The Northwest U.S. Dam Breaching Decision: Factors, Costs and Benefits

Northwestern United States' salmon populations have fallen precipitously. Attempts at salmon restoration are going on and dam breaching is being considered. Costs associated with the continued restoration attempts including hatchery stocking, barging and trucking salmon around the dams are high while benefits are unclear. Those costs may be greater than dam breaching. An additional impetus for dam removal is the revival of the commercial salmon fishing industry. This may not occur for both ecological and economic reasons. Ecologically complete restoration may not be feasible. Economically, the rise of competitively priced salmon aquaculture will reduce the value of any future commercial catch. A statistical relationship between falling prices for wild salmon and rising salmon aquaculture output is shown.