Biological interactions of natural and enhanced stocks of salmon in Alaska

A workshop on 'Biological interactions of natural and enhanced stocks of salmon in Alaska', was held in autumn 1991 at the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova, AL, USA. The subject and site were relevant as the impacts of hatchery operations on wild salmon stocks have recently become an international concern and Prince William Sound contains one of the largest salmon hatchery operations in the world. This workshop was designed to review the evidence, or lack thereof, that hatchery salmon are affecting the growth, survival, and natural genetic diversity of wild salmon in Alaska. International, national, and regional perspectives identified the important biological interactions between hatchery and wild salmon stocks, and characterized them in terms of genetics, carrying capacity, and harvest management. The workshop participants unanimously agreed on the importance of 'maintaining genetic diversity within and between natural populations of salmon to sustain productivity of both wild and enhanced stocks'. An expansion of stock assessment and identification research and monitoring programs using new technologies (acoustics, optics, electronic mapping, marking, and gene sequencing) is the key to the acquisition of information needed to protect wild stocks from future over-exploitation.