9328

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9328
• Author: Miller, W. H.
• Title: Analysis of Salmon and Steelhead Supplementation.
• USFW Year: 1990.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

are the best techniques for supplementing wild/natural stocks and what are the effects of
supplementation on endemic populations?" We consider the information presented in
Smith et al. (1985) in their "outplanting Anadromous Salmonids - A Literature Survey"
to be very pertinent. The survey does in fact contain representative information we have
found to be substantiated in our own literature work and interviews.
We concur with Smith et al. (1985) that no supplementation procedures should be
attempted in wild/natural fish only streams. These streams are best enhanced by habitat
protection and harvest control.
We believe that plans to double anadromous fish runs in the Columbia River Basin, as
stated in the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act, may be placing too much
emphasis on hatchery production. This effort may continue to erode the genetic integrity
of wild stock. We believe that the only way to "double the runs" in the Columbia Basin
is to provide optimum habitat for natural producing stocks with limited hatchery
supplementation. Equally important is the need to improve mainstream passage
conditions by providing adequate flows and reducing losses at the dams. In addition,
some hatchery programs should probably divert their efforts at "harvest augmentation"
with no or minimal impacts to natural production. If hatchery production, as we know it
today, could solve the production problem in the Columbia Basin, we would have
doubled the runs 50 years ago.
We may have created an "environmental predicament" where "man's ability to modify the
environment increases faster than his ability to foresee the effects of his activities" (Bel]a
and Overton 1972). We must make every effort to reduce the genetic consequences of
large scale outplanting. We believe that in many instances anadromous fish could do a
better job of rebuilding if we would place a moratorium on "helping" them for several
generations. We need to refocus our efforts to protect and enhance habitat. We have
tried for 100 years "to have our cake and eat it too," the time is ripe for more innd~vative
{
methods of hatchery outplanting. '~
~.
Again, we may need to look at what factors caused the runs to decrease in the first
place. If we have noC ameliorated the problems which caused the runs to decrease, ~
will not be able to build up natural runs by just planting hatchery fish. Also, if harves~*
management is not linked with supplementation, the increased harvest on supplemented ~
fish may in fact put increased harvest pressure on natural stocks. Thus, the overall result
would be a negative impact to natural production.

40