Advancing Environmental Law & Policy

Laws and Regulations to Protect Wild Fish

There have been laws to protect wild fish in the Pacific Northwest since time immemorial. Indigenous communities developed societal ethics to ensure enough salmon returned to spawn. The first state legislature passed a law requiring fish passage at any obstruction built in a stream or river. Besides the state laws that deal directly with fish, there are laws regulating human activities relating to lands and waters. There are also federal laws that affect wild fish as well as lands and waters and at least one international treaty, the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Some of those federal laws, such as the Clean Water Act, give great authority – and responsibility to the state.

Our Approach

Wild Fish Conservancy’s staff of professional advocates analyze and draft reviews of policy proposals, watch-dog public agencies, participate on recovery forums and technical-review teams, work directly with resource-management officials, establish and participate in coalitions with other regional and national conservation advocates, and where necessary, litigate to implement and defend our landmark environmental laws that protect our wild fish heritage.

Wild Salmon Recovery Initiative

Wild Fish Conservancy's Wild Salmon Recovery Initiative is intended to ensure that government agencies and decision-makers implement scientifically, socially, and legally responsible policies for the recovery of threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead and their aquatic ecosystems.

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Why is legal advocacy vital to wild fish recovery & protection?

In 'The Rusted Shield', northwest author Daniel Chasen investigates how our government's failure to enforce or obey our system of environmental laws threatens the recovery of WA's wild salmon

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Our Current Legal Initiatives

Ending Decades of Unsustainable Salmon Harvest Harming Southern Resident Orcas & Wild Chinook

Wild Fish Conservancy's historic legal efforts to stop the overharvest of wild Chinook in Southeast Alaska that is pushing Southern Resident killer whales and wild Chinook closer to extinction. This effort is on track to set new precedence that will finally require resource managers to consider the needs of threatened and endangered species when managing commercial salmon fisheries throughout the Pacific coast.

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Challenging WA's Artificial "Fix" to Orca Recovery

Wild Fish Conservancy and The Conservation Angler filed suit against the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife in October 2021 over the agency's repeated refusal to follow state environmental laws when setting statewide hatchery policy, including when it recently embarked upon a massive expansion in the production of hatchery salmon that could cause irreparable damage to fragile wild fish populations and to endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

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Addressing WA's Pattern & Practice of Illegal Hatchery Operations

Through a series of legal actions, Wild Fish Conservancy is working to hold the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife responsible for a pattern of operating salmon and steelhead hatchery programs without the federal review and approval required for all hatchery programs with the potential to pose negative impacts to threatened and endangered species.

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Petitioning for Olympic Peninsula Steelhead to gain protections under the Endangered Species Act

In partnership with The Conservation Angler, Wild Fish Conservancy has submitted a petition to the National Marine Fisheries Service to list Olympic Peninsula steelhead under the Endangered Species Act and designate critical habitat for their protection.

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Reach out to us with your legal or policy concern

Time and time again citizens have reached out to us with concern about environmental laws not being followed. In these instances, we work with legal teams to evaluate whether action needs to be taken, and if warranted, use the court system to enforce laws like the Clean Water Act,
Endangered Species Act, and other laws designed to protect wild fish.