Hatcheries Research
Findings and Updates
Prince William Sound Science Center (PWSSC), and Sitka Sound Science Center (SSSC), have been engaged in scientific data collection and analysis services requested under contract with the State of Alaska for a project entitled "Interactions of Wild and Hatchery Pink and Chum Salmon in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska". This contract work began in March, 2011, and is expected to continue through 2023. The State of Alaska provided capital funds to initiate the project with additional primary funding provided annually by salmon processors and fishery enhancement organizations. The State continues to contribute to through significant in kind work and by securing grant funding.
North Pacific Research Board (NPRB)
(Updated 7/11/2019)
- NPRB Grant Proposal (PDF 3,141 kB)
- NPRB Grant Final Report (PDF 990 kB)
Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Grant Program
(Updated 7/11/2019)
- SK Grant Proposal (PDF 554 kB)
- SK Grant Final Report (PDF 1,918 kB)
The overarching purposes of this research are to: 1) further document the degree to which hatchery pink and chum salmon straying is occurring; 2) assess the range of interannual variability in the straying rates; and, 3) determine the effects of hatchery fish spawning with wild populations on the fitness of wild populations.
This research project has been subdivided into four major activities for implementation, each with a separate project leader: ocean sampling near PWS; stream sampling in PWS; stream sampling in SEAK; and data management, analysis, and reporting.
- Alaska Hatchery Research Project Synopsis, May 2022 (PDF 363 kB)
Written reports
Reports made to ADF&G, as described in the Request for Proposal (RFP), will be posted below. Reports will consist of a complete description of preceding field data methods and the data collected. Reports will include any analyses that can be made with the data available up to that time. Reports will be progressive, i.e., will include all data and analyses from the beginning of the project up to the date of the report.
2023
2022
2021
2020
- Interactions of Wild and Hatchery Pink Salmon in Prince William Sound Report for 2020 (PDF 18,820 kB)
- Hatchery-Wild Interactions Study: Sitka Sound Science Center 2020 Field Summary (PDF 906 kB)
2019
This was the last year of sampling in Prince William Sound.
- Interactions of Wild and Hatchery Pink Salmon in Prince William Sound Report for 2019 (PDF 4,657 kB)
- Hatchery-Wild Interactions Study 2019 Field Season Summary (PDF 612 kB)
2018
- Hatchery-Wild Interactions Study 2018 Field Season Summary (PDF 1,346 kB)
- Interaction of Wild and Hatchery Pink Salmon in Prince William Sound, Final Report for 2018 (PDF 6,502 kB)
2017
- Interaction of Wild and Hatchery Pink Salmon in Prince William Sound, Final Report for 2017 (PDF 4,041 kB)
- Interactions of Wild and Hatchery Chum Salmon in Southeast Alaska, 2017 Field Season Summary (PDF 217 kB)
2016
No sampling occurred in Southeast Alaska.
- Interaction of Wild and Hatchery Pink Salmon in Prince William Sound, Annual Report 2016 (PDF 3,578 kB)
2015
- Interaction of Wild and Hatchery Pink and Chum Salmon in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska, Annual Report 2015 (PDF 11,416 kB) - Full Report with Appendices
- Report Only (PDF 2,080 kB)
- Appendices A-E (PDF 1,409 kB)
- Appendices F-H (PDF 5,022 kB)
- Appendices I-J (PDF 3,339 kB)
2014
- Interaction of Wild and Hatchery Pink and Chum Salmon in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska, Annual Report 2014 (PDF 1,618 kB)
2013
- Interaction of Wild and Hatchery Pink and Chum Salmon in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska, Annual Report 2013 (PDF 1,345 kB)
2012
Technical Documents
Technical documents (Tech Docs) are produced by ADF&G Gene Conservation Lab (GCL), Mark Tag and Age Lab (MTA) and the Cordova Otolith Lab to describe and document procedures and protocols utilized to process samples and data for the Alaska Hatchery Research Project. Tech Docs are also utilized to document decision points throughout the project. As Tech Docs are finalized they will be posted here.
- Defining Relative Reproductive Success: Which Fish Count (PDF 591 kB)
- Parentage SNP Selection - SEAK Chum (PDF 503 kB)
- Evaluation of Tissue Quality for Pedigree Samples Collected in 2013 (PDF 563 kB)
- Effect of Sampling Proportion on Parentage Assignment (PDF 331 kB)
- Advanced Parentage Simulations: the Statistical Power to Measure Relative Reproductive Success (PDF 2,948 kB)
- AHRP Technical Meeting Dec 16 2014 Minutes (PDF 238 kB)
- Thermal Mark Recovery Procedures of the ADF&G Mark, Tag and Age Laboratory (PDF 1,150 kB)
- Thermal Mark Recovery Data Quality Assurance and Quality Control Procedures, ADF&G Mark, Tag and Age Laboratory (PDF 678 kB)
- Region 1 Scale Aging Laboratory - Data Flow and Scale Aging Procedures (PDF 319 kB)
- AHRP Data Flow (PDF 402 kB)
- Prioritization of Pink Salmon Samples and Analyses 2015/2016 (PDF 356 kB)
- Otolith Processing and Quality Control Methods, ADF&G Cordova Otolith Laboratory (PDF 325 kB)
- Experimental Design of Pink Salmon SNP Discovery (PDF 480 kB)
- Population Genetic Structure of Odd-Year Pink Salmon from Prince William Sound, 2013 (PDF 1,646 kB)
Hatchery Wild Interactions Data
Field work for the Hatchery Wild Interactions project was conducted in Prince William Sound by Prince William Sound Science Center from 2013–2020 and in Southeast Alaska by Sitka Sound Science Center from 2013–2015 and 2017–2023. Field crews collected data electronically on tablets using a custom application designed by Rick Busch with Finsight (later acquired by Resource Data). This field data was previously hosted on hatcherywild.org, and is now housed at ADF&G.
There are three datasets available:
- Ocean Data
Ocean surveys were conducted across entrances to Prince William Sound during 2013–2015 to estimate the total return of hatchery and wild Pink and Chum Salmon to help address Priority Research Question 2 (extent and variability of straying). - Stream Specimens Data
Streams were sampled in both Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska to address Priority Research Question 2 (extent and variability of straying; 2013–2015) and 3 (fitness of strays; 2013–2023). Priority Research Question 2 included both Pink and Chum Salmon for Prince William Sound and Chum Salmon for Southeast Alaska. Priority Research Question 3 included Pink Salmon for Prince William Sound and Chum Salmon for Southeast Alaska. - Stream Survey Data
During stream visits, field crews conducted live/dead counts of spawners to stratify estimates of the proportion of hatchery-origin spawners (i.e. hatchery strays) by abundance during each visit.
More details on sample collection methods can be found in the contractor annual reports (2012–2023) from Prince William Sound Science Center and Sitka Sound Science Center of our Reports section. Peer reviewed publications using this data are available in our Results section.
Final Results
The long-term research project proposed here has the potential to answer some of the questions most relevant to the Alaska salmon enhancement program. As good stewards of wild salmon stocks and the natural resources of the state, ADF&G believes strongly this work should be undertaken. It recognizes that the results will likely have some ambiguity and may even be interpreted differently by some groups. Nonetheless, this information will likely guide future decisions and will greatly advance the understanding of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of wild and hatchery interactions.
Published Papers
- Knudsen, E. E., Rand, P. S., Gorman, K. B., Bernard, D. R., and W. D. Templin. 2021. Hatchery-Origin Stray Rates and Total Run Characteristics for Pink Salmon and Chum Salmon Returning to Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 2013–2015. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 13:41–68.
- Kyle R. Shedd, Emily A. Lescak, Christopher Habicht, E. Eric Knudsen, Tyler H. Dann, Heather A. Hoyt, Daniel J. Prince, and William D. Templin. 2022. Reduced relative fitness in hatchery-origin Pink Salmon in two streams in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Accepted Article (online access) Evolutionary Applications.
- Josephson, R., Wertheimer, A., Gaudet, D., Knudsen, E. E., Adams, B., Bernard, D. R., Heinl, S. C., Piston, A. W., and W. D. Templin. 2021. Proportions of hatchery fish in escapements of summer-run Chum Salmon in Southeast Alaska, 2013–2015.. North American Journal of Fisheries Management.
Associated Studies
Information gathered in this long-term research project facilitated additional study.
Published Papers
- McMahon, J., S. A. May, P. S. Rand, K. B. Gorman, M. V. McPhee, and P. A. Westley. 2025. Phenotypic sorting of pink salmon hatchery strays may alleviate adverse impacts of reduced variation in fitness-associated traits.
Ecology and Evolution 15(1):e70781. - May, S. A., K. R. Shedd, K. M. Gruenthal, J. J. Hard, W. D. Templin, C. D. Waters, M. D. Adkison, E. J. Ward, C. Habicht, and L. I. Wilson. 2024. Salmon hatchery strays can demographically boost wild populations at the cost of diversity: quantitative genetic modelling of Alaska pink salmon. Royal Society Open Science 11(7):240455.
- May, S. A., and P. A. Westley. 2024. The cost of hatchery straying: an economic case study on Alaska pink salmon. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 82:1-6.
- May, S., K. Shedd, P. Rand, and P. Westley. 2023. Tidal gradients, fine-scale homing, and a potential cryptic ecotype of wild spawning pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha). Molecular Ecology 32(21):5838-5848.
- McConnell, C. J., S. Atkinson, D. Oxman, and P. A. H. Westley. 2019. Is blood cortisol or vateritic otolith composition associated with natal dispersal or reproductive performance on the spawning grounds of straying and homing hatchery-produced chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) in Southeast Alaska? Biology Open 8(6):bio042853.
- McConnell, C. J., P. A. Westley, and M. V. McPhee. 2018. Differences in fitness-associated traits between hatchery and wild chum salmon despite long-term immigration by strays. Aquaculture Environment Interactions 10:99-113.