The Osprey: Nottawasaga River Steelhead
Nottawasaga River Steelhead: A Great Lakes lesson in local adaptation and naturalization, by Brian P. Morrison, Fred Dobbs and Chris Atkinson, pp 1 & 4-6, Issue No. 67, September 2010. The authors detail local adaptation of rainbow trout/steelhead that were introduced to this Ontario tributary of Lake Huron over a century ago. A wide range of local adaptations include variation of age at maturity (for example, half pounders), migration timing and extensive genetic differentiation within the Nottawasaga River. This research sheds light on the ability of rainbow trout/trout steelhead to colonize newly available habitats.
Editor’s Message: The Adaptable Wild Steelhead, by Jim Yuskavitch, pg. 2, Issue No. 67, September 2010. The editor argues for the importance of understanding local adaptation of steelhead beyond its native range for the great insights it offers to salmon and steelhead recovery in the Pacific Northwest.
Chair’s Corner: Will Good Science Finally Influence Salmon Policy on the Columbia and Snake Rivers? By Will Atlas, pg 3, Issue No. 67, September 2010. The National Marine Fisheries Service recently released DEIS on Columbia River hatchery reform signals an optimistic future for hatchery management on this imperiled system.
Asian Carp, a Threat to Great Lakes Salmon and Steelhead, by Gerry Worden, pp 7-8, Issue No. 67, September 2010. Worden of the Great Lakes Federation of Fly Fishers explains that while most great lakes states want the channel connecting the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan shut down to prevent the invasion of Asian carp, Illinois wants it to remain open to facilitate lucrative shipping. Currently, the channel remains open with an electronic barrier aimed at preventing the Asian carp invasion but the future for salmon and steelhead in the great lakes remains under threat.
Protection for California Steelhead upheld, by Norm Ploss, pg 8, Issue No. 67, September 2010. Central valley irrigators have failed in their challenge to the ESA listing of steelhead due to the presence of interbreeding rainbow trout. The federal court determined the anadromous steelhead are a distinct population segment and warrant protection.
A River Can Be Saved: The Smith River, California’s Crown Jewel, by Ben Taylor, pp 9-14, Issue No. 67, September 2010. Taylor discusses the Smith River and its pressing issues. Numerous stakeholders have collaborated over the years to make progress on habitat restoration and purchases, legal protections for the river and more sound fishing regulations. The biggest challenges confronting the river today are accurate population assessments and determining if appropriate harvest or lack thereof.
Atlantic Salmon Feedlots: Secrecy at all costs, by Alexandra Morton, pp 15-18, Issue No. 67, September 2010. Morton details a winding trail of federal and provincial actions and inactions related to salmon aquaculture that demonstrates little concern for wild salmon stocks. The international corporations that own these feedlots refuse to release disease records amid mounting concern over their impact on collapsing Fraser sockeye salmon.
Dam Re-licensing on Tuolumne River Offers Hope for Wild Salmon, by Patrick Koepele, pp 18-19, Issue No. 67, September 2010. Koepele, of the Tuolumne River Trust, reviews the collapse of Chinook and steelhead in this basin threatened by loss of habitat and water withdrawals. The dam re-licensing outcome may help these stocks rebound.