The state and federal governments are working to protect our fish by:
- enforcing the ban on high seas drift nets
- implementing the U.S./Canada treaty to limit Canadian take of U.S. fish and vice versa
- implementing the Forest and Fish Report on forestry in private lands throughout Washington. The report addresses issues such as sediment control, road construction, and stream side buffers
- mass marking hatchery fish to more effectively target hatchery-produced fish for harvest, allowing more wild fish to return to spawn
- implementing the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to compensate rural land owners for setting aside land in priority riparian areas
- revising the state stormwater management technical manual to make it more consistent with salmon recovery
- increasing state and federal funding for habitat projects
- collaborating with local governments to prepare local salmon recovery plans
- requiring commercial fishers to record any catches of protected fish and the steps taken to ensure their release and survival
- developing a long-range plan to better monitor the incidental commercial catch of non-targeted species and develop new ways to harvest fish from plentiful stocks while minimizing harm to protected fish
- enforcing new ways to monitor commercial and sport fishers
