Interesting post Doc but a couple of things to chew on. All hatchery fish do die the question is where and how. With a integrated stock the hatchery returns should mirror the wild escapement %. The current WDF&W management is that these are wasted if not harvested prior to reaching the hatchery but I would propose that is incorrect. They are the sport fishers opportunity which by the very nature of it is a inefficient harvest mechanism. The true value of a paper fish be it hatchery or natural production is not necessarily when it is dead. The sport fishers inefficient methods of harvest have great social and economic value in the effort of just trying to catch the fish. That a salmon returns to the hatchery rack and then is removed is not necessarily wasted and it will most certainly die.

The ever evolving nature of salmon management is challenging as hatcheries built many years ago may or may not fit the current guidelines. Take the Huptulips hatchery that lacks a weir so straying is a problem in the case of Coho but not the case with the other 4 facilities in the Chehalis Basin. In all cases the returning salmon will die it is question of where and how.