Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is expanding the marking of hatchery-origin Pacific Chinook salmon in a bid to support conservation and hatchery management.
Canada operates salmon hatcheries on the Pacific coast that raise salmon to release live alongside wild Pacific salmon. The program, which is also used in the U.S., aims to protect and, in some cases, rebuild wild salmon populations.
DFO said it is continuing that program and will now expand marking of hatchery-origin salmon to continue the original mission of salmon conservation and recovery.
“Marking of hatchery-origin Pacific salmon, through the removal of the adipose fin, enables identification of individual fish and differentiation from wild stocks,” DFO said. “The ability to accurately distinguish hatchery and wild-origin Pacific salmon is important for fishery management, hatchery operation, scientific understanding, and to better achieve conservation objectives.”
Hatchery-origin fish are already being marked in most other jurisdictions in the Pacific, according to the DFO. The U.S. runs programs in the states of Washington, Alaska, Oregon, and California and marks its fish with an adipose fin clip across all hatcheries. Canada also marks some of its hatchery-origin fish but does not follow the practice across the board; only 40 percent are currently marked.
Canada has been making investments in Pacific salmon through its Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), which has already helped fund new hatcheries on the Pacific coast. The government recently committed CAD 412.9 million (USD 300 million, EUR 254 million) to the initiative, with new investments planned to increase mass-marking capacity across all DFO hatchery-produced salmon.
“Pacific salmon are central to the cultural, ecological, and economic fabric of Canada’s West Coast. Expanding mass marking enhances our understanding of science, providing a clearer picture of wild salmon populations, and the performance of our hatcheries,” Canada Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said in a release. “This supports better population management, can promote genetic diversity, and is one of the investments we are making so that these wild salmon runs can have the best chance at recovery and sustainability over the long term.”
