137 



12 



Hatchery practices are partly covered in the draft FWS-3. Donor stock 

 source is only indirectly addressed by discouraging intentional 

 transplantation of fish. Fertilization protocol and size of donor stock 

 remaining for natural reproduction are not discussed. Adults mated 

 and rearing practices are partly addressed by the following statements: 



"The effective population number of broodstock shall be sufficient for fish reared in, 

 imported to, or exported from hatcheries to preclude undesirable genetic changes." 



"Genetic engineering and selective breeding, other than that resulting in sterile 

 hatchery fish or designed to mitigate hatchery induced genetic changes, shall be 

 avoided where there is risk of adversely affecting native populations." 



FWS-5, a memorandum specific to Region 1, contains broodstock spawning, 

 egg incubation, and egg handling guidelines. It partly covers genetic 

 aspects of only two categories of hatchery practices. Adults mated are 

 addressed by recommending a spawning ratio of one female with one male 

 "when possible" and a minimum spawning population size of 200 males 

 and 200 females, while noting that "the more individuals spawned 

 however, the lower will be the incidence of inbreeding." Advice for 

 fertilization protocol is to fertilize eggs from a single female with milt 

 from only one male. This advice is consistent with recent research 

 showing unequal contribution of males if sperm is pooled prior to 

 fertilization (section 3.7.3). Finally, single female egg incubation is strongly 

 encouraged for disease control. Such incubation could also benefit 

 conservation of genetic variation in hatchery stocks if it became the first 

 step in an overall program of identifying separate families in a breeding 

 season (reasons presented in section 3.7.2). 



FWS-6 was provided as an illustrative example of case-by-case guidelines 

 for a hatchery operated by FWS (Region 1) under agreement with another 

 agency responsible for the fishery resource. While this particular example 

 partly covers donor stock sources, adults mated, and rearing 

 practices, complete coverage of all practices with potential genetic 

 impacts is lacking when the hatchery-specific FWS-6 is evaluated together 

 with the other reviewed FWS documents of regional or national scope. 

 Donor stock source is appropriately restricted to fish occurring in the 

 Warm Springs River, the same water body into which hatchery fish are 

 released. To keep hatchery fish genetically similar to naturally- 

 reproducing fish, at least 10% of the hatchery broodstock in every 

 breeding season must be of "wild origin" (determined via fin-clipping of all 

 hatchery releases). Such a strategy is appropriate for the stated objective, 

 but genetic rationale for the 10% minimum is not given. Adults mated 



