WSB hatchery article - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

taggermike · 01-22-2016, 04:16 PM

I chose the 20 year time frame because the the initial releases from the mission bay facility, pre Carlsbad hatchery, were small. I do not have the release and rrecovery data right in front of me. But I have seen it recently. The majority of recovered tagged wsb are juveniles that have come from the Hubbs gill netting survey and from fish killed in power plants rather than adult legal sized fish caught by anglers. I believe tagged fish recovered peaked '08 at 30 fish. Over the last 4 years the recoveries have been in single digits. I dont know the total number of wsb released since 1986. More than 2 million I'm sure. It's a big ocean and this is a complicated program. But after 2 million fish released to recover less than 10 for four years straight indicates very low survival.

Clearly I do not have access to all the data nor the expertice to analyze it all. The low numbers of adult fish recovered in relation to the numbers of juveniles release is a bad sign. Factor in the mortality, euthenasia, and levels of deformity and is appears the program is producing low quality fish with very little chance of survival. I'll be looking forward to the SAC final draft.

I have nothing to do with the coast keepers and haven't heard any thing they have to say about the program. Mike

GregAndrew · 01-24-2016, 04:01 PM

I would guess that only about 1-5% of WSB caught are actually scanned for tags. But let's say it is 20% for arguments sake. That would put the actual catch of tagged WSB at around 100 per year if all were scanned right? Considering the attrition rate of any inshore species before reaching adulthood, I would consider it an accomplishment if the total number of released fish in the coastal population was 1,000 of the 1,000,000 released. Just like Sea Turtles, of the thousands hatched only a handful make it to adult size. If you think that all 1,000,000 were supposed to make it to 50lbers you need to consider the real fish world.

Also, the idea that any sickness is going to be transferred from these hatch-lings to the adult population is pretty nearsighted. There will be nearly zero chance of interaction of the juveniles with the adults (except as food). And deformities in fish (except in large size) is like them wearing a sign that says "Eat Me", cause predators key in on differences/weaknesses.

Personally, if Hubbs wants to keep funding the rearing and releasing of troubled species, I am all for it.

01-22-2016, 04:16 PM	#1
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	I chose the 20 year time frame because the the initial releases from the mission bay facility, pre Carlsbad hatchery, were small. I do not have the release and rrecovery data right in front of me. But I have seen it recently. The majority of recovered tagged wsb are juveniles that have come from the Hubbs gill netting survey and from fish killed in power plants rather than adult legal sized fish caught by anglers. I believe tagged fish recovered peaked '08 at 30 fish. Over the last 4 years the recoveries have been in single digits. I dont know the total number of wsb released since 1986. More than 2 million I'm sure. It's a big ocean and this is a complicated program. But after 2 million fish released to recover less than 10 for four years straight indicates very low survival. Clearly I do not have access to all the data nor the expertice to analyze it all. The low numbers of adult fish recovered in relation to the numbers of juveniles release is a bad sign. Factor in the mortality, euthenasia, and levels of deformity and is appears the program is producing low quality fish with very little chance of survival. I'll be looking forward to the SAC final draft. I have nothing to do with the coast keepers and haven't heard any thing they have to say about the program. Mike

01-24-2016, 04:01 PM	#2
GregAndrew Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2,384	I would guess that only about 1-5% of WSB caught are actually scanned for tags. But let's say it is 20% for arguments sake. That would put the actual catch of tagged WSB at around 100 per year if all were scanned right? Considering the attrition rate of any inshore species before reaching adulthood, I would consider it an accomplishment if the total number of released fish in the coastal population was 1,000 of the 1,000,000 released. Just like Sea Turtles, of the thousands hatched only a handful make it to adult size. If you think that all 1,000,000 were supposed to make it to 50lbers you need to consider the real fish world. Also, the idea that any sickness is going to be transferred from these hatch-lings to the adult population is pretty nearsighted. There will be nearly zero chance of interaction of the juveniles with the adults (except as food). And deformities in fish (except in large size) is like them wearing a sign that says "Eat Me", cause predators key in on differences/weaknesses. Personally, if Hubbs wants to keep funding the rearing and releasing of troubled species, I am all for it.