Red Chinook versus White

[Seafever]

Just wondering.......we know the Americans cross-stock their rivers with fry from one river to another.They aren't half as anal-retentive about genetics as we are.

So.........when you catch a migratory Columbian-bound fish, do you find a lot of them are whites....or marbled.....disproportionately?

By the way........if there are certain rivers in B.C. that produce genetically bigger fish.......what's wrong with taking a few fry from those and introducing them into other rivers around?

 

[chris73]

The biologists identify genetically similar areas along the coast within which a transpant is possible. Some of those areas got created because a stream specific stock was lost due to human impact and they basically reseeded it with a neighbouring stock (Sooke, Cap, Vedder...). But you should not just pick up fry from anywhere and transplant to somewhere else. Not saying it hasn't been done in the past and its part of the negative baggage that the earlier hatchery practices carry. Proper salmon enhancement today would respect these rules and stick to the science. The success rate for out-of bound transplants would be questionable as well as salmon have a genetic imprint on the home river as well. When they re-introduced Atlantic salmon to central european rivers in the 1990s from remaining Atlantic stocks in Scotland and Island or northern Norway, they saw barely any of them returning. It seems they get lost at sea when their genes tell them to go east but the smell of the river tells them to go west.

 

[Charlie]

Most that don't like White Chinook salmon usually overcook it! When overcooked it becomes very dry and tuff!

Puget Sound only has one or two native runs left. It is to the point Puget Sound is almost virtually 100% genetically non-native salmon, except for those two runs. The cross-stocking was a major mistake here in Puget Sound and was done years ago resulting in those infamous Puget Sound "cookie cutters." Those certainly are hatchery, which most came from and transplanted the Green River. Here in Puget Sound ALL hatchery salmon are required to be adipose fin clipped!

The U.S. is actually now more anal concerning genetics with the natural runs we have left, even in Puget Sound.

When you catch a Columbian bound fish if it is clipped it most certainly is hatchery. If not clipped it could either be hatchery or native. There are very few Colombians "white" or "marbled."

By the way... U.S. and Canada have both already tried to introduce genetically larger Chinook salmon into other river systems and found that is easier said than done. The system has to actually be able to support them and they don't migrate to their same natural areas. In other words - it just doesn't work!

 

[DVL U Know]

Just have to say that it seems 80% of the springs I catch in sooke and victoria are clipped, white or red...genetic mono-culture or not...that is a hell of lot less fish if we didn't have our southern friends working so hard to keep up chinook stock.

So really thank you guys for all the hard work!