90 



programs led to the development of new and productive fisheries, most were failures. Pertiaps 

 more important than the waste of salmon resources was the ecological and genetic damage 

 caused by introduction of exotic species into native populations of fish. 



Later in the development of hatchery technology (1930's to the 1950's) intensive research 

 led to the major improvements in fish nutrition and diets, fish disease diagnosis and treatment, 

 and rearing techniques. The result was more effective and efficient hatchery operations that 

 produced, apparently, healthier salmon. At the same time, there were increasing demands for 

 the use of water in the Pacific Northwest for a variety of other purposes, e.g., irrigation and 

 hydroelectric development The prevailing view on the best possible use of hatcheries was as a 

 replacement for populations of Pacific sahnon displaced or destroyed because the water was 

 needed for other purposes. The idea that hatcheries could simply replace the Pacific salmon to 

 make up for production lost through destruction of freshwater habitat may have been in the 

 back of the minds of the people who designed and built Grand Coulee Dam without fish 

 passage. This single structure blocked salmon from more than 1,100 river miles of spawning 

 and rearing habitat and, consequendy, destroyed many naturally-reproducing populations of 

 Pacific salmon. 



The point of the above is not to place blame for the demise and the alteration of natural 

 populations. In addition to limited views of the function of hatcheries, there was a lack of 

 scientific knowledge about Pacific salmon biology and population structure; for example, it 

 was not until the 1940's that it was accepted that these species "home" to a particular location to 

 spawn. Irrespective of die explanations for past mistakes, single-minded and narrow 

 definitions of the role of hatcheries in die dealing widi Pacific sahnon populations can be 

 counter-productive and damaging. Further, such a view does not allow full use of the 

 capabilities of hatcheries to assist in restoration of naturally-reproducing populations. 



A more productive approach would be to define individual roles for each hatchery facility 

 based on the needs of specific populations and the capabilities of hatcheries to meet Uiese 

 needs. As examples, I would like to use diree different approaches to restoration. First, and 

 perhaps most serious, are populations diat are judged eidier "threatened or endangered". To 

 attain tiiis "status" a population must be in fairly dire condition and in danger of not bemg able 

 to reproduce itself in the namral environment. Incidentally, a published report indicates tiiere 

 are about 214 populations of Pacific salmon close to diis status in the Pacific Northwest. In 

 tills situation, die use of hatcheries as a temporary repository is die only option open to keep 

 die population viable. Among die functions diat need to be performed are die reproduction of 

 die remnants of die population in a manner to retain remaining genetic variability, expansion of 

 the population to "reasonable" numbers, and die production of aduU fish to ensure die future 

 reproduction of die population. This should be viewed as an emergency step diat would be 



