Potential effects of global climate change on national fish hatchery operations in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Abstract

Global climate change is predicted to be a major force in altering ecosystem processes and animal behavior worldwide in the coming years. Currently, many Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. stocks are imperiled due to harvest, habitat loss, and anthropogenic disturbance across much of their native range, and climate change has been predicted to have further negative effects on these species. Artificial propagation has been used by multiple resource agencies to conserve salmon populations and increase numbers in the Columbia River watershed, including the National Fish Hatchery (NFH) system in the Pacific Northwest, which annually produces more than 60 million juvenile Pacific salmonids. The species and populations that are supplemented through the NFH system, as well as operations at the NFHs themselves, will be affected by global climate change and forced to adapt. This review provides a preliminary summary of the potential effects of climate change on the NFH system in the Pacific Northwest, focusing on the topics that will be of most relevance to NFH operations. A series of proactive measures, which are in various stages of action, are outlined that should quantify climate change threats to the operations of specific NFHs and allow for flexibility in adjusting operations to continue to meet conservation and supplementation goals in the face of an uncertain future. © Inter-Research 2011.