Quote:
Originally posted by MetalheadRon:
Why don't the HxW fish spawn successfully? The source of hatchery fish was originally wild fish and I was just wondering if there has been a change in the fish due to hatchery raising and what those changes have been?
It's called domestication and the tendency for it to occur is VERY strong in salmonids held for 1 year or more in captivity.... even when they are only one geneartion removed from a genetically pure wild stock. It gets exponentially worse for each generation removed.

So as Todd said a wild broodstock hatchery program is far superior to a typical hatchery program, but from a return per spawner viewpoint, nothing can come close to the production of wild spawners.
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)

"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
Long Live the Kings!