Well, that's pretty good logic. Not intending to throw stones at anyone, but here's the question:
Given the comparatively recent development of DNA testing, how would genetic samplings of "ancient", or pre-hatchery runs of fish be obtained????
There's been a lot of talk about genetic diffusion and mutations in hatchery-bred fish, and general depletion of the over-all health and condition of some hatchery runs.

While concern over these concepts may be valid, I believe the greatest single factor in fishery depletion is the maintenance and care of water quality and food supply at the brood ponds, and subsequent intervention in the natural selective breeding process.
All the rhetoric currently amounts to is casting blame for bygone practices, and not much can be done about it now.
The damage has already been done to the gene pool.
Why not work with the brood stocks presently available, to re-populate the runs where it can be achieved? So far as the on-shore measures can be taken, there's still a great deal more to be done in the areas of conservation measures, water quality, harvest regulation and restrictions, (both tribal & non), and for both commercial & sport fisheries.
Then there's the question of food fish stocks. If there are no herring, what are our salmon or steelhead going to live on?? If there's less for anandromous fish to feed on, where's the logic in releasing larger numbers of smolt to compete for the reduced food supply? Even if they did survive, you'd see a smaller-sized returning run. Without knowing all the facts, that theory works best for me.
Then, until The federal government takes a stronger stand in the international fishery harvest treaty process, all our on-shore measures are probably not going to show very prolific returning runs for the effort.

The down-side is that the Asian fisheries have depleted the food fishery in the Indian Ocean: it's nearly a desert. Without Pacific Ocean fish supplies, massive numbers of people in the western rim of the Pacific are going to starve. Wars have been fought over less urgent issues.
So, its a very delicate balance, and while we'd probably like to think that it's a simple case of genetic mutancy affecting our runs, it may not be so simple. What may be more the case is that there's an unbalanced food chain, wherein the top of the food chain, (us'ns) is feeding too heavily on a dwindling natural resource.
Points to ponder....