Protected by his wet suit, Paul Dorn works in the chilly, swift current of Agate Passage where 270,000 confined coho salmon are in an enclosed net pen. Dorn manages the Suquamish Tribe’s salmon hatchery program. Like most who deal with salmon in Puget Sound, Dorn feels the pressure of the Endangered Species Act. A tribal biologist since 1977, he is the first to admit some historical hatchery practices damaged wild salmon runs. Building a hatchery where cultured salmon compete directly with wild cousins can reduce food for wild fish or may weaken genetic makeup. But not all hatcheries are bad, Dorn said. The tribe’s net pens were floated into place 20 years ago and Dorn has handled generations of hatchery fish. “We call this the Jane Fonda pen for the fish,” he said. Constant currents keep the fish in shape. A bunch of coho were released in mid-April from pens near Brownsville. They originate at the state’s Minter Creek Hatchery west of Gig Harbor. Dorn welcomes scrutiny by the National Marine Fisheries Service. “We are our own strongest critics and we don’t want to do anything to risk the wild stocks. But, he added, until freshwater habitat can be restored over time “hatcheries will have their place.”
