PRINCIPLES FOR HATCHERY REFORM

As a result of their experience reviewing hundreds of hatchery programs and developing recommendations, the HSRG has concluded that three principles should guide hatchery management and operations:

1. clear goals;
2. scientifically defensible programs; and
3. informed decision making.

The HSRG has developed a set of system-wide recommendations as strategies for achieving each principle. These principles and system-wide recommendations are presented in the Principles and System-Wide Recommendations section of the HSRG's report.

Hatchery reform fundamentally requires evaluating hatcheries based on how they affect the watershed in which they are located. This means a hatchery program—whether for harvest or conservation purposes—cannot be successful unless it serves the needs of the wild populations it is derived from and/or encounters outside the hatchery. The size of the hatchery program (i.e., number of fish released) must be considered in light of what the available habitat can sustain, and the habitat needs of other fish in the watershed.

Hatchery fish must be managed either as part of a wild population (in which case the size and health of that wild population will determine how large the hatchery population can be) or as a wholly separate population (in which case strict guidelines must be met to ensure the hatchery fish do not influence or alter the wild population). In either scenario, the HSRG's guidelines ensure that the wild population is "in charge" of genetic and behavioral adaptation.

Although the process and products of the Hatchery Reform Project to date have made a significant contribution to improving hatchery management, successful hatchery reform will ultimately be measured by effective ongoing implementation of the principles and the supporting system-wide recommendations by the state, Tribal, and federal managers.