Ethical Considerations for Marine Fish Stock Enhancement

Fish stocking has occurred throughout the US since the 1800s and marine stock enhancement began in the 1860s following significant declines in wild stocks. Original premises included producing fish to replace those lost from natural or human influences, meeting specific management needs, and providing opportunities for recreational fisherman; however, success identification was lacking – increases in populations or harvests, fate of released fish, or economic feasibility. With advances in fisheries research (1950s-1970s) and improved understanding of fish population dynamics, it became clear that stock enhancement was not as simple as producing huge numbers of larvae and dumping them into the ocean.  Many arguments against stock enhancement revolve around the decision of whether or not to stock fish, success evaluation, and the influence of political pressure.  Unintended outcomes have occurred with some stocking programs; but in most cases, there simply was not enough known about the existing wild populations to make responsible choices regarding stocking as a management tool and often high annual recruitment variation requires decades of monitoring to identify trends.  Over the last two decades, stock enhancement researchers have addressed many of these problems and developed protocols that ensure a “responsible approach” to stocking hatchery-produced fish into the wild.