Benefits and risks of hatchery production

Hatchery enhancement can have both potential benefits and risks. When making a decision on when to use enhancement, the benefits of salmon enhancement must always outweigh the risks.

Benefits of enhancement hatcheries include supporting:

• the recovery or rebuilding of vulnerable salmon stocks
• cultural values
• sustainable Indigenous, commercial and recreational fisheries
• stock assessment by establishing improved conservation and harvest management domestically and internationally
• stocks during major climatic events (such as floods) and short or long-term barriers to migration and habitat loss (such as rockslides and dams)

Enhancement brings potential risks as well. We work internally and with partners to mitigate and manage risk by using integrated planning. This involves gathering information and recommendations on specific stocks from experts across British Columbia. We use tools such as our integrated production planning, biological risk management frameworks, and our genetic and hatchery guidelines to minimize potential risks. Risks of enhancement hatcheries include:

• the possibility of genetic changes within stocks
• the possibility of increased incidence of disease
• ecological interactions (such as hatchery salmon competing with wild salmon for habitat or food and increased predators)
• fishery risks if fishing occurs when weaker wild stocks are co-migrating with hatchery stocks

Risk is variable, and can be great or small depending on a variety of factors including:

• characteristics of the enhanced species and the local ecosystem
• the number of hatchery salmon relative to the wild population
• neighbouring stocks
• how enhanced fish are bred, reared and released
• biosecurity infrastructure and equipment
• the ability to respond to issues all day, every day
• the technical expertise of staff such as biologists and vets
• fishing activities over the entire route of returning fish