CalTrout News
Are California hatcheries negatively impacting the very species they are meant to sustain? Last week’s issue of The Fish Report from FishBio delves into the much researched issue.
But while the fish production of California’s hatcheries is both immense and technologically impressive, there remain uncertainties about how effectively these artificially sustained populations can serve as surrogates for their wild counterparts. It may seem illogical that hatcheries could actually impact the very species they are meant to proliferate; however, many studies have raised concerns about hatchery practices, backed up by empirical evidence.
At California Trout we believe that abundant wild fish mean a better California and we work to solve the state’s complex resource issues while balancing the needs of people and wild fish. As this report notes, the hatchery program serves a purpose and keeps the commercial salmon industry on life support. However, we need to improve the checks and balances to ensure that California’s wild salmon and steelhead populations are not collateral damage.
MEET THE AUTHORS
Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.
3 Comments
The Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex maintains a broodstock of a unique genetic strain of Lahontan cutthroat trout that represent the original lake form that evolved in ancient Lake Lahontan. In historically recent times, the lake form persisted in the Truckee and Walker River Basins, including Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Although the last spawning run up the Truckee River from Pyramid Lake occurred in the late 1930’s, transplanted fish were found in the Pilot Peak Mountains in the late 1970’s along the border of Nevada and Utah. Utilizing genetics of museum mounts from 1872 to 1911 of fish known to be of the Truckee River Basin, it was determined that the LCT in the Pilot Mountains were descendants of the original Truckee Basin LCT.
(Why can’t CA DFG raise and stock wild trout the same way?)
This is actually great news for our California Hatchery’s! About time too…
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/10/outdoors-stocking-lawsuit-fisheries/
Montana hasn’t stocked any trout in any water in over 20 years. They have a busy season that equals or betters all others. They aren’t having any issues. Stockies end up dying anyway. In Wyoming and California where there is a notorious attitude of catch and kill instead of education the stocking programs are insane. I think focusing on invasive species and improving the rivers we have and not just the steelhead ones would be great. Rivers like the upper Sac and pit rivers.