WSB OREHP meeting with DFW - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

WestFork · 04-13-2018, 08:46 AM

A couple points may have been overlooked since Jim/Saba Slayer's original post. First, thanks to Jim for sitting through what may be less than exciting meetings and posting detailed notes on what transpired. That's a service for both WSB and fishermen.
Next, the NPR article sheds light on this important work. It omits details, though, like how WSB survival to reproducing adults has been measured and misrepresents others. It implies that 2 million WSB released is a lot. It would be if they were all going into an impoundment rather than the open ocean. One federal hatchery aims to releases 12 million salmon every year into the Sacramento River drainage. There are a lot of hatcheries between California and Japan bolstering salmon stocks. 2 mm WSB over 20 years may not be enough to see an effect even if there is one.
There's no mention in the article of how genetic diversity, disease resistance, wild characteristics are assured with the WSB egg source. Egg to fry survival in a hatchery should be much better than in the wild. A question about whether the right eggs, over time, are being hatched is not trivial. Hatchery selection of brood stock, btw, always selects away from at least as many desirable (survival) traits as it selects for.
Rearing any fish for release to the wild is NOT like farming fish. Wild traits necessary for survival in the wild are difficult if not impossible to retain in a controlled environment. That's why scientific research may, in the long run, be a more important part of the WSB project than the absolute number of returns in any time period.
Just my opinions. Yours may differ. :-)
Dave

04-13-2018, 08:46 AM	#1
WestFork Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Utah Posts: 46	A couple points may have been overlooked since Jim/Saba Slayer's original post. First, thanks to Jim for sitting through what may be less than exciting meetings and posting detailed notes on what transpired. That's a service for both WSB and fishermen. Next, the NPR article sheds light on this important work. It omits details, though, like how WSB survival to reproducing adults has been measured and misrepresents others. It implies that 2 million WSB released is a lot. It would be if they were all going into an impoundment rather than the open ocean. One federal hatchery aims to releases 12 million salmon every year into the Sacramento River drainage. There are a lot of hatcheries between California and Japan bolstering salmon stocks. 2 mm WSB over 20 years may not be enough to see an effect even if there is one. There's no mention in the article of how genetic diversity, disease resistance, wild characteristics are assured with the WSB egg source. Egg to fry survival in a hatchery should be much better than in the wild. A question about whether the right eggs, over time, are being hatched is not trivial. Hatchery selection of brood stock, btw, always selects away from at least as many desirable (survival) traits as it selects for. Rearing any fish for release to the wild is NOT like farming fish. Wild traits necessary for survival in the wild are difficult if not impossible to retain in a controlled environment. That's why scientific research may, in the long run, be a more important part of the WSB project than the absolute number of returns in any time period. Just my opinions. Yours may differ. :-) Dave