Propagated fishes in resource management -- where are we?

The stocking of propagated fishes has been an important management tool for North American resource managers for over a hundred years. However over the last thirty years this tool has been challenged as being risky, and has thus been under careful scrutiny.  Through these years the American Fisheries Society (AFS) examined emerging issues dealing with the risks and benefits of fish stocking practices  and conducted three special symposia:  (1) 1980’s, “The Role of Fish Culture in Fisheries Management;”  (2) 1990’s  “Uses and Effects of Cultured Fishes in Aquatic Ecosystems;” and (3) 2000’s, “Propagated Fishes in Resource Management (PFIRM).”  The outcome from  PFIRM was a comprehensive set of AFS guidelines: “Considerations for the Use of Propagated Fishes in Resource Management.”
The information which follows, tracks these events and demonstrates management adaptations, confirming that today’s managers implement science-based guidance, and examine the risks and benefits of their actions.  But the Bottom Line question for 2010 is:  “Considering today’s science, are we doing enough?’  Accordingly, a Call-to-AFS has been proposed, to ask the AFS Governing Board to revisit these issues in the light of contemporary science.  And in that regard, you may be hearing more -- in the very near future.