Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: bigblockfox on August 13, 2013, 08:54:23 AM
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just curious why hatcheries dont use sockeye like coho or chinook? wonder if any of you guys in the field can answer. thanks
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Cost
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Yep-Need more moola
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really, i thought the answer was going to be more complex than that.
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I asked my father that. He was a DFO scientist for 40 years (retired now). From my understanding (not having the background) you need some pretty rare water conditions that are quite costly to re-create in a hatchery situation.
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I asked my father that. He was a DFO scientist for 40 years (retired now). From my understanding (not having the background) you need some pretty rare water conditions that are quite costly to re-create in a hatchery situation.
Is that just for the first bit or more than that? I know once the sack is gone, placing them into ponds, streams, etc is viable, at least for other types of salmon. Just curious when these water conditions are required.
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If you Google "sockeye hatcheries" you will see that there have been a number of sockeye hatcheries in the province, as local as the Upper Pitt. Unsure if they are still rearing Cultus and Pitt sockeye at Inch Creek, however there is this one just being built in the Okanagainhttp://www.osoyoostimes.com/new-sockeye-salmon-hatchery-will-spawn-success-for-generations-to-come/ (http://www.osoyoostimes.com/new-sockeye-salmon-hatchery-will-spawn-success-for-generations-to-come/) There have also been a couple of threads about this on FWR over the years.
The reasons are complex, but the answer is simple as previous posters have said. My understanding is that hatchery reared sockeye are susceptible to a particular virus/disease, the prevention of which is costly.
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Cultus Lake hatchery sockeye salmon are produced and reared at the facility at Cultus Lake. Two small stocks of Pitt River sockeye salmon are produced and reared at the Inch Creek Hatchery.
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Cost as any part of economics is relative. The has been great success with other enhancement strategies such as lake enrichment and flow regulated spawning channels. Relative to hatcheries, these are low cost and high yield. Hatcheries need to be maintained and staffed year round while the others do not have these costs.
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Several large spawning channels work very well for sockeye e.g. Weaver, Fulton, Pinkut, Horsefly, Gates. There are a few sockeye hatchery programs in BC, Upper Pitt, Cultus, Upper Adams, Lakelse.
Sockeye in culture are particularly prone to IHN. There are very strict protocols that must be followed, including using only pathogen-free well water for incubation (google Alaskan sockeye spawning protocols). Not many hatcheries in BC are currently set up to enhance sockeye. That being said, once the infrastructure is in place they are no more expensive to enhance than other species, as they are typically only raised to a fed fry of ~1-1.5g prior to release.
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Cultus Lake hatchery sockeye salmon are produced and reared at the facility at Cultus Lake. Two small stocks of Pitt River sockeye salmon are produced and reared at the Inch Creek Hatchery.
Speaking of the Inch Creek hatchery, DFO made a fingerling transfer of 500,000 sockeye into cultus 5 minutes ago. This was at least their 3rd trip in 2 weeks.