Originally Posted By: eyeFISH
Did a little Googling on SR falls.

OMFG!

That Lyons Ferry program is a frickin' mess! A fully integrated hatch/wild population constitutes the listed ESU. What an oxymoron. Being the staunch segregationist that I am, the whole notion of integrated hatchery anything just makes me cringe. Can someone brighter than I please explain how the hell hatchery fish become "endangered". Must I now reconsider my now infamous "ALL hatchery fish MUST die" position?

http://www.fws.gov/pacific/Fisheries/Hat...2011_FINAL2.pdf

Salmo g and Smalma.... please open the PDF and start at page 50 to review the broodstock criteria for this convoluted program. Let us know what you think.

These guys are trying to meet a benchmark P-NOB without the ability to reliably determine which fish are NOB. Mission impossible? They freely admit that half the HOS in the basin are not clipped. My fish was obviously one of those unclipped HOS.

Feeling very conflicted at the moment.... SHEESH!


This from the latest (2015) rendition of the SR Fall Chinook Recovery Plan...

http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/...covery_plan.pdf

In theory, the effect of large numbers of hatchery- origin fish spawning in the wild can be alleviated somewhat by inclusion of natural-origin fish in the hatchery broodstock. In recent years, however, the proportion of natural-origin fish in the broodstock has been under 10 percent, and the proportion of hatchery-origin fish on the spawning grounds has been over 70 percent (WDFW et al. 2011).

A useful metric that puts these two gene flow rates (hatchery to natural and vice versa) in perspective is proportionate natural influence (PNI) (Mobrand et al. 2005; Paquet et al. 2011). Based on a mathematical model, a PNI value of 0.5 or above indicates natural selective forces dominating hatchery selective forces. No empirical data are available on the fitness effects expected under various levels of PNI, but the Hatchery Scientific Review Group (2009) has recommended that populations intended to reach viable status be managed at a PNI of 0.67 or higher in the long run.

However, they recognized that lower values may be appropriate in certain conservation situations. The Snake River fall Chinook salmon population currently has a PNI of approximately 0.06, which is considerably below this level.
_________________________
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"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
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