If Conservation Hatcheries Aren't Working, Could a Citizen-Initiated Recovery Program be the Model That Replaces Them?

Scientific review of American Pacific Northwest salmon management has determined that the industrialized model of salmon production using hatcheries isn’t sustainable. Wild salmon are at 2% of historical levels and recovery efforts to stabilize the wild populations have failed to identify a solution based on hatchery practices. Research concludes that conservation hatcheries don’t work for recovery of Pacific salmonids due to reduced productivity from genetic domestication and negative ecological interactions that suppress the wild populations’ ability to recover. In a small Columbia River tributary in southwest Washington State a citizen-initiated recovery program created a model based on wild juvenile rearing and an enhanced rearing environment. They rescue juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) from intermittent streams, rear them, and then return them to their natal waters prior to smolting and have seen dramatic increases in the adult returns. This is an ecologically-based supplementation program that utilizes mate choice and the streams ability to incubate eggs and then enhances the survival rate of parr to maximize wild smolt production. The fish produced with this model have experienced natural selection during spawning and incubation therefor maintaining genetic integrity. This model could be a sufficient alternative to conservation hatcheries but requires more research.