Life Inside the Tank: The Impact of Vateritic Otoliths on Hatchery-Reared Coho Salmon

Le résumé fourni par la source

... Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. are keystone species essential to the health of ecosystems and serve as a vital link between the marine and freshwater environments of the northeastern Pacific. From the rivers where they spawn to the vast Pacific Ocean where they mature, these salmon support a rich diversity of life, including whales, bears, fish, seabirds, marine invertebrates, and riparian plants. Beyond their ecological importance, Pacific salmon have profoundly shaped the identities and ways of life of Indigenous communities in the region since time immemorial. They are central to cultural traditions, fishing technologies, and spiritual beliefs. Economically, Pacific salmon are invaluable, generating substantial revenue through commercial and recreational fishing, and sustaining many coastal communities that rely on the fishing industry. Concerningly, many natural populations of Pacific salmon have experienced widespread declines over the past few decades, attributed to various anthropogenic factors, such as habitat degradation, climate change, and overfishing. To mitigate population declines while sustaining salmon fisheries throughout the northeastern Pacific, Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiated the Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) in the 1970s, leading to large‐scale hatchery rearing of juvenile Pacific salmon. Initially, hatcheries were considered effective because the egg‐to‐smolt survival rate in hatcheries was significantly higher than that in the wild. Unfortunately, once released into the wild, hatchery‐reared juvenile Pacific salmon survive at generally lower rates compared to their wild‐origin counterparts, proving hatcheries to be much less effective than initially hoped.

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