2016 5-Year Review : Summary & Evaluation of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon, Hood Canal Summer-Run Chum Salmon, and Puget Sound Steelhead
April 06, 2017
The Endangered Species Act requires periodic reviews of species that are listed as threatened or endangered to ensure that the listing is still accurate.
Many West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and now are at a fraction of their historical abundance. There are several factors that contribute to these declines, including: overfishing, loss of freshwater and estuarine habitat, hydropower development, poor ocean conditions, and hatchery practices. These factors collectively led to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) listing of 28 salmon and steelhead stocks in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).