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<br />emphasises a certain management efli-
<br />ciency, based on obsolete pre-ecologi-
<br />cal dews ((:allicott 1991 1, and has led to
<br />dilemmas of reuxtrce decline, such as
<br />those: now common in foresu•y and
<br />fisheries. Part of the Resource Conser-
<br />yation Fahic, or dc•riring from it, teas the
<br />motto. "conservation means wise use,"
<br />which flourished in mid-cc:nttu-v and
<br />was readih• distorted to justit~• Dyer=
<br />exploitation of renewable resources.
<br />Aquaculture fit in with that by offering
<br />false promise ofcompensating tier cn•er-
<br />hartest and habi>;~tt ruin. Otherwise,
<br />hatcheries, especially the briefness of
<br />the it fishery bcx>st, do not seem to have
<br />tx en closelt related to the Resource
<br />(:onsert~ation F.thic, although connec-
<br />tions may have been confusedly
<br />mouthed. Aquac•ulture, ~t<s the name
<br />suggests, has been much clearer to an
<br />approach that is far older vr:r. plain,
<br />simple, Nauu-e{ unquering rrlnzrullurP.
<br />Till. plant, hartc•st.
<br />~1'e can recognise a grotting wend of
<br />Proingical JisltPr.y rrt«na,~tvrnvnt. It sprouted
<br />at least as tar back as the 19.~Qs. It has
<br />tx•en nurnn•ed by multifaceted science
<br />and the Evolutionart-Ecological I<uul
<br />Ethic, and it is not+• blossoming in en-
<br />couraging rigor and tariet~•. Here and
<br />there, it is suppressed bt the monoter
<br />Worts, dark oversurrv of old agrtarullttrrtl
<br />Jishvey tnanag•Ptnr>rcl or is smothered b+
<br />the accumulation of deadwood from it.
<br />Perhaps the new• growth will usefltltc
<br />assimilate and recycle the debris.
<br />To the extent that the alnux[ uniter-
<br />salh mismanaged ~u~d depresse d fisher-
<br />ies of the world can lx• restored, it is
<br />ecological fishers management and the
<br />fishers' ecologists that trill do it.:~nd the
<br />fisher}~ ecologists can do it Dolt bt work-
<br />ing with broad-based conservation
<br />groups (tshich hate become incre~ts-
<br />inglt active on fishery issues) , tti it h physi-
<br />calscientists, and tr•ith economists, legal
<br />experts, and politicians w•ho are sin-
<br />cereh~ interested in resource subility
<br />anti long-term benefit rather than quick
<br />profits and hatchery-fish flashes in the
<br />pan of public greed.
<br />Let's hate a look at some history on
<br />the issue, at some examples of hoty•bad
<br />the hatchery overemphasis hits grown,
<br />and, be way of doing something about
<br />it, at the promise: of hatchery reform
<br />and of ecological approaches to fishery
<br />restoration and management.
<br />CLASH OF CULTURE
<br />1 iatcheries hecanm significant in the
<br />t?niu•d States during the 1H70s; soon
<br />alterw•arcl, a major progt~tm was closed
<br />down because it did not pay. In I.~tke
<br />Erie, millions of whitefish f~r}• had been
<br />released each year to boost the: com-
<br />mercial fishery. Doubts about e•tlicacv
<br />arose, so it ryas tested ln• stocking in
<br />alternate nears only, then watching for a
<br />nt•crtrar pulse in catch. "I'hc pulse failed
<br />to detelop.:lr•tificial w•hitefistr propaga-
<br />tionwas lc,gicallyhalted. Since then, the
<br />record of evahtation and remedial ac-
<br />tion may not have. been so good.
<br />According to •J. 'I. Botyen's chapter
<br />on fish culuu•e in the American Fisher
<br />ies Socien•'s 1970 centennial book, as
<br />earh•as 1574. the fishervprofession had
<br />begun to make itsc if more than just fish
<br />culture, but:
<br />In ntnllPrs of mvtltoris of /nrrrra~•rt-
<br />tinn, stvrkin~•, orntanagPtrumt tltPnhsti-
<br />nar~~ n/ lh~> fish rulhrnisls widt>nyd lhv
<br />fnr711rt7rRrrrltlolt.t ~frr/r /:uilh othvr fish-
<br />Prry u~orkr>rsr llrnl ron.s !o rPrnain rtntil
<br />lnrtJ~=«ffPr• 11r,rld lt'rrr11.
<br />1•~.sh rulturv rvm~rinvd thv nwsl inr
<br />/,octant to/sir and 11tP fish rtthtn7sts
<br />rx/r«rrrled dtPirs/~hP-'Pr f influr>rrrP u-ttil
<br />fn snore rasps thvy itmt•P dtcta.lanlr 1hP
<br />sh,rking c f fish in radditinn to Ilavir
<br />/rrrr/,ag«tion. 1st sooty instanrPS, the
<br />slieriPS rntd nuntfx>r- to hr> storkvd weep
<br />dPter-utinvd snlvlt• fn• lhv .surr~ss rf t/tv
<br />fish rultur~st.
<br />13iolr,,~nral stn-ar>t~s, furl trutt«b'd ~'
<br />thv.St«1PS of:1 ~lichigrrrr and A~Pra }belt in
<br />llu> 1 ~Y,S'tls, rnrn,idvrl irrfru•rruttunr u'hirh
<br />indirah>d lltat dtP Dish urPrP rtol alznrr~~s
<br />suited to thv watYts u,hPrP starkvd. Du r-
<br />ing lhv 19311s, zuhvrt fisltPtl' rnnsP~z,«-
<br />tiorr 6P~=an In Pz~oh~P into /ishPr-s
<br />nurna~=Ptnvnl, fJty (.~1 met7r«n 1•rshPtiesJ
<br />,SnciPh ruas the fnntm :utNtzrt znhlrh 1hP
<br />/rhllosnJrlty r f 1hP 11171/rPr nran«g'Pntvnl
<br />seers d~t~elrrl,Pd. Fish. rttlhrr-P «ssuravd a
<br />lvss inlrrartrtrr! rolvin tltPSnr7Ph•, rind h1'
<br />193( Nrv ntentfiPrshirr rcflrrlPrl « rant-
<br />1,1vlPh• nr~o ntttlonk.
<br />But long after that, an infatuation
<br />with hatcheries persisted and tended to
<br />dominate fishertagcncies. InBorne sec-
<br />tors, that domination still exists. h1'arn-
<br />ings of shortcomings in hatchery
<br />grog=ramsof~tenwrre faltrringh~ heeded.
<br />if at all. illost hatcheries ts•ere-anti still
<br />are-jucik=ed by the arnotu~ts of fish
<br />stocked, not bythe resultant fishing.
<br />Bti- the 193Os or so, biologists had
<br />I x•gnm eyaluaun-y studies. although such
<br />work was apparenth rare. Fern if any
<br />agencies relished ey~thtation. The find-
<br />ings usualh showed poor results from
<br />stocking. Some studies are said to hate
<br />gone unpublished, umtelcome data
<br />being u-eated quietly. Some agencies
<br />acted on the results by reducing orhalt-
<br />inghatchery programs, but most either
<br />resisted the etidcnce or responded too
<br />gingerly, just tinkering with hatchery
<br />design and opet~ttion.
<br />In the 1'rn~ressiz+P fish: Cultctr~st peri-
<br />odical of 194ii, the L'.S. Fish and V1'ild-
<br />life Sertice's Hotyarcf A. Schack wrote
<br />on "Surtital of Hatchery Trout in
<br />Streams and Possible Methods of hn-
<br />protingthe Quality' of Hatchery Trout."
<br />tie renewed etidence that hatchery
<br />u-out in streams survived less ~+°ell than
<br />wild trout, blaming such hatd~ery prole
<br />lemsas: irtr/nr,r~rrdivtat7~ ingr-Pdivnts; or~Pr-
<br />jPPdirt~r 'tyhich leads to (among other
<br />things) deuimentallyhigh grotyth rates' ;
<br />lark ulP.tvrrlsr "rn-tifirirtl conditions where
<br />little or no fin•aging For tbod is nece~
<br />sary"; lark o/~%rNrlalnrs; tmnattu-ally sl«bly
<br />rt~(ttPr-tentrrvrrtlttrr, on-going rl<rrrustirrrlintt
<br />of brood stock; "intentional and unin-
<br />tentional sPIPr•linn... for ~orxl /,Pt frtrnrvntrP
<br />ire thv lrrNrlrPr,ti"; lark of unJural food; and
<br />inadequac}' of trrr:lsrrnrt «nd r~lantinl=nlPth-
<br />rxts (emphasis added).
<br />In the ensuing 44 years, fish culturists
<br />forte worked to overcome some of the
<br />problems Schack outlined, but ne-
<br />glected most of them. The}• concen-
<br />trated on nuuitionand the eve, r-present
<br />threat of disease. Fish transport also got
<br />attention. Thee f~xused mainly on in-
<br />hatchery pertirrmance,not field results.
<br />The re tyere notable exceptions, which
<br />apparently were not ttideh~ heeded. In
<br />the ]9:i0s, R. B. Rliller published on
<br />poorsurtiyal ofhatcherycutthroat u•out
<br />in an Alberta su•eam. ~ Dominated by
<br />tsild trout, the stocked fish got little
<br />fi>ex1 and started. '4liller also stocked
<br />ts•ild cutthroats from other su~eants into
<br />the establishc cf wild population, as well
<br />as planting n-out that had different de-
<br />grees of hatchery experience. 'These
<br />newcomers surtited less well than the
<br />established fish but better than fish of
<br />purel}~ hatchery origin. The greater the
<br />hatchc ry background of u-out, the
<br />poorer their surtival rate.
<br />The 1930s saw a major etent in Cana-
<br />•I }{11117• Il"('l V1\ Pr92
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