see presentation from August Council meeting (650k PDF)

In 2007, the ISAB’s partners — the Council, NOAA Fisheries, and the Columbia River Indian Tribes — approved the ISAB to evaluate the state of knowledge of the impact of both intentional and unintentional introductions of non-native aquatic species on native salmonids in the Columbia River Basin. The ISAB found that the potential impacts and risks to native salmonids and other native fishes from non-native species are significant, with most subbasins in the Columbia River Basin already dominated by non-native fish species. Because of these impacts, the ISAB recommends that the Council and the Fish and Wildlife agencies in the Basin elevate the issue of non-native species effects to a priority equivalent to that of habitat loss and degradation, climate change, and human population growth and development.

The report is intended to help the Council:

1. develop guidelines for implementing the Fish and Wildlife Program to minimize future impacts from non-native species and
2. frame scientific guidance and propose criteria for deciding the limitations and appropriate use of non-native fishes to mitigate hydrosystem losses through resident fish substitution.