Conservation Corner: March 11, 2002

The National Fish Hatchery System: A System In Peril
by James L. Cummins

For more than a century, the National Fish Hatchery System has played a valuable role in providing fish to benefit our Nation. This system, a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), includes 66 national fish hatcheries, 7 fish technology centers and 9 fish health centers. It is uniquely positioned to benefit state, tribal and federal fishery programs through leadership in development and application of the best possible fish culture and fisheries management techniques, to include the maintenance of healthy, wild fish populations through habitat conservation and improved harvest management, maintenance of genetic diversity and the proper use of hatchery stocks in achieving fishery management objectives.

Unfortunately, this system has developed serious problems over its 128 year history. Presently, it faces both its worst crisis and its best chance for improvement. Since 1992, the Service's overall budget rose 35 percent, but funding for hatchery operations and maintenance has declined by 15 percent for a net decline in funding of 50%. The facilities, including the Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery in Tupelo, are old and outmoded. A tremendous maintenance backlog exists and 25 percent of hatchery personnel positions are vacant. This is in part due to an erosion of congressional support, lack of support by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as well as an erosion of support in the Service.

We're getting to a crisis situation. We're starting to see actual, significant fish losses due to lack of proper funding for hatchery facility upgrades and this can be tracked to a handful of people at OMB, the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives and the Service.

The National Fish Hatchery System can not only help restore community lakes and streams, reverse declines in rare and declining species of fish, but help recover threatened and endangered species of fish with the help of appropriations from the threatened and endangered species program, not at the expense of general funding for hatcheries. Fish hatcheries are an important tool for fisheries managers. We need to properly maintain this tool for maintaining a good quality of life for millions of Americans.

Congress may not desire to fund a full restoration of the National Fish Hatchery System, but anything less than a strong commitment will further hurt local economies, allow more species to become threatened and endangered, further the current level of distrust of the Department of Interior by Native Americans and destroy local fisheries populations that provide enjoyment for millions of Americans.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.