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GENETIC ANALYSIS OF POLICIES AND GUIDELINES 



FOR SALMON AND STEELHEAD HATCHERY PRODUCTION 



IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN 



Purpose 



The purpose of this report is to present a genetic analysis of existing 

 agency policies, guidelines, rules, or plans' related to hatchery production 

 of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. The analysis 

 addresses definitions of key concepts, genetic goals of hatchery programs, 

 hatchery broodstock and rearing guidelines, indirect genetic impacts of 

 hatchery fish, and genetics research and monitoring. Direct genetic 

 interactions of hatchery fish with wild and natural fish, and effectiveness 

 of hatchery programs in meeting a genetic conservation goal are 

 considered throughout the analysis. Agency documents are compared for 

 similarities, differences, and omissions. Recommendations are made for 

 improvements, particularly to achieve greater consistency in approaches of 

 different agencies. 



Documents Included in the Analysis 



Appendix I lists the documents reviewed and their abbreviations. 

 Documents were provided by the Northwest Power Planning Council 

 (except for FWS-3, FWS-4, FWS-5, FWS-6, and FWS-7, which were solicited 

 directly from the agency). Agencies covered in this analysis include the 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Idaho Department of Fish and Game 

 (IDFG), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Washington 

 Department of Fisheries (WDF), and Washington Department of Wildlife 

 (WDW). 



1. DEFINITIONS 



Discussions of management policies and specific guidelines for hatchery 

 production of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin require 

 frequent use of two types of terms: (1) gene resources to be conserved or 

 otherwise managed; and (2) categories of fish stocks that are used in 

 hatchery production or may genetically interact with hatchery-released 



' For brevity in this report, "policy(ies)" refers to policies, rules, or plans; 

 "document(s)" refers to policies, rules, plans, or guidelines. 



