The placing of carcasses from hatcheries requires a number hurdles to be cleared. First, it is illegal to put them back in the water without approval from DOE. Next, the rules surrounding fish transfer for pathogen control need to be met. Fish can't be moved around willynilly. The contract with the fish buyer needs to be considered. The actual condition of the water such as if there are domestic water diversions, permission from landowners, risk of salmon poisoning to dogs, and other concerns. Need to have volunteers who can transport and distribute fish. The distributed fish may need to be marked to distinguish from fish counted in spawner surveys.

It is not a simple "here's some fish, put them out". At one time, many facilities distributed carcasses. Ideally, managers try to get as few fish back as necessary; the nutrient enhancement program really took off in the early years of ESA listing (before selective fisheries) when lots and lots of surplus was available.

While there are many ecologists who see that salmon streams are devoid of nutrients the managers tend to the other end of the scale and are pushing often for lower goals.