What Works: A Workshop on Wild Atlantic Salmon Recovery Programs

1. What Works: A Workshop on Wild Atlantic Salmon Recovery Programs Jonathan Carr IBIS/AST Salmon Stocking Conference November 27/28, 2013 Marriott Hotel, Glasgow City G3 8RR Boosting salmon numbers – is stocking the answer or the problem

2. ASF Workshop Goals • To examine Atlantic salmon recovery programs in Eastern North America, with examples of successes, failures and best practices • To produce a report of findings to assist with assessing local restoration needs and implementing relevant and effective restoration programs

3. Workshop Program • Keynotes (ecology, genetics, population dynamics) • Regional Perspectives: QC, NL, NB, NS, ME, NGO • Gene Banking & Life Stage Stocking Strategies • History/Case Studies: Success & Failures • Habitat Recovery Initiatives • Dams and Fish Passage • Water Quality Considerations • North American Restoration Plan • Discussion & Wrap Up Presentations can be found at www.asf.ca/2013recoveryworkshop.html

4. Declining & Endangered Salmon

5. Overview of Threats Freshwater Environment • Global warming (floods, temperatures) • Dams, culverts, • Exotic species • Aquaculture • Agriculture, forestry, mining, aquaculture • Poaching • Acid rain • predation Marine Environment • Global warming (ecological changes, predator/prey shifts, temperatures) • Aquaculture • Bycatch • Predation

6. Relatively Stable & Threatened/Endangered

7. What is a Salmon Recovery Program? • Habitat restoration & protection • Harvest regulation & addressing other sources of mortality Hatcheries & Captive Breeding Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

8. Hatcheries & Supplementation • 1773 – start in Germany • belief humans should control reproduction & increase the numbers of salmon • Hatchery model born of the industrial revolution – “techno” fix • Interchangeable parts (in contrast with what we now know as the uniqueness of populations) • Nearly a century of this vision (1860s -1960s) • Salmon were moved within and outside their native range US Fish Commission proclaimed: artificial propagation would make salmon so abundant there would be no need to regulate harvest or protect habitat Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

9. Holes in Hatchery Model appear • Returns not there • Becomes controversial – can it help? • Recognize that a production model is not compatible with a conservation model • Changing shape of restoration and questions about the role of traditional hatcheries • Captive breeding – but where are we in our understanding? Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

10. Hatcheries & Supplementation to be considered successful … • Bypass high, natural mortality • Survive, breed & produce offspring that contributeto natural production in the wild Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

11. Hatchery Fish Wild Fish • “Constant Care” • Decreased Selective Pressures • Low Mortality in Early Life Stages • Decreased Natural Adaptations • “On Your Own” • Increased Selective Pressures • High Mortality in Early Life Stages • Increased Natural Adaptations K. Samways & D. MacDonald presentation, ASF workshop. Visit www.asf.ca

12. Paradigm Shift • To Convert Production Facilities to Conservation Facilities the traditional fish culturists need to switch from a goal of maximizing productivity to a goal of maximizing biodiversity. • The end result would become the production of ecological viable fish better suited for natural releases and survival in the wild. K. Samways & D. MacDonald presentation, ASF workshop. Visit www.asf.ca

13. or adults Shane O’Neil presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

14. Habitat complexity – Early life Nature – complex (gravel) • Shaping of the phenotype • Morphology • Behaviour • Neural development • Fitness consequences Captive - simple Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

15. Incubation Environment Shapes Phenotypic Traits • Gravel-incubated fish: heavier & higher condition (wt, length, condition factor). • Gravel-incubated fish: enhanced feeding & more risk adverse (fed novel prey and introduced predators: avoidance, sought shelter, reemergence). • No difference in brain volume. • Gravel incubated fish had higher survival and faster growth in semi-natural streams. Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

16. Fitness returns from wild exposure? • Series of Experiments • Reproductive success of wild-exposed (FW juvenile phase) versus fully captive-reared adults. • Transgenerational effects - offspring fitness of wild-exposed versus fully captive reared adults Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

17. Fitness Summary • Captive rearing environments can be altered to promote phenotypic traits that may be more favourable in nature. • Reproductive success (p < 0.001) • Wild Exposed (76.1% ♀ & 76.9%♂) > Captive Reared (23.9 % ♀ & 23.1%♂). Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

18. Offspring Survival (1st summer) P = .036 Wild exposure can improve short (within generation) and long term (transgenerational) fitness in captively bred populations Ian Fleming presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca

19. Morphology, physiology, behaviour, life history… Who’s from the hatchery? K. Samways & D. MacDonald presentation, ASF workshop. Visit www.asf.ca

20. Body/Fin Condition Summary • Semi-natural ponds produce fish more similar in shape and fin quality to their natural counterparts. • Substrate produces better fin qualities even at high densities. • Increased habitat and flow complexity is beneficial in producing fish with a more wild-like shape. • Fish reared in semi-natural ponds may be better suited for life in the wild than their conventionally reared counterparts for a number of reasons including their overall shape and fin-condition (better at foraging, recognition of complex habitat structures, predator avoidance, etc…) K. Samways & D. MacDonald presentation, ASF workshop. Visit www.asf.ca

21. Enhancement Opportunities:Strategies in Healthy Salmon Populations • Look after natural environment and let the fish to the rest If choose to stock: define objectives • River specific origin • Collect wild broodstock; return to river after spawning; release offspring as unfed fry and 1st feeding fry • Stock in non utilized areas or sites where wild juvenile densities are low • Don’t overstock

22. Conclusions & Implications • Incubation environment has impact on phenotype • Affects subsequent survival and growth (fitness) • Captive rearing environments can be altered to promote phenotypic traits that may be more favourable in nature

23. Conclusions: Captive Breeding • Even though there is ecological & genetic risk, its potential value is large. • We’ve made significant strides in our understanding of rearing strategies, but there’s still room for improvement. • Temporary tool. • Captive breeding alone will not be sufficient to restore populations. • Need to identify the limiting factors and act.

24. Some Recommendations From ASF Salmon Recovery Workshop • Focus on individual pop’ns based on specific threats. • Stocking not 1st resort. Goals must be understood. • Identify cause of declines & prioritize natural reproduction. • Address key issues in river (habitat, passage, water quality) before/in conjunction with stocking. • Think holistically: multi species/ ecosystem approach. • Critical need to determine marine survival issues. • Monitoring/evaluation of program is critical. • Mimic nature as much as possible. • Political will: not all actions are needed in rivers but in boardrooms with politicians and policy makers

25. Acknowledgements All presenters at the St . Andrews NB Salmon Recovery Workshop You can find the presentations at: www.asf.ca/2013recoveryworkshop/html

27. Egg Planting Results • Goal was to estimate survival and achieve widespread emergence of near 10%. Paul Christman presentation, ASF workshop Sept 2013. Visit www.asf.ca