A Broad-Scale View of Regional Hatchery Program Reform in Its Early Stages

The artificial propagation of Pacific salmon has become a cornerstone of fisheries management across much of the geographic range of these fish.  Hatchery-based programs provide fish for harvest and can be managed to provide demographic support for populations at severe risk of extirpation.  The programs are popular with many of the constituencies served by our fish management agencies, and provide employment for many in our profession.  However, they are not without risk.  Their effects (both ecological and genetic) on wild Pacific salmon are one of multiple reasons that many populations in the Pacific Northwest and California have been listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

I examined the geographic scope and scale of hatchery salmon production along the eastern Pacific Rim, and then focused on programs operating in watersheds south of the Canadian border.  Spatial data on the intensities of annual hatchery releases (fish numbers per unit area) were used to explore the degree of alignment between hatchery programs and watershed or landscape-based conservation priorities.  The results raise questions about our strategies for managing hatchery programs consistent with the needs of wild Pacific salmon in the southern portion of their range, particularly during an era of climate change.