Diminished Reproductive Success of Steelhead from a Hatchery Supplementation Program
Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 12:00AM 
From Osprey Steelhead News comes this dispatch regarding a recent study further proving that hatchery fish reduce the health of wild stocks.
A recent study authored by a group of biologists from NOAA and ODFW explores reproductive success of hatchery v. wild steelhead in a tributary of the Imnaha River in Oregon. The "integrated" hatchery program in which hatchery juveniles were progeny of wild parents or parents of relatively recent wild ancestry still showed a dramatic decline in reproductive fitness relative to their hatchery counterparts (30-60%). This research adds to the ever growing body of evidence that hatchery fish are extremely unsuccessful when spawning in the wild and that hatchery spawners dramatically reduce the productivity of wild stocks and further call into question managers ongoing reliance on hatcheries in recovery efforts.
Reader Comments (2)
What with pollution, poor management and sometime over fishing are anglers going to do in the future....I'm all for catch and release, fly only area management
cant shut out the fishing-----not fair to sportsmen-----on the other hand sportsmen need to step up!! be stewards of the rivers, mountains, and the forests within the middle-----figure it out----be real--------it is up to us and there is power in numbers------embrace your fellow angler---educate him or her of watershed health and the effects of EVERYTHING that goes into the river-----yes even our flies--------think, open your mind------be AWARE of the real picture------man is not a god----how can he put a "test tube fish" into any given river---PERIOD it all starts with proffit and that should be the last thing on our minds......down with the dams and we need to take action to reclaim our lands leased, leased, by the government for lumber in mass quantities--railroads tainting waterways-- ugh the list goes n goes-----hydrofrack, nestle trying to take over the famous mccloud--the start of stocking-- and so on-----being closed minded is not the answer---------good luck in your own watershed----start there---might feel good