Reduce displacement, competition, and predation of imperiled native species caused by native or invasive species. (ID #204)

Key opportunities for 2022-2026 include:

• Continue and secure sustainable funding for pinniped population assessments and diet studies;
• Advance discussions with co-managers and the Washington State Academy of Sciences about science- supported, Marine Mammal Protection Act-grounded options for reducing pinniped predation;
• Implement, assess, and learn from pinniped deterrence pilot studies in Puget Sound and removals in the Columbia River;
• Adaptively manage piscivorous warm water game fish to ensure compatibility with salmon recovery.

Increase salmon abundance while protecting genetic diversity by implementing hatchery and harvest management strategies and expanding available habitat while ensuring abundant salmon for harvest, treaty rights, and other species such as Southern Resident Orca. (ID #205)

Key opportunities for 2022-2026 include:

• Continue to implement best practices for hatchery management, including developing a joint co-manager hatchery policy;
• Implement and adaptively manage hatchery genetic management plans (HGMPs) which are developed by co-managers and approved by NOAA to ensure that the operation does not impede recovery;
• Work to reduce risk to wild populations by balancing the potential risks and benefits of hatchery production, and by conducting research on hatchery infrastructure and management to reduce the fitness differential between hatchery and wild populations;
• Continue to implement increased state and tribal hatchery production to support prey availability for Southern Resident Orca;
• Implement habitat restoration efforts that expand available habitat and reduce competition (see the various other habitat recovery strategies for more detail—habitat recovery is referenced here to accentuate its relevance to this strategy, i.e., H-integration);
• Improve coordination between fishery co-managers, orca researchers, and the salmon recovery community to prioritize and improve habitat conditions for constraining stocks in fisheries and to recover stocks documented to be critical prey for orca.

Ensure sustainable harvest of hatchery and natural salmon and support treaty-reserved fishing rights. (ID #206)

Key opportunities for 2022-2026 include:

• Complete and secure approval of the 10-year harvest management plan with NOAA;
• Promote and improve accurate and timely data reporting and availability;
• Improve monitoring for in-season management;
• Improve public education and outreach; increasing funding for enforcement;
• Reduce illegal fishing.

We achieve our goal of thriving species and food webs by reducing predation on adult and juvenile salmon by pinnipeds and fishes; honoring tribal nations’ treaty and sovereign rights; constantly improving the ability of hatcheries to provide fish to meet, harvest needs, and conservation objectives in the face of climate change and expanding human populations; meeting harvest guidelines for recreational and commercial fisheries; and eliminating illegal fishing activities.