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The Paradox of Salmon Hatcheries

The golden dream of hatcheries was to make more fish. The reality is much more complicated.

 

After around 150 years of managing Pacific salmon with all the wrong goals in mind—more fish, more profit—and relying heavily on fish hatcheries to meet those flawed objectives, the path to sustainable and healthy wild salmon runs is murkier than ever.

No one can turn back the clock and convince the builders of that first salmon hatchery in the Pacific Northwest that they would reap more benefits from restoring and protecting habitats. But if Pacific salmon are to have a future, we can learn from the past and the present.

To quote a famous philosopher, life can only be understood backwards—but we have to live it forwards.

The Paradox of Salmon Hatcheries