Hatchery Salmon Research Paper

In the Pacific Northwest, salmon are an incredibly important part of the ecosystem. Their presence indicates the health of rivers and there are over 100 species that depend on salmon as a source of food (Rahr). As salmon move from saltwater systems into freshwater systems again, they bring essential nutrients with them. These nutrients are put back into the ecosystem when the salmon are consumed and when their bodies start to decompose. Many of these nutrients even make their way back into the forest when bears drag the bodies of their prey away from the river (Rahr). The cycling of nutrients is essential when it comes to the health of forests and rivers. Besides improving the overall health of the ecosystems that they are a part of, salmon
One way that people have started to combat these issues is by introducing salmon hatcheries where the fish are bred and grown in captivity and then released into rivers and the ocean when they are mature. In 2008 5 billion salmon were released into the Pacific Ocean from salmon hatcheries (Barcott). Although salmon hatcheries have increased the overall populations of several species of salmon, they have created many new problems relating to competition, cannibalism, disease, and
The root of the problem comes from the fact that there are so many hatchery salmon that they are eating up all of the available food. Since all the fish are the same species, they all eat the same things so this is creating a shortage of food for the wild salmon. Finding food should not be such an issue for wild salmon if it weren’t for the fact that the Pacific Ocean is reaching carrying capacity. The Pacific Ocean goes through periods of warming and cooling and as of 1978 it was beginning to warm up again (Barcott). The warming of the ocean increases phytoplankton populations, which in turn increases crustacean populations meaning that there is more food for the salmon to eat (Barcott). However, with so many salmon in the Pacific Ocean there is much more competition for these resources. Hatchery fish are often larger, which gives them an advantage over wild salmon. In some cases, hatchery salmon are even known to cannibalize wild