Utilizing Genetics to Accomplish Conservation Goals in Hatcheries

Conservation hatcheries are generally founded in order to mitigate the loss of wild stocks. However there has been much debate over whether or not the demographic and genetic consequences of using a conservation hatchery outweighs the potential benefits, as hatchery personnel are inevitably required to balance often disparate goals such as production and domestication. In order to reduce the risk of negative consequences, conservation hatcheries often employ genetic management, with the goal of reducing 1) inbreeding within the hatchery, 2) divergence from wild population, and 3) negative genetic effects on the wild population if hatchery fish are released into the wild. The goal of this symposium is to discuss different genetic management techniques in different hatchery settings, and how genetic management has been applied to and/or affected hatchery and wild populations, including failures and successes on both salmonids and non-salmonids.