9585 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Preface Relative to the standardization of techniques and the operational guidelines that have been established regarding the culture of "production" or "grow-out" type fish, the field of broodstock management has lagged considerably behind. For whatever reasons, a majority of broodstock facilities exhibit a tendency to not only operate independently of other stations, but also to rely on their own, oftentimes unique, management practices. Current management practices are more often than not based upon tradition, being handed down from one manager to the next, than they are on actual performance data. Considering the basic similarity in objectives that virtually all broodstock programs share, there is surprisingly little "common ground" in individual management programs. To a certain extent, the fact that- a manual pertaining specifically to broodstock management has not been available is likely responsible for at least some of the wide disparity in methodology commonly found between individual broodstock programs. There is little doubt that Fish Culture Manual by Hutchens ,and Nord, 1953 and Fish Hatchery Management by Piper et al., 1982 have had a tremendous impact on the advances made in general fish culture programs in recent years. Not only do publications such as these provide an up-to-date listing of sound cultural techniques,-they also tend to foster continuity among individual hatchery programs. They provide the above mentioned "common ground" through which individual programs can both advance-and interact. Larry Visscher, Associate Manager-Fisheries for Region 6 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Denver, CO, has been the driving force behind the completion of this handbook. It has been the contention of Larry, and others, that the field of broodstock management has been lacking a central set of guidelines, or what might be termed a "central focus" from which management practices can be based. While this lack of a common management starting point has forced some managers to "take the bull by the horns" and forge ahead in the development of management techniques (which has generally resulted in a positive effort), it has not helped to establish any continuity within the field of broodstock management as a whole. More importantly, it has caused other managers to lay back and rely primarily on methodologies used in the past. At some broodstock facilities, the pervasive logic seems to have become "We've done it this way for years and its worked OK.....why change now??". During the past several years, the field of broodstock management has experienced a "shot-in-the-arm" as a direct result of several workshops pertaining specifically to broodstock management that have been hosted by the USFWS. These workshops, which have been attended by representatives of federal, state, and private xvii