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[rides bike to work]

I stopped by the hatchery the other day and there were 8 nice steelhead in the channel.They were all hatchery fish .So will these fish just spawn in the channel then head back to the ocean?The hatchery doesnt take eggs from them do they?If they spawn in the channel then there off spring would be wild. Just wondering how fisheries calculate in this situation?Also noticed a new fishing boundry triangle below the limits hole I think this is great.

[mr.p]

I'm not sure if the fish spawn naturally or are handled by hatchery staff.  But even if they do spawn on their own,  the offspring will not be truly wild.  They will just be unclipped. 

[younggun]

I can understand people calling hatchery inbreds brats, but for a fish removed only by one generation out of the wild situation from wild parents, then coming back and spawning on its own in the system, is this really all that bad? How many times have been able to tell if a fish water hatchery or wild from the vedder because of the fight. Some have been duds and others rockets, both wild and hatch.

[typhoon]

There is no impact to an individual fish that is offspring of two hatchery fish. It may be strong or weak, as you say.
The impact is to genetic diversity. If many hatchery fish from the same two parents spawn then the gene pool gets diluted, essentially meaning that the new "wild" fish are too alike.
For example if these fish have a gene that makes them more susceptible to a disease, parasite, or environmental condition then it can impact a large majority of the fish in a given system who share that gene.
Some would argue that the Vedder has been a hatchery river for so long that there is no real genetic diversity and really no point protecting the not-so-wild fish. I prefer to catch hatchery enhanced fish rather than simply look at a "wild" river so I will stay out of that debate.

[younggun]

you have a good point, notice how almost all vedder does look identical.  But like you also stated, i'd rather fish than not

[HOOK]

I full well think they could turn the Vedder and ONLY the Vedder into a river like they have in Eastern Canada or in the US with the amount of fish they get returning. Yes i realize that the Eastern Canada ones go out to the big lakes and not the ocean so their survival is most likely greater however the river in the US return to the ocean im pretty sure so whats the deal there. 


I mean the Vedder is our most used river in the Lower half of BC so why not get more fish in it.

like seriously how many rivers just in the west coast of the US can you go and get into several steelies per day ?? Im sure there is more then a few. I am mostly talking from a fly fishermans perspective. I can go out with my gear rod and get fish but its just as fun anymore and nowhere near as challenging.

[Nutterbug]

Has nobody invented triploid steelhead yet?

[Nutterbug]

There is no impact to an individual fish that is offspring of two hatchery fish. It may be strong or weak, as you say.
The impact is to genetic diversity. If many hatchery fish from the same two parents spawn then the gene pool gets diluted, essentially meaning that the new "wild" fish are too alike.
For example if these fish have a gene that makes them more susceptible to a disease, parasite, or environmental condition then it can impact a large majority of the fish in a given system who share that gene.
Some would argue that the Vedder has been a hatchery river for so long that there is no real genetic diversity and really no point protecting the not-so-wild fish. I prefer to catch hatchery enhanced fish rather than simply look at a "wild" river so I will stay out of that debate.

How often do they replenish their hatchery stock with newly caught wild stock anyways?

Maybe that's something they need to do with more regularity to keep the hatchery fish more genetically diverse.

[HOOK]

they do a brood stock capture every year

[typhoon]

Has nobody invented triploid steelhead yet?

Maybe they won't return to the river?

[Nutterbug]

Maybe they won't return to the river?

I thought steelhead didn't return to the river just to spawn, but made half of its home there.

[Easywater]

From a website:

What is the life cycle of the steelhead trout?

Steelhead trout spawn in the spring, in clean river gravel with swift water flowing over it. Eggs hatch after about four to seven weeks, and the tiny fish live in the river for one to five years before going out to sea. Small fish will start to move downstream towards the ocean in May and spread out in the salt water. The steelhead may spend only a few months in the ocean before returning up river to spawn, or they may spend up to four years. Not all steelhead die after spawning like salmon do. Some actually return up river to spawn again. Steelhead trout usually do not live more than nine years.

There are two different migratory types of steelhead – known as summer-run and winter-run. Summer-run steelhead return to the rivers between spring and fall before they become adults. They mature in the rivers and lay their eggs in the next spring. Winter-run steelhead are adults when they return to the rivers, so spawn shortly after returning.

Did you know that … The largest steelhead ever caught weighed more than 20 kg! .

[Nutterbug]

^ Thanks.

Question still remains, would they retain the same migratory instincts, even if they were infertile?

[Gooey]

Obviously in a hatchery with controlled environments a very high percentage of fish survive early stages of life that would not otherwise make it.  Think of things that can kill an egg - siltation, poor oxygenation, predation, etc...none of these factors help create more competitive individuals.  Truly the problem with flooding a river with hatchery fish is decreasing genetic diversity.  I am not totally convinced that hatchery fish are vastly weaker individuals either.

Keep in mind too that once a hatchery fish spawns in the wild, all forces of natural selection will affect that brood.  I would suggest that because of that, naturally spawned fish that contain genes from a hatchery parent will still be competitive individuals too.

BC's philosophy behind its hatchery system is to augment wild runs.  This is contrary to the US were hatcheries in general, are there to create fisheries. 

[Matt]

^ Thanks.

Question still remains, would they retain the same migratory instincts, even if they were infertile?

I've wondered the same thing as well.  Maybe its that people who keep steelhead likely want the roe as well.  Trips don't develop gametes.