Do Pacific salmon hatchery programs work for their intended purpose?

Abstract

Pacific salmon hatchery programs are used as a tool to increase the abundance, productivity, or probability of persistence of populations. Today, they are used throughout the North Pacific Rim. On the west coast of the United States they are used to conserve endangered or threatened populations (designated under the Endangered Species Act), fulfill tribal treaty rights and other legal requirements, provide ecocultural value, and enhance recreational and commercial fishing opportunity. To understand the breadth of hatchery programs and consider the extent to which they function as intended, twenty-two individual hatchery programs were reviewed across Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Principal selection criteria was for available management plans (to determine program purpose and objectives) and a combination of monitoring reports and independent evaluations (to determine outcomes). The question guiding the review was, “Do hatchery programs work for their intended purpose?” Through the review of programs, seven program purposes emerged (captive breeding, reintroduction, restoration, mitigation, supplementation, fill underutilized habitat, and optimum production) and were grouped together by the language embedded in management plans. These purposes demonstrated the range of applications that hatchery programs intend to provide; to intervene in the abundance of a targeted population on a continuum from extinct to abundant. Objectives were categorized as biological, ecological, economic, and social. The relationship between purpose and objectives was clear; programs focused on conserving salmon populations emphasized biological and ecological objectives while programs focused on providing opportunity emphasized economic and social objectives. Outcomes were ranked as generally positive, generally negative, and mixed. Programs with management scale mismatches (e.g., federal oversight and tribal treaty rights) had generally negative outcomes, programs with adequate funding with capacity to adapt had generally positive outcomes, and programs that integrate policy reform (e.g., HSRG framework) had generally positive outcomes. Within the twenty-two programs reviewed, there is not a one-size-fits-all policy for hatchery programs; each works for its intended purpose when managers consider the social-ecological context of the program and design policy that is achievable to implement and adapt.