Hatchery Threatens Native Fish

Steelhead trout from a Northern California fish hatchery prey upon and interbreed with threatened native fish, in violation of the Endangered Species Act, an environmental group claims in court.

The Environmental Protection Information Center sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and five top officers of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, in Federal Court. It claims the defendants hatch and release the trout without proper clearance, to stock streams and lakes for recreational fishing.

The nonprofit group claims that the hatchery fish "compete with, prey upon, or interbreed with native wild coho and Chinook salmon and wild steelhead trout that are listed as threatened with extinction under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The hatchery steelhead trout cause a 'take' of wild salmon and steelhead that is illegal in the absence of authorization by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)."

LINK (via: Courthouse News)