Presentation Abstract
Wild stocks of Pacific salmon have experienced significant declines in abundance over the past century. One of the management tools to compensate for these losses has been the use of hatcheries to produce salmon and provide continued support for our fisheries, rebuilding and conservation efforts. There is now widespread recognition of the need to evaluate the role and effectiveness of hatcheries in British Columbia. In 2020, the Pacific Salmon Foundation received funding through the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund to conduct an independent science-based review of hatchery effectiveness in BC. This work is made up of several components, a few of which we will highlight. In this presentation, we will share the challenges of assessing the effectiveness of producing hatchery salmon to meet different objectives (i.e. rebuilding versus harvest). We will also highlight the difficulties in assessing the effects of hatcheries on the age, sex and size structure of Chinook salmon. In addition, we will explore engagement with community advisors and hatchery managers to capture the value and diversity of community hatchery programs and evaluate how they could be better equipped to conserve and manage Pacific salmon. Finally, we will summarise our findings related to interactions between wild and hatchery salmon by exploring spatial/temporal analyses that include nearby production, metrics related to spawner abundance, and trends in productivity with hatchery, pinniped and environmental covariates. This project is a timely and important contribution to informing hatchery based production of salmon in BC.
Session Title
Hatchery, Habitat, & Survival
Conference Track
SSE4: Fish Science and Policy
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE-traditionals-178
Start Date
27-4-2022 1:30 PM
End Date
27-4-2022 3:00 PM
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
Explorations into the assessment of hatchery effectiveness and interactions between hatchery and wild fish: challenges and results.
Wild stocks of Pacific salmon have experienced significant declines in abundance over the past century. One of the management tools to compensate for these losses has been the use of hatcheries to produce salmon and provide continued support for our fisheries, rebuilding and conservation efforts. There is now widespread recognition of the need to evaluate the role and effectiveness of hatcheries in British Columbia. In 2020, the Pacific Salmon Foundation received funding through the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund to conduct an independent science-based review of hatchery effectiveness in BC. This work is made up of several components, a few of which we will highlight. In this presentation, we will share the challenges of assessing the effectiveness of producing hatchery salmon to meet different objectives (i.e. rebuilding versus harvest). We will also highlight the difficulties in assessing the effects of hatcheries on the age, sex and size structure of Chinook salmon. In addition, we will explore engagement with community advisors and hatchery managers to capture the value and diversity of community hatchery programs and evaluate how they could be better equipped to conserve and manage Pacific salmon. Finally, we will summarise our findings related to interactions between wild and hatchery salmon by exploring spatial/temporal analyses that include nearby production, metrics related to spawner abundance, and trends in productivity with hatchery, pinniped and environmental covariates. This project is a timely and important contribution to informing hatchery based production of salmon in BC.
