Replacement of Wild Coho Salmon by Hatchery-Reared Coho Salmon in the Strait of Georgia over the past Three Decades

Abstract
The percentage of hatchery-reared coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, increased from nearly 0% in the early 1970s to more than 70% by 2001. These estimates were derived from fin clip and coded wire tag data collected from commercial and sport fisheries, research surveys conducted in the summer and fall of 1997 to 2000, and examination of the microstructure of otoliths extracted from juvenile coho salmon collected during our marine surveys. The increasing trend may be related to the proportions of hatchery and wild smolts entering saltwater, fishing rates, and changes in the ecological processes regulating coho salmon production in the ocean. The consequence for management is that the abundance of wild spawning salmon (escapement) depends on hatchery as well as wild production. The consequence for policy makers is that future enhancement activities need to have clear policies for assessing the effects of hatchery fish on the population dynamics of wild fish...

This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit: