About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

14 Ocean L. Memo 1 (1979)

handle is hein.journals/ocoaslme14 and id is 1 raw text is: Ocean Resources law Program * School of law * University of Oregan * Eugene * OR 97403 Ocean Law lmo- Issue 14 SALMON RANCHING IN OREGON: LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS The Legislation In 1971, the Oregon legislature passed a law which created a new Oregon industry: the ocean ranching of salmon. The law allows individuals and companies to apply for permits to operate their own hatcheries, raise young salmon from eggs, and then turn them out into the ocean from coastal facilities. The basic concept of ocean ranching seems simple and ingenious. The young fish are released to graze and fatten in the Pacific Ocean, the open range, and then to re- turn by instinct to their point of release: the salmon rancher's release-and-recapture facility. There, some of the returning fish will be sepa- rated and used for propagation, as seed stock from which the next generation of fish will be spawned. The remainder are killed and marketed. The 1971 law only authorized permits for chum salmon hatcheries. It was amended in 1973 to allow chinook and coho permits. Most recently, the 1979 legislature expanded the authorizations to pink salmon as well. To date, twenty-two per- mits have been granted for fourteen separate sites along the Oregon coast. These permits authorize private hatcheries to release up to 190 million fish, roughly two and one-half times the number released from public hatcheries. Due to a cur- rent shortage of eggs, private hatcheries have released far fewer fish than their permits allow. Most of the fish an ocean rancher releases will not return. Many will fall prey to larger aquatic predators, and others to the fishing effort of sports and commercial fisheries. While they are at sea, privately-raised salmon, even those carrying a hatchery mark or tag, are con- sidered wild animals and are fair game for fisher- men. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that commercial and recreational fisher- men will catch four out of every five of the adult salmon that would otherwise return to the ranch. Nevertheless, an ocean rancher may receive a viable investment return if only one to five percent of his fish return to the recapture facility. The Regulations Although the basic concept of ocean ranching seems simple, the process of actually becoming a salmon rancher is more complex. Private salmon hatcheries interact with several public resources: public stocks of anadromous and resident fish; fresh.water streams and groundwater; and estuarine, coastal, and ocean resources. Consequently, there are a variety of legitimate - though often con- fusing - regulations and administrative procedures with which a would-be ocean rancher must comply. An ocean ranch operation requires permits or authorization from local zoning boards, the Oregon departments of Fish and Wildlife, Water Resources, and Environmental Quality, the state Division of Lands, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The ocean ranch may also be affected by regulations of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, De- partment of Agriculture, and Food and Drug Admin- istration. The balance of this Ocean Law Memo outlines some of the more important of these regu- lations. The Private Salmon Hatchery Permit A commercial salmon ranch must have a private salmon hatchery permit for each species of salmon it releases. These permits are under the juris- diction of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wild- life and are the most demanding of all the permits for which an ocean rancher must apply. The Depart- ment requires a minimum of six months for review and evaluation, and public hearings are required by law. Grant Marine Advisory Program, Corvallis, OR 97331 July 1979 Un Distributed by: OSU Extension Service' Sea

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most