Reports and products from the Hatchery Effectiveness Review project.
All reports associated with this project will be posted and freely available from this page.
Review of Pacific Salmon Hatcheries in British Columbia, Canada, and Interactions with Natural Populations.
This report is a synthesis of the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Hatchery Effectiveness Project. Read the report.
Open access article in Fisheries Magazine: A Review of Pacific Salmon Hatcheries in British Columbia, Canada, and Interactions With Natural Populations
Review and assessment of enhancement for harvest and rebuilding
In this report, we explore methods to assess the effectiveness of enhancement for both harvest and rebuilding purposes and provide a framework for future monitoring and assessment programs. Read the report.
An exploratory analysis into spatial patterns of correlation relative to enhancement: can an enhancement signal be found in nearby wild systems?
This study explores existing, though often limited, data to determine if it is possible to detect a signal from stray hatchery fish in nearby wild systems. As a life history strategy in wild populations, straying can offer resilience to disturbances, though straying of hatchery-origin populations into wild systems can have unintended consequences to ecosystem integrity. Read the report.
Trends in size at age, sex ratios, and age at return in hatchery and wild Chinook salmon across BC
Hatcheries, along with a number of other factors, have been linked to declines in the age and size of Pacific salmon. In this study we examined trends in size-at-age, and sex and age proportions in Chinook salmon populations across British Columbia. Read the report.
Hatchery, predation, and climate effects on productivity of wild salmon
This paper presents a Bayesian hierarchical approach for developing and comparing performance of multipopulation spawner-recruitment models that estimate potential hatchery, predation, and/or environmental covariates effects on wild productivity for Chinook, coho, and chum populations in British Columbia. Read the report.
A Review of Spawning Channels in BC
Spawning channels have been constructed in British Columbia to create improved salmon spawning habitat. This report provides the history and reviews existing information from BC’s spawning channels. Read the report.
Community Hatchery Interview Report
Community Involvement Program hatcheries provide volunteer-led environmental stewardship, education, and economic development via hatcheries and community engagement. As part of the Hatchery Effectiveness Review Project, a review of Community Involvement Program hatcheries was conducted to determine how best to support these programs and improve their effectiveness where necessary. Read the report.
Hatchery-Wild Interactions Systematic Literature Review
As a part of the comprehensive review of hatchery effectiveness in British Columbia, a systematic literature review has been carried out to provide a clear picture of the current state of knowledge concerning the interactions between wild and hatchery-origin Pacific salmon. Read the report.
Review of ‘Omics’ technologies and applications for salmon hatcheries:
Genetics and ‘Omics’ Technologies Review for Salmon Hatcheries
A review of ‘Omics’ technologies: genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics – background and opportunities for salmon hatcheries. Read the report.
Application of ‘Omics’ Technologies in the Salmonid Enhancement Program
An accessible handbook designed for hatchery managers to apply ‘Omics’ technologies in the salmon enhancement program. Read the report.
Evaluation of salmon hatchery release strategies:
Systematic Literature Review of Pacific Salmon Hatchery Release Strategies in Canada and the United States
A systematic review of the literature on hatchery releases strategies of salmonids in BC and the western United States. Read the report.
Scientific Review of Hatchery Release Strategies in BC: Final Report
An overarching final report of the scientific review of hatchery release strategies in BC. Read the report. This report is a synthesis of two more in-depth reports:
1. An evaluation of experimental hatchery releases of coded wire-tagged Chinook and coho
2. A comprehensive analysis of release strategy effects on survival and return ages of Chinook and coho in BC from 1972 to 2017.
Also see: James et al 2023: Size and timing of hatchery releases influence juvenile-to-adult survival rates of British Columbia Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.