More correctly, the Americans are doing what they are supposed to be doing due to tighter environmental laws requiring them to mitigate the man-made loss of habitat. If you have noticed the Columbia system has many dams. These dams severely restricted salmon migration - in many instances stocks have been extirpation within the watershed. In addition, much of the Okanagan River downstream of Osoyoos was channelized by both the US and Canada which impacted fish habitat. Today, most of the Sockeye production in the Columbia comes from the Okanagan and Wenatchee rivers. In the Okanagan, with the First Nations fishery rights coming to the forefront and the collapse of the Sockeye fishery, DFO was required to do something themselves. Okanagan First Nations collected Sockeye broodstock from the Okanagan River near Oliver and began incubating them at the DFO hatchery on the Shuswap River. The Sockeye numbers are booming now. Local First Nations are now constructing their own hatchery in Penticton. The success of the Okanagan Sockeye is a collaborative effort between the Okanagan First Nation, DFO (including Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada), Washington State Fish and Game, the BC government, environmentalists, recreational anglers and even Bonneville Power Authority. So, it is not exactly fair to say our "Bad Attitude Canadian Federal Government" because successes like this are hard to come by if there is not collaboration from government agencies - even though some of us like to paint them as the villain all the time. This is another cool, good news story.
