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At the outset ut the pinjiiam (lie Depaitmcnl commit- 

 ted Itself to "an adaptive plamimg priH.ess"-"' that would 

 respond to accumulatmg knowledge and opportunities; 

 to learn by di>ing. I"his is a prudent approach to take in 

 the initial expenmenta! phase o(" the program. Hence- 

 forth, the emphasis should bn." on learning from the results 

 of those pri>jects. I'his means monitoring and evaluating, 

 setting priorities with reference to current knowledge, 

 postp^mmg more projects, especially major projects, of a 

 kind that have yet to prove themselves, and giving lower 

 priority to those that have shown mixed success. I there- 

 fore recommend that — 



4. Priorities for future enluuicenK>nt should be linked lo 

 the emerging results of the Phase I projects as 

 repealed b\ c~areful tiH)nituring and evaluation. Major 

 projects of a kind that have yet to pro\e themselves, 

 raise problems of mixed fishing and manageability, or 

 depend on uncertain information should be postponed 

 until these questiotis are resolved. Correspondingly 

 higher priority should be accorded to well proven tech- 

 niques smaller and less risky pnyects, and works 

 based on relatively solid information. 



Evaluation of potential projects should include assessing 

 whether equivalent results could be achieved through 

 improved management of fishing and escapements. 

 Artificial enhancement should never be a palliative for 

 poor management of existing stocks. The scope for 

 rebuilding stocks through increased escapements, 

 described in Chapter 2, leaves me with some concern that 

 the organizational separation of the enhancement and 

 fisheries management units in the Department may have 

 impeded routine consideration of the management alter- 

 natives to artificial enhancement works. Accordingly, I 

 recommend — 



5. Artificial enhancement projects should be approved 

 only if investigation reveals that equivalent net gaias 

 cannot be achieved through improving fisheries man- 

 agement or reducing fishing pressure. 



Future planning for enhancement and fisheries man- 

 agement must address the general problem of mixed 

 fisheries, explained earlier in this chapter. If this problem 

 cannot be resolved, major enhancement projects will lead 

 to the demise of wild stocks, and otherwise promising 

 opportunities for large-scale artificial fish production will 

 have to be foregone. 



Biologists working within the enhancement program 

 and at the University of British Columbia have proposed 

 an innovative scheme for managing enhanced stocks in 

 such a way that, instead of posing a threat to wild stocks 

 in mixed fisheries, they will assist in rehabilitating them. 

 The scheme involves adding large numbers of enhanced 



tish to a mixed fishery where wild stocks are dc[>icted 

 while holding the total catch fixed. This reduces the rate 

 of exploitation ot the wild stocks and allows them to 

 rebuild through increased escapements. The surplus 

 enhanced fish would then be harvested in a terminal 

 fishery. This plan neatly combines opportunities for 

 enhancement with improved management of natural 

 stocks. It underlies the planning for the Kitimat hatchery, 

 which will begin operation this fall, and clearly warrants 

 careful examination both as a general solution to the 

 mixed fishing problem and as a feasible component in 

 plans for new enhancement facilities. 



Finally, in setting priorities for future enhancement, 

 the vast opportunities in the Fra.ser and other rivers that 

 have so far been set aside because of the unresolved 

 problem of foreign interceptions mast be considered. 

 Undoubtedly, some of the best opportunities for 

 enhancement are in the Fraser River system. But, as I 

 explained eadier, enhancement should not be undertaken 

 until international arrangements are settled. However, 

 negotiations are proceeding; an agreement is likely to be 

 reached soon; and, since these projects take considerable 

 time to identify and plan, the investigations should be 

 made now, in order to be in a position to proceed with 

 these projects at the earliest opportunity. Accordingly — 



6. Investigations of enhancement opportimities should 

 include those in rivers that support stocks subject to 

 foreig:n interception, especially sockeye and pink 

 salmon stocks in the Fraser River system, so that the 

 best projects can proceed as soon as international 

 agreement is reached on interceptions. 



A Renewed Intergovernmental Agreement 



The existing federal-provincial enhancement agree- 

 ment expires in 1984, but it includes provisions for a 

 renewed agreement depending upon the experience of 

 Phase I. Whatever the best form and composition of 

 enhancement eflTorts in the future, they will be best served 

 by a formal agreement of this kind that will knit together 

 the overlapping jurisdictional responsibilities of the two 

 governments and commit them to cooperative arrange- 

 ments. Such formal agreements take some considerable 

 time to negotiate. I therefore recommend — 



7. The govenunent should immediately approach the 

 Govermnent of British Columbia with a view toward 

 negotiating a renewed enhancement agreement. 



The new agreement should provide for the kind of 

 enhancement projects covered by the current agreement. 

 I propose in Chapter 18 that it should become part of a 

 broad contractural framework between the two govern- 

 ments to deal with a variety of their joint interests in 

 fisheries. 



