NFC Talks Conservation Stocking (Bangor Daily News)
“I am no fan of fish hatcheries. They have become an albatross for state and federal fish and game agencies across the country. ”
NFC’s position in regard to hatcheries and stocking is well-documented. As we have said repeatedly, while you can stock yourself into trouble, you can rarely stock you way out of it. In fact, when it comes to stocking we fail to accomplish our goals far more often than we succeed.
When it comes to Atlantic salmon restoration, the situation is dire, and much more so than western salmon and steelhead, with as few as 100 truly wild fish returning to the nation’s streams. But like the situation out west, decades of bombing the rivers with hatchery fish has not changed the outcome.
We have however successfully restored some populations of wild native fish using temporary stocking in conjunction with habit work, fish-passage, and chemical reclamation. It’s time we reconsidered what we are doing with regard to the nation’s Atlantic salmon
