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Here's something some of you may wish to read. I found it interesting. http://www.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/06/07/atlantic.salmon.enn/index.html
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Billy...Now that we have this info as a guideline to go from, what can we do to help our steelhead out? I think right now we can just hypothesize and what I am about to say should be taken as just that. A big problem with Hatchery steelhead, on rivers where there is both hatchery and wild steelhead, is protecting the wild steelhead smolts. You want to release the steelhead smolts in a way and place and time that optimize the survival of the wild fish as well. On a coastal river, the best way to do this, is to release the smolts near the estuary, or distincly way lower down the river. This almost guarantees their entrance into the ocean and this protects andy wild steelhead still protected within the realm of the river. Wild steelhead have higher survival rates from Smolt to Adult than hatchery steelhead, however, Hatchery steelhead have way way way way higher survial rates from Fry to Smolt, so in general, hatchery steelhead will return in higher numbers than wild steelhead. What does this have to do with the current issue at hand you ask? Well my Hypothesis is this. In the wild, which is where these damn bastards are spawning, the atlantcis I'm referring to, they obviously must face the same problems of egg to fry survival rates as the Pacific Salmon. If you tell me different, you're bullshitting me. In the wild, approximately 10 percent and slightly above survive from egg to fry. Thats pretty Low? In a hatchery incubation situatin, 90 percent to almost 100 percent survive. What this means, is it explains my hypothesis exactly. According to Fisheries biologists, a fish that has anything to do with a hatchery ,is a hatchery fish, whether it is raised to a smolt, or raised to jsut a fry and then released. In my honest opinion, from seeing have I have seen regarding our unfed fry releases and then planting smolt traps to do data on them in creeks (they were twice as big as our hatchery smolts of the same age), these fish do attain what I would call wild fish status, meaning they are bigger and stronger and more fit than hatchery fish of the same age. I will call any fish released as an unfed fish a semi wild fish, ok? What I think should be done is simple. Catch Steelhead Broodstock on "problem rivers." Rivers that have known Atlantic salmon populatoins. We will incubate the eggs of the Steelhead, NOthing more. This insures the maximum possible fecunidity of the eggs to fry. We then release the fry unfed. What I can only hypothesize will happen is the many more steelhead will overwhelm the atlantics and they will take the river back over. Coupled with smolts from the year before, feeding on the Atlantic fry that have recently hatched, it should possibly eliminate the atlantic problem. Keep in mind, this is strictly a hypothesis from my standpoint. I can already see Dave Hadden and many other people who believe in true wild steelhead frowning, and the biologists who say what they say, well they're frowning too, but this could be (with a little research obviously) an alternative. Obviously hatcheries are looked down upon, but from the fish I've seen from unfed fry Coho plants we've done and then smolt trap information, and this can be transferred into the steelhead situation since I feel Steelhead and Coho are fairly comparable fish in their smolting habits and growth rates, it may be possible. You also have to consider that there are coho as well, which when smolted will also compete with the Atlantics. This offers another alternative. The only thing I need informatin on as well as us all, is the life history of the Atlantic Salmon, what it needs for spawning habitat, etc. They are a worthy game fish, and I'm sure they are beautiful and fight well, but I think we all like the Steelhead much more. This may be a personal preference and biast on my part, but thats just me. Another thing to consider.I think the statement in the artilce regarding the fish being larger, spawnin earlier and growin faster than the Steelhead is a bunch of bullsh*t in all honesty. The Steelhead in the Tsitika are wild fish. Their genes are of wild fish. The atlantics come from a gene ancestory that is of a farmed fish. In that mix there is probably a few inbred weak fish as well as genes that will produce weak(er) fish. Also, fish can't grow if you don't have feed. It doesn't matter what kind of fish you have in the river. Obviously some fish have advantages over others in certain situations. Maybe there are some situations where the Steelhead are better established than the Atlantics because of their life histories. Also, didn't someone mention something about years and years ago, how Atlantic Salmon were planted into rivers with small amount of success and they didn't work out. Anyways, any comments, opinions, reactions? Again, these are just hypothesis on my part. Offer yours.. Scott
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I beleive the problem is that Atlantic salmon can outcompete the steelhead for prime river position. introducing more steelhead into the system will not solve the problem. The atlantics will still hold the most desireable spots for the fry to hold in. this gives them the advantage. Don't dismiss the facts as b.s. Scott, farmed fish (atlantics) have been chosen as the fish to raise for a reason, they covert amount of food eaten to growth better than our pacific species. Years of raising these fish and selection by breeders to produce the biggest and the fastest growing has most likely increased their growth rates over that of their relatives in the wild. They have previously tried to start Atlantic salmon populations before but the numbers of fish released were nowhere near the the numbers of more mature farmed fish that escape. 50,000 escapes at a crack is nothing, the only escapes we hear about are the mass ones, how many are going unreported? I think your idea about the hatchery fish is close to what the living gene bank program is trying to do but these fish do not need the outside competition for holding water. I'm all for salmon farming, but make them do it on land so none escape and the damage to the environment under the pens and the spread of viruses is less of an issue.
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