What role do hatchery fish play?
Hatchery fish offer a number of potential benefits to society. They provide abundant fish for harvest, help meet Tribal treaty obligations, and can help prevent extinction of threatened or endangered populations. However, hatchery fish also present ecological and genetic risks to natural fish populations. They often differ from native fish in their behavior, appearance, or physiology, and they may compete with native fish for food and spawning sites. They may even prey on native salmon or attract predators which then attack the salmon. In addition, hatchery fish may have less genetic variation than native fish. When the two interbreed, native salmon often inherit traits that are advantageous in hatchery fish but disadvantageous in nature (e.g., early spawning timing). Thus, native fish may become less able to withstand natural environmental changes or fluctuations when they interbreed with hatchery fish.
