Challenging the Government’s Hatchery Listing Policy

Earthjustice successfully challenged a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service policy that sought to count hatchery-bred salmon as part of wild populations to reduce Endangered Species Act protections. While a court initially ruled the policy scientifically flawed, the effort was ultimately abandoned by the Obama administration.

• The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service implemented a policy requiring scientists to include hatchery-bred salmon in the population counts of wild salmon during endangered species assessments, which Earthjustice claimed was intended to hide the endangered status of wild salmon and remove protections under the Endangered Species Act.
• On June 13, 2007, a federal court ruled that the government's hatchery listing policy was inconsistent with the Endangered Species Act and scientifically flawed, following a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of fishing enthusiasts and conservation groups.
• Although a subsequent government appeal overturned the federal court's decision, the effort to reduce protections for steelhead and rare salmon by changing listing policies was abandoned under the Obama administration.

APA

Earthjustice (2005). Challenging the Government’s Hatchery Listing Policy. https://earthjustice.org/case/hatchery-listing-policy

Chicago

Earthjustice. Challenging the Government’s Hatchery Listing Policy. 2005. https://earthjustice.org/case/hatchery-listing-policy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=Challenging the Government’s Hatchery Listing Policy |date=13 June 2005 |url=https://earthjustice.org/case/hatchery-listing-policy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2005challenging, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Challenging the Government’s Hatchery Listing Policy}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2005}, month = jun, url = {https://earthjustice.org/case/hatchery-listing-policy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }