HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1612

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                    Fisheries & Wildlife

Title:  An act relating to the enhancement of salmon with remote site incubators.

Brief Description:  Testing the feasibility of remote site incubators for salmon enhancement.

Sponsors:  Representatives Morton, King, Basich, Kremen, Sheldon, Foreman, Fuhrman, Chandler and Padden.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Fisheries & Wildlife, February 12, 1993, DP.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES & WILDLIFE

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 8 members:  Representatives King, Chair; Orr, Vice Chair; Sehlin, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Basich; Chappell; Foreman; Lemmon; and Scott.

Staff:  Keitlyn Watson (786-7310).

Background:  Salmon eggs can be incubated in a small device called a remote site incubator.  Smaller than a garbage can, it may be packed into small streams which are otherwise inaccessible.  Eggs that are in the incubator receive a constant supply of fresh water from the stream, and fry that hatch out move directly into the stream.

The Department of Fisheries has used several of these incubators, but has not evaluated their success.

Summary of Bill:  The Department of Fisheries is directed to develop and implement, using volunteers, a pilot project in one or more watersheds to test remote site incubators, and to evaluate salmon egg survival, fry survival, and adult returns.  The department is directed to report by December 31, 1993, and each year for the following four years, to the Legislature on the progress and success of the remote site incubators.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Remote site incubators are portable to remote areas and inexpensive; they produce hardy fish that are well acclimated to a natal stream.  They are an effective means of repopulating wild chum salmon and trout runs, and further trials might produce broader applications.   

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Representative Bob Morton, prime sponsor (pro); Jerry Manuel and Ed Manary, Department of Fisheries (pro); Dan Swecker, Washington Fish Growers Association (pro); Doug Fricke, Washington Trollers Association (neutral; supports concept but has concerns about possible failures); and John Kelly, King County Outdoor Sports Council (supports concept but has concerns about potential technical problems).