BCWF Promoting a Steelhead Hatchery for Bulkley & Retention On Haida Gwaii River

[Ed George]

This post illustrates a complete lack of knowledge about skeena region steelhead.

The BCWF in it's history has never come to the table with a biologically sound fish management recommendation. So nothing has changed.

I suggest you contact Mike O'neil, the BCWF Region 6 president as he and the previous 2 past presidents can give you the numbers. The proposal for a harvest fishery is for only 1 or 2 fish and require harvest data to be provide, "citizen science" as FLNRO will not do it themselves.

[steveo]

This post illustrates a complete lack of knowledge about skeena region steelhead.

The BCWF in it's history has never come to the table with a biologically sound fish management recommendation. So nothing has changed.

Just out of curiosity, what knowledge is lacking in regards to the Skeena steelhead.

[SPEYMAN]

Would that be the Mike O'neil that manages the hatchery that would be paid to run the program. No conflict of interest here.

[lange1212]

This post illustrates a complete lack of knowledge about skeena region steelhead.

The BCWF in it's history has never come to the table with a biologically sound fish management recommendation. So nothing has changed.

I have yet to see any sound indiscriminate scientific data provided by you and the minority here that supports your mind set, just a whole lot of attacks and false nefarious claims towards others that have a differing opinion.

You make a statement with no defensible scientific data to substantiate and support your argument. So step out from behind the curtain and share your knowledge based on scientific data and best available science, not bogus anecdotal claims that are non-defensible.

So far all this thread has shown is a minority of steelhead elitist and a mindset of not wanting to share the sand box, but want to keep it all to themselves, regardless of how much sand there's to play on. The SSOBC should remember that when the criticize there's always 3 fingers pointing back, likely why its membership remains stagnant at about 300 since 1970.

my opinion

[Fisher-Dude]

This post illustrates a complete lack of knowledge about skeena region steelhead.

The BCWF in it's history has never come to the table with a biologically sound fish management recommendation. So nothing has changed.

How many profiles have you got now, Kris/PGK/PGKris/Tinney/Arctic Red?

[fowl language]

can someone explain to me the disadvantages of a hatchery. do they not take the eggs from the local streams? I have witnessed the hatchery capability in Alaska and was extremely impressed with the return numbers.

[souwester]

Speyman I have fished steelhead all over western north America,my life at one time revolved around it.
For the most part I would be against hatcheries for steelhead however as Far as BCWF is concerned did u ever meet Bill Otway ?
I attended many meetings back in the 90s regarding how to restore steelhead stocks in BC,I thought he had some pretty progressive ideas and was trying to figure out a way to keep genetic diversity alive but maintain a quality fishing opportunity at the same time.
Lots of good has been done by the BCWF in regards to steelhead. Cant really argue the subject to be honest.

[SPEYMAN]

Let's not confuse the issues. There may have been beneficial issues supported by the BCWF. That does not make them the most knowledgeable group to decide if a kill fishery should be implemented on any system or if a hatchery program is required. There are fishery managers that made decisions long ago that have caused our present state of affairs.

The BCWF has been a proponent of a kill fishery for some time. The Vedder River and Stamp River have become a put and take fishery. Very costly and poor returns. Why are the U.S. states going away from hatchery programs?

I have been involved in these issues since early 70s. Have observed what hatcheries have done to our fishery. Rape and pillage by commercial entities has been the downfall.

Lets just not kill any fish for a 5 year period until we know what the runs actually exist and how many. I remember being told by a DFO official that "we now know exactly how many fish are returning to every river, just as soon as they get there".

[steveo]

I grew up on the Stamp and thought it was a good steelhead fishery, even world renowned. I have noticed the steelhead numbers sliding but I would assume that is because less and less funding for the hatchery. Could you explain further, Speyman, how the hatcheries are less bang for the buck.

[lange1212]

can someone explain to me the disadvantages of a hatchery. do they not take the eggs from the local streams? I have witnessed the hatchery capability in Alaska and was extremely impressed with the return numbers.

Hi Fowl, below are 3 paragraphs cut and pasted from an in depth scientific 50 page study conducted on the Kitimat River regarding hatchery augmentation and steelhead DNA.

Some would like people to think that hatchery augmentation will devastate a natural populations DNA structure. The reality in my eyes is that augmentation programs operated on a basis of science and designed to aid wild populations have been successful in many cases. I'm not saying that horror stories don't exist out there, nor am I saying that hatchery programs should replace habitat restoration initiatives. What I am saying is the science on hatchery augmentation has come a long way over the past 3 decades and firmly believe that it has great value and benefit to conservation, sustainability, and opportunity. It's not evil as some would like us to believe.


In addition I've reviewed other studies with hatchery augmentation where populations have dwindled. It is important to understand that hatcheries are most often put on systems where habitat has been negatively impacted by commercial, industrial, resource extraction, urbanization....
The question then becomes in such circumstances is a dwindling stock related to hatchery augmentation, or is it related to degraded spawning and rearing habitats hindering natural reproduction?

Food for thought.


Allelic variation at 10 microsatellite loci was assayed in steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
scale samples (n=333) collected in various years 1976-2003, from the lower mainstem Kitimat
River, British Columbia. The objective was to investigate the genetic structure of natural
steelhead populations in the Kitimat River before hatchery stocking started in 1984 (baseline
samples 1976-1977, 1983-1984, n=145), and to assess potential genetic impact of in-river
interbreeding of returning cultured adult fish with wild spawners over almost 20 years of large scale hatchery operation (1987-2003, n=18.

We conclude that for the current
management regime there is little indication that hatchery practices of lower mainstem Kitimat
River steelhead have until now had major genetic effects through genetic drift,

In conclusion, the results from the Kitimat River indicate little genetic differentiation among the
studied year classes, or between pre and post hatchery populations. Likewise, pairwise testing did not indicate any significant trends or changes. Compared to other relevant studies, there is little indication to date that hatchery stocking of steelhead trout in the Kitimat River until now has had any substantial genetic effects, at least as assayed using microsatellite DNA variation. The presence of a substantial number of wild fish and multiple year classes in the mixed spawning population tend to buffer potential negative effects.