wild stocks. Two decades ago, the agency had one hatchery involved in wild stock recovery efforts. In 2004, over one-third of the Department's hatcheries are involved in wild fish recovery.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is requiring systematic and intensive review of both hatchery and fisheries management through use of two primary tools: Hatchery Genetic Management Plans and Fisheries Management Evaluation Plans. These plans are necessary for the state and the tribes to conduct fish production operations and to harvest fish in the state and offshore waters. These plans are essential to provide the assurance that the state is providing long-term resource protection while at the same time maximizing current fishery opportunities. vBoth state and federal fiscal resources continue to shrink while conservation issues and management complexity increase within an environment of rising demands on the resource. Another significant impact on staffs' ability to address essential functions is the redirecting of staff and budget to respond to third party lawsuits regarding hatchery facility operations. These third party lawsuits may significantly alter WDFW's ability to produce fish for tribal and non-tribal fisheries. With the decline of state resources, the program is challenged to secure funding through other sources to accomplish all essential work. Partnership development and enhancement becomes essential to achieve the fish stewardship goals and objectives, since the resource management needs are greater than available agency resources.

Major Partners

The Fish Program interacts with a wide variety of stakeholders, partners, and constituents. These include local, state, federal and international agencies and councils, tribes, commercial and recreational fishing interests, conservation groups, and the aquaculture industry. The Program also has a number of advisory groups including:

• Hatcheries Scientific Review Group
• Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group Advisory Board
• Anadromous and Marine Resources Sport Fishing Group
• Coastal Dungeness Crab Advisory Group
• Puget Sound Dungeness Crab Advisory Group
• Inland Fish Policy Advisory Group
• Advisory Committee for Shellfish Imports
• Dive License Advisory Review Boards for Sea Urchins and Sea Cucumbers
• Emerging Fisheries Act Puget Sound Shrimp Advisory Board
• Steelhead and Sea-run Cutthroat Citizens Advisory Board
• Puget Sound Recreational Fisheries Enhancement Oversight Committee

In addition, the Program conducts a number of outreach activities including: angler education, marine education, "Salmon in the Classroom," booths at sport shows, preference surveys, development of interpretive sites, placement of informational and educational materials on the Department website, and meetings to facilitate opportunity for public input into such things as regulations development, management plans, and management practices.