Gents,

Cloning, pure and simple, is just another means of ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION of a species. With regard to steelhead, this issue boils down to two basic, but separate, issues which are:

1. Is artificial propagation of steelhead necessary or desireable for the propagation of the species?

2. Should cloning be used as a means of artificial propagation of the species?

With respect to cloning, it is possible to address question #2 without having to answer question #1, as it then becomes a discussion of BMP, or "best management practice", or best scientific practice if you will. Remarkably the answer to this question is not at all unclear, because whether cloning becomes a more effective means of animal propagation in the future or not, it will never be a preferred, or even desirable, means of propagation of steelhead. No, not even if cloning acheives its full theoretical potential.

The reason for this is simply because even in the best case scenario, cloning which is "asexual reproduction" has INHERENT drawbacks to hatcheries or artificial insemination which is"sexual reproduction".
First of all it is (and always will be) less efficient.
Secondly, the total lack of genetic diversity is a serious (actually monumental) drawback.
Thirdly, cloning offers no benefit to the currently available best management practices of "sexual repoduction" and in no way offers a solution (even the potential for a solution) to the problems presented by the current BMPs (which is hatcheries today).
Fourthly, it has no unique or special benefit over any other techniques currently available for the artificial propagation of steelhead, as a species. To an individual, possibly.
To rephrase in simple english:
If hatcheries are inefficient, cloning will always be more inefficient. (Sorry George Jetson)
If we can't afford hatcheries now, you can forget about cloning ever.
If genetic diversity and vigor is a problem with hatcheries today (and this is a big one folks), cloning doesn't even begin to compare.

And this does not even take in to consideration the other mitigating concerns about cloning as they involve the first question and whether it is something that is needed or even desirable. It simply has exceedingly limited potential for the artificial propagation of steelhead, now or in the future.

While question #2 is very easy to answer, question #1 is far, far more difficult. Regarding question#1 however, please understand that I am NOT promoting hatcheries as part of this discussion. But for those of you that are in favor of artificial propagation, you must understand that cloning is simply not a viable option, now or in the future. For those against artificial propagation of steelhead, cloning is a topic that has the potential to detract and deflect from the significant and pressing issues that are currently being addressed with regard to wild fish. It may be fun to mentally masticate this topic but it is a RED HERRING. It would be sad to think that in our ardor to solve all the problems of the world by the idol that is technology, we would once again fall hook, line and sinker for the assurances that were made when the dams were built. Yes, of course we needed the power, but did we really believe it would be free, with little or no impact on the fish resource, when they told us that "future technologies" would mitigate the impact on the resource. They are still trying (desparately now) to deliver on those promises today, crying out "where is our god now?".

Forget the cure, cloning is not even a panacea!