Matt,

I don't think we're disagreeing...

As noted above, the results are quite variable among broodstock programs. If you have a program that produces more fish than would be produced if the fish were just left to their own devices, then it might be a good idea. It depends on how many fish are removed from the river and what the productivity of those fish would have been had they been left in.

In the Chilcote study, what they found is that if they removed, say, two dozen fish from the system and put them in a broodstock program, that those two dozen fish may not produce any more returning adults than if the fish were left alone. Even worse, if the offspring are meant for harvest, then effectively not only have the original parents been removed from the system, but so have their offspring (via harvest). At best, the program has negligible effects, good or bad. At worst, it reduces the wild return by two dozen fish every year.

It's pretty obvious, however, that if those broodstocked fish which return and don't get harvested that they will probably be much more successful spawning than would be outplanted fish, and their bad effects on the wild fish would be greatly reduced.

I think that we must have viable hatchery runs to justify fishing, and so that we have fish to harvest. Outplanting has proven to be a bust. Broodstocking will probably become more and more important, but each program will have to be very closely analyzed and monitored to see what its costs and benefits are. If it does indeed add more fish to harvest without reducing the wild run, then go for it. If it reduces the wild run for the purpose of increasing harvest, then don't do it. In that case you may as well save the trouble of having the program and just harvest the wild ones that you're using for the program.

I think that we need to set some performance standards for the programs, and they need to be set to measure what is actually returned, rather than how many smolts are released. Then the standards need to ensure that even if a higher return rate is achieved that it doesn't come at the expense of the wild run.

Fish on...

Todd.

EDIT: Thanks for getting the state right for me, Smalma.