Senator Murray Announces Historic $240 Million for Fish Hatcheries to Support Pacific Northwest Tribes

ICYMI: Senator Murray Statement on Presidential Memorandum Prioritizing Salmon, Fish Restoration in Columbia River Basin

Senator Murray: “I will keep up the fight as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee to protect our fish and save our salmon.”

Washington, D.C.– Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $240 million to support fish hatcheries that produce Pacific salmon and steelhead for Tribes across the Pacific Northwest. Today’s announcement helps to fulfill Treaty-reserved fishing rights, as well as boost fish populations that support essential subsistence, ceremonial, and economic benefits for Tribal communities. Murray helped to secure this funding when passing the Inflation Reduction Act. 

This investment builds on the historic agreement between the United States, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and the Spokane Tribe of Indians to support efforts to reintroduce salmon to the Upper Columbia River Basin. The agreement was closely followed by a Biden-Harris Administration Presidential Memorandum to prioritize the restoration of healthy and abundant wild salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations to the Columbia River Basin. 

“I have always said that the federal government must uphold its promises and responsibilities to our nation’s Tribes and, especially in the Pacific Northwest, that means protecting vital fish populations,” said Senator Murray. “It’s hard to overstate the impact salmon and fish have on Washington state Tribes, whether it is the food they provide, the role they play in cultural traditions, or how they strengthen local economies. I’m thrilled that the funding I helped to secure in the Inflation Reduction Act is finally making its way back to Washington state—and I will keep up the fight as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee to protect our fish and save our salmon.”

As part of today’s announcement, an initial $54 million is available to 27 Tribes in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska to address current hatchery facility maintenance and modernization backlogs, and to support Tribal capacity building. The remaining funding will be made available competitively to help Tribes address the long-term viability and effectiveness of critical infrastructure for salmon and steelhead.

Tribal fish hatchery production in the Pacific Northwest benefits subsistence fishers as well as both local and global markets, supporting commercial, subsistence and recreational fishing, tourism and the broader ecosystem from California to Alaska. Millions of fish are produced in Tribal hatcheries each year, driving Tribal employment and subsistence, nutrition for Tribal families, and the preservation of cultural traditions and recreation. As habitat is restored and reconnected to better support natural fish production, hatcheries will remain a critical tool to supplement fish for Tribal and non-Tribal fisheries, as well as other salmon-dependent animals and ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest.

Murray has been a champion for protecting and strengthening critical salmon and fish populations throughout her time in the Senate. As Assistant Majority Leader in the last Congress,  Murray secured a historic $2.85 billion investment in salmon and ecosystem restoration programs, including $400 million for a new community-based restoration program focused on removing fish passage barriers in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In the Inflation Reduction Act, Murray secured hundreds of millions for Washington state priorities, including $27 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, $3 million to support facilities at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, $27 million for Pacific salmon research, and more. As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Murray protected critical funding for salmon recovery and fishery projects in the Fiscal Year 2024 government spending bills, including: $50 million in the construction of the Howard Hanson Dam Fish Passage facility; $75 million for the Pacific Salmon account at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), $65 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, $54 million for the EPA’s Puget Sound Geographic Program, and more.

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