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Chapter 4: HATCHERY PRODUCTION OF SALMONTDS 



Fish culture originally had the goal of augmenting fish production to whatever 

 degree might prove feasible, and later of compensating for the clearly harmful 

 effects of splash dam logging (Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission 

 1992). However, hatcheries can outlive their original purposes, and can in 

 fact stimulate the evolution of fishery management. Stone (1989) described 

 the main features of the WDF hatchery program in a speech to the Chehalis 

 Basin Fishery Task Force. The following information represents his view of a 

 general agreement among tribal and WDF staff: 



"Hatchery production is used to produce fish for harvest and brood 

 stock for programs to supplement wild production through off- 

 station releases, primarily of fingerlings. Hatchery harvest 

 depends mainly on on-station coho releases. Hatchery coho returns 

 to the Humptulips and Satsop rivers are managed to provide fishing 

 opportunity in addition to natural production. The current 

 management strategy is to take advantage of the earlier timing of 

 hatchery coho in the Humptulips, and of the sport opportunity 

 created by large numbers of hatchery coho in the Satsop. Future 

 production may include adding fall Chinook to the existing coho 

 netpen program at the Westport Boat Basin". 



"Supplementation through off-station releases involves fall Chinook as 

 well as coho. Fall chinook supplementation involves the Humptulips, 

 Mayr Brothers, Lake Aberdeen, and Satsop hatcheries, which provide 

 holding and spawning for wild brood stock from the Humptulips, Wishkah, 

 Wynoochee, and upper Chehalis rivers, respectively. Coho 

 supplementation involves the Humptulips and Satsop hatcheries, which 

 outplant hatchery stock fingerlings, although less extensively than in 

 former years because the utility of this practice in being increasingly 

 questioned" . 



On the same occasion, Freymond (1989) described the current WDW hatchery 

 program: 



"Hatchery production is used to maintain existing opportunities 

 for winter and summer steelhead harvest. Hatchery harvest depends 

 on both on-station and off -station releases. The current 

 management strategy in the Humptulips, Hoquiam, and Wishkah rivers 

 is to take advantage of the earlier timing of hatchery winter 

 steelhsad for selective harvest of hatchery production. However, 

 on the Wynoochee, Skookumchuck, and Newaukum rivers the strategy 

 is to optimize survival by using native winter steelhead stock 

 from the Aberdeen Hatchery and the Skookumchuck Dam" . 



HATCHERY HISTORY 



When fish culture began in the 1890s, fish were regularly introduced from 

 outside the Basin (Stone, WDF, pers. comm. ) . Around the turn of the century, 

 the first local salmon hatcheries were built (Grays Harbor Regional Planning 



