Hatcheries: From production to conservation

The bigger picture

Hatcheries are part of this broader discussion about the future of salmon conservation and the aquaculture industry.

 

The shift away from open net-pen farms could lead to hatcheries focusing more on conservation rather than supplying fish for open net-pen operations. DFO is keen to use hatcheries for conservation to help wild salmon populations recover and stabilise, involving investments in hatchery capacity and enhancement science. A modernised policy for hatcheries is being developed with input from indigenous partners and stakeholders. Hatcheries are also involved in conservation partnerships, such as efforts to rebuild chinook salmon populations.

 

Land-based hatchery licences are being renewed for longer periods, suggesting a move towards land-based operations. 

 

The closure of open net-pen farms is not going down well with salmon farming companies, and several have filed lawsuits against the federal government. The transition plan has also faced criticism from some First Nations, who have raised concerns about its feasibility and economic impacts, although some others support the proposals.

 

BC is undergoing something which has not really been tried before: a complex transition in its aquaculture and hatchery practices with the aim of protecting wild salmon – while also considering economic and community concerns. 

 

For nearly 50 years, DFO has used hatcheries and human-made spawning channels to support and rebuild vulnerable salmon stocks; this is also called salmon enhancement. 

 

Michelle Rainer of DFO’s Pacific Region says: “Some salmon populations could be at risk of disappearing without enhancement support.”

 

Under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), DFO has embarked on a multi-year initiative to modernise its hatcheries. This includes activities such as: building new and upgrading existing hatcheries and infrastructure; investing in science; and improving the ways we plan, oversee, and assess our hatcheries. Rainer says that “modernisation also involves ensuring our programme is responsive to climate resiliency, with a particular focus on improvements to security of water supplies”.

 

Hatcheries are overseen by DFO’s Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP), which produces over 300 million juvenile salmon annually for conservation, stock assessment, and harvest purposes, as well as restoring habitat in rivers, streams and wetlands. Rainer points out that, through community involvement, the programme annually engages with more than 10,000 volunteers, supports 17 medium-sized community and First Nations hatcheries and 77 smaller-scale volunteer-operated community enhancement facilities, and supplies school education and awareness programmes. SEP also supports citizen and First Nation involvement in salmon enhancement and watershed stewardship, a role which has been bolstered by PSSI investments over the last four years.  

 

For a different perspective, we consulted with Stu Barnes, Executive Director of First Nations Fisheries Council of British Columbia (FNFC), who notes: “Hatcheries can be both a tool and a contributing risk in the recovery of wild Pacific salmon, and strategic enhancement has been a necessary tool in certain cases.”

 

He offers up an example: the Okanagan Nation Alliance-led programme is working to re-establish Okanagan sockeye and chinook after salmon were near the brink of extirpation. Thanks to the Okanagan Dam Fish Passage, a new passageway built by the Syilx Nation in partnership with the City of Penticton, the province and DFO, sockeye salmon have been able to return to their historic spawning grounds in the region for the first time in more than a century. 

 

Another example provided by Barnes is the recovery efforts of the Tŝilhqot’in National Government (TNG) related to the Big Bar Landslide, a rockslide in 2018 in the Fraser River in British Columbia that created a seven-metre high barrier. Barnes points to “emergency enhancement as a tool when returning Tŝilhqot’in salmon were unable to reach their spawning grounds”.

 

The TNG built and operated a permanent salmon conservation hatchery, in partnership with the DFO. In recent years, other First Nations have also begun pursuing strategic hatchery enhancements to support recovery efforts.

 

Barnes points to concerns about hatchery programmes, “particularly regarding the management of genetic diversity and ecological interactions between wild and hatchery fish”. 

 

For example, West Coast Vancouver Island First Nations have been concerned about the impacts of genetic straying. Barnes highlights the fact that “…these occur when hatchery fish migrate into non-natal streams in the surrounding areas, and potentially mix with wild stocks and reduce overall genetic diversity”. Efforts are underway to better understand these impacts on wild stocks – and to mitigate them as part of broader recovery plans.

 

With over 70% of Pacific salmon stocks in decline, many First Nations are interested in what Barnes calls “strategic enhancement to help recover local stocks”. But the goal is to “proceed cautiously, guided by both indigenous knowledge and western science. Hatcheries should not be seen as a silver bullet, but rather as one of several tools within a broader recovery approach. Many First Nations in BC also share long-term aspirations for wild Pacific salmon stocks to be sustainable and thriving, and for a future when hatcheries will no longer be necessary”. 

 

In the meantime, First Nations in BC have conveyed long-standing concerns to DFO about how hatcheries are managed in the province, calling for better transparency for DFO’s Salmon Enhancement Programme, and the policies that guide management and decision-making processes. 

 

Barnes says: “This is particularly important, recognising that hatcheries are often in First Nations’ territories and activities directly impact the local First Nations communities. First Nations are interested in working with DFO to develop a modernised policy framework to guide hatchery operations in BC, including setting shared objectives and production plans that align with First Nations’ interests and respect their roles in shared decision-making and resource management within their territories.”