74
Paul T. Jacobson
able, an analysis encompassing the entire salmon life cycle should be required
prior to any introduction; only then can there be an objective assessment of risk
and a sound basis for designing steps to reduce that risk.
Postscript
In 1992, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Enforcement
announced a decision not to pursue the proposal to stock Pacific salmonids in the
Delaware River watershed. Reasons cited in the press release included evaluation
of the findings of the Draft EIS; consideration of public comment on the proposal;
a salmon program would detract from a more immediate priority, promotion of a
warm-water fisheries program; and a salmon program would require significant
investment of resources over an extended period of time with no guarantee of
success. Additional factors contributing to the decision to withdraw the proposal
included (Versar 1992b) National Park Service (NPS) objections to introduction
of any Pacific salmonid because of conflicts with NPS management plans for two
parks on the upper Delaware River; a lack of support from other members of the
Delaware River Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative; a NASCO exemption was unlikely to be granted for any introduction of Pacific Salmon to the east
coast; and future USFWS funding for an introduction of Pacific Salmon is unlikely because of Executive Order 11987 policy and the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990.
One of the findings of the draft EIS that was a major factor in the decision by
NJDFGW to withdraw the stocking proposal was the low expected number of
returns revealed by the straying model. Nonetheless, the proposal to introduce
Pacific Salmon to the Delaware River basin was undoubtedly a casualty of the
changing sociopolitical climate in which it was examined.
Literature Cited
AFS (1972) Position of American Fisheries Society on introductions of exotic aquatic
species. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 102:274 –276
AFS (1986) The good, the bad, the ugly: introduced species. Fisheries 11(2)
Bilton HT, Alderdice DF, Schnute JT (1982) Influence of time and size at release of
juvenile Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) on the returns at maturity. Journal of the
Fisheries Research Board Canada 39:426– 447
Blackett RF (1979) Establishment of Sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) and Chinook (O.
tshawytscha) salmon runs at Frazer Lake, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Journal of the Fisheries
Research Board Canada 36:1265–1277
CBP (1993) Chesapeake bay policy for the introduction of non-indigenous aquatic species.
CBP/TRS 112/94 Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, MD
Courtenay WR, Taylor JN (1984) The exotic ichthyofauna of the contiguous United States
with preliminary observations on intranational transplants. European Inland Fisheries
Advisory Commission Technical Paper 42:466– 487, Rome, Italy
Courtenay WR, Kohler CC (1986) Exotic fishes in North American fisheries management.
In: Stroud RH (ed) Fish culture in fisheries management. American Fisheries Society,
Bethesda, MD, pp 401– 413
Paul T. Jacobson
able, an analysis encompassing the entire salmon life cycle should be required
prior to any introduction; only then can there be an objective assessment of risk
and a sound basis for designing steps to reduce that risk.
Postscript
In 1992, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Enforcement
announced a decision not to pursue the proposal to stock Pacific salmonids in the
Delaware River watershed. Reasons cited in the press release included evaluation
of the findings of the Draft EIS; consideration of public comment on the proposal;
a salmon program would detract from a more immediate priority, promotion of a
warm-water fisheries program; and a salmon program would require significant
investment of resources over an extended period of time with no guarantee of
success. Additional factors contributing to the decision to withdraw the proposal
included (Versar 1992b) National Park Service (NPS) objections to introduction
of any Pacific salmonid because of conflicts with NPS management plans for two
parks on the upper Delaware River; a lack of support from other members of the
Delaware River Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative; a NASCO exemption was unlikely to be granted for any introduction of Pacific Salmon to the east
coast; and future USFWS funding for an introduction of Pacific Salmon is unlikely because of Executive Order 11987 policy and the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990.
One of the findings of the draft EIS that was a major factor in the decision by
NJDFGW to withdraw the stocking proposal was the low expected number of
returns revealed by the straying model. Nonetheless, the proposal to introduce
Pacific Salmon to the Delaware River basin was undoubtedly a casualty of the
changing sociopolitical climate in which it was examined.
Literature Cited
AFS (1972) Position of American Fisheries Society on introductions of exotic aquatic
species. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 102:274 –276
AFS (1986) The good, the bad, the ugly: introduced species. Fisheries 11(2)
Bilton HT, Alderdice DF, Schnute JT (1982) Influence of time and size at release of
juvenile Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) on the returns at maturity. Journal of the
Fisheries Research Board Canada 39:426– 447
Blackett RF (1979) Establishment of Sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) and Chinook (O.
tshawytscha) salmon runs at Frazer Lake, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Journal of the Fisheries
Research Board Canada 36:1265–1277
CBP (1993) Chesapeake bay policy for the introduction of non-indigenous aquatic species.
CBP/TRS 112/94 Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, MD
Courtenay WR, Taylor JN (1984) The exotic ichthyofauna of the contiguous United States
with preliminary observations on intranational transplants. European Inland Fisheries
Advisory Commission Technical Paper 42:466– 487, Rome, Italy
Courtenay WR, Kohler CC (1986) Exotic fishes in North American fisheries management.
In: Stroud RH (ed) Fish culture in fisheries management. American Fisheries Society,
Bethesda, MD, pp 401– 413