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[roseph]

I'd love for someone to prove that this actually makes the gene pool weaker in the terms of wild brood stock. In the case of using hatchery fish year after year, then yes it could definitely have a huge effect on the gene pool. In my mind, if a fish makes it through everything and comes back to spawn on it's own, it's just as good as any wild fish whether it had a hatchery parent or not.

I see what you're saying but even if that fish makes it back after hatching in the river, it still started off with an inferior human-selected genetic profile.

[azafai]

I think it was either Matt or Dion that explained this earlier, and probably much better.

Anyhow, one of the reasons (other than having X number of fish with the same genetic profile) hatchery fish do not match up to wild fish is that you don't get the competition for breeding.  ie.  when two steelhead spawn in the river, the biggest baddest male will fertilize the best female eggs.  If you take steelhead from the river and choose the two yourself (like they do in the hatchery) you won't get that optimum pairing.

that argument still does not make all the fish in the river as hatchery fish, nor their genetics become "inferior."

as it is already very well explained above, and as long as both parents are taken only from wild stocks every time, that little bit of extra helps in hatcheries would only improve the initial survival and affect nothing else.




 

[buck]

 ED, check Hood River Steelhead Genetics Study on goggle. It appears W X W crosses are not a problem.

[Dave]

FWIW, DFO scientists (no jokes now ) can't see a genetic difference in hatchery vs wild Cultus Lake sockeye.  But understand, this program is not a typical hatchery scenario.  Because of such low numbers of wild brood fish (<50), a sophisticated egg taking protocol called matrix spawning (Google it) has been used since the recovery program began.   This hatchery method has actually increased Cultus sockeye genetic diversity.
It's a labour intensive and therefor way more expensive, but nearly imperative technique when stocks are facing extinction

[BigFisher]

Ok, What would you guys do If you were in the wally hall deby and you caught a late season Narster with enough size to take top place? A Double steripper, red and green.... Would you weight it in, knowing youll never consume it, or would you let it go and the winnings?

Is there anything wrong with consuming a coloured up steelhead, even though some will head back to ocean and clean up again?

[BentRodsGuiding]

Theres a 1000 reasons to keep that "narster"  .

In my experience those big hatchery bucks don't last long enough to become nasty, as they seem to be as about agressive as they get and are probably caught numerous times before someone with the right gear lays down the rock shampoo.

It seems to me that a good number of the bigger fish are not entering the system quickly and arrive in the lower end slightly blushed when they do decide to come in, so many of the bigger fish weighed in are not chrome bars.

A slightly blushed male is still far better eating that a chrome winter hen who has put her energy into creating large skeins of eggs, but most people aren't killing steelhead for the meat, are they.

[Dave]

Ok, What would you guys do If you were in the wally hall deby and you caught a late season Narster with enough size to take top place? A Double steripper, red and green.... Would you weight it in, knowing youll never consume it, or would you let it go and the winnings?

Is there anything wrong with consuming a coloured up steelhead, even though some will head back to ocean and clean up again?

Interesting and thought provoking BF.  As we all know the adult hatchery fish are there to be harvested and the management strategy of the day, right or wrong, is to remove as many hatchery fish as possible; the stage of their life when they are killed is biologically irrevelent. 

 That said, I believe it all comes down to each individual angler as to what they would do if they were in a situation to make $1000.00 for killing a fish they may possibly have released were it not for this event.  Last years largest fish in this derby was a coloured and sexually mature male.  I know and respect the angler who won this derby and I applauded his acceptance of the grand prize.
I also know a relatively unknown FWR member who released a larger fish because it was coloured; his reason - $1000 was not worth the ridicule he would receive from his peers.  I applauded that too.
It’s a moral decision and each angler has their own code, imo

[nickredway]

Kill the fish donate a portion of the prize money to a good cause!

[bigblue]

Kill the fish donate a portion of the prize money to a good cause!

Great idea!
Buy $1000 worth of steelhead feed and drop it off at the Chilliwack Hatchery.

[nickredway]

You're a better man than me !

[katfish]

Wow.  Great replies and tips.  Thx.  My big mistake last year was not moving around enough.  I sure won't make that mistake again!