Expanding Partnerships and Innovations to Implement Reform of a Large Columbia River Hatchery Program

摘要

Recent reviews of salmon and steelhead hatchery programs have led to recommendations to reform hatchery practices and produce better supplementation outcomes. Of particular concern were reductions in performance of supplemented populations due to domestication selection attributed to hatchery production. One key recommendation was to achieve an index of domestication selection termed proportionate natural influence (PNI) of 0.67 or higher. The Priest Rapids Hatchery, located adjacent to the Columbia River below Priest Rapids Dam, was one of the hatcheries included in this review. Data gathered from the hatchery and from the population being supplemented before implementation of reform measures indicated that the program was falling short of this goal. In this case study, we describe the influence of various partnerships and practices implemented in the Priest Rapids Hatchery program to achieve the recommendedPNIfor the program. The program exceeded thePNIgoal in each of the last 5 years and since 2012 has averaged 0.72. The success in reaching the recommended benchmark was the result of generating creative solutions and building diverse decisional and operational partnerships that could achieve goals of hatchery reform in a cost-effective and broadly supported manner.