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Assessing the outcomes of stocking hatchery-reared juveniles in the presence of wild Atlantic salmon

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Abstract

Stocking of hatchery-reared juvenile Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar is a common enhancement and recovery strategy across jurisdictions, yet its impact remains uncertain. We investigate the potential effectiveness of stocking in the Miramichi River system where approximately 150,000 first-feeding fry are stocked annually in reaches where wild juveniles are present. Local site and landscape level characteristics were used to fit predictive models for wild parr densities measured as Percent Habitat Saturation (PHS) using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR). The observed PHS of stocked sites was found to be significantly lower than predicted, suggesting stocking has not been effective in increasing the PHS in the studied stocked sites. The results suggest that habitat and other density dependent effects limit productive capacity in this system, and consequently, may limit the effectiveness of stocking in other systems with natural production.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Miramichi Salmon Association, Rocky Brook Camps, J.D. Irving, Limited, and New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources. We thank M. Hambrook, S. Douglas, M. Price, J. Price, W. O’Donnell, and J. Gilbert. We thank M. Gautreau and E. Hudgins for technical support. This project was funded in part by the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund, the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and the NSERC CREATE WATER program.

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  1. Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology and Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, 10 Bailey Drive, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Ben G. Wallace & R. Allen Curry

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Wallace, B.G., Curry, R.A. Assessing the outcomes of stocking hatchery-reared juveniles in the presence of wild Atlantic salmon. Environ Biol Fish 100, 877–887 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0613-2

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