Conservation Strategies for Northwest Hatcheries - ESA and Sustainable Fisheries Concerns

Development of the North Pacific salmonid hatchery system began in the late 19th century and has played a prominent role in enhancement of the salmonid resource in the Pacific Northwest.  Today several billion hatchery-reared salmonids are released annually into the North Pacific. On the Columbia River alone, over 300 artificial production programs produce about 200 million hatchery fish. These hatcheries have played a major role in supplying salmon and trout to the common property fishery, benefiting commercial, sport, tribal, and nontribal fishers and now provide up to 80% of the fish in several of the key fisheries. Despite the great success of hatcheries in supplying fish, the philosophy of salmonid resource management has changed. Most public hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest were originally built to mitigate for loss of natural spawning habitat. Hatchery production goals focused on enhancing harvest of adults in commercial fisheries. The hatcheries were established at a time when wild salmon stocks were healthy and genetic diversity of stocks was not a concern. Today, many of the stocks are listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The need to preserve biodiversity has brought about a new era of conservation of wild stocks that cannot help but impact the operation and management of production hatcheries and the traditional users of hatchery fish. A framework of Conservation Hatchery strategies to reduce potential impacts of artificial propagation on the biology and behavior of fish is discussed. These include: Mating and rearing designs that produce minimal genetic divergence of hatchery fish from their wild counterparts to maintain long-term adaptive traits; Simulation of natural rearing conditions; Programming release size, stage, and condition to match the wild population in order to reduce potential negative ecological interactions and to promote homing; and Aggressive monitoring and evaluation.  High priority must be given to basic scientific research to meet three principal goals: 1) Maintain genetic integrity of the population, 2) Increase quality and behavioral fitness, and 3) Reduce impacts to wild populations.