Yesterday, the Oregon Hatchery Research Center and Oregon State University held a day-long seminar on “hatchboxes” (yes, it seems to be one word). Broadly, a hatchbox is any type of device where fertilized fish eggs can be placed in a river or stream, or right next to it, and be protected at least somewhat until the fry are ready to live in the river. Speakers from academia, government agencies, and tribes discussed their experience with hatchboxes, their pros and cons, and applicability versus traditional hatcheries. I was invited to attend as a board member of the OHRC. I have heard anglers who target coastal anadromous fish advocate for the use of hatchboxes as a way to make up for the loss of natural spawning grounds and was interested in what the science tells us so I made the day trip to Corvallis.

This was my first real introduction to the use of hatchboxes and I am in no position to give a good summary of the science, but I do have some takeaway thoughts. If you are a supporter of hatchery fish, particularly using hatchery fish as broodstock for reintroduction programs, then hatchboxes can fill an important niche. They are a fraction of the cost of hatcheries, can be placed in difficult to access locations, and can potentially acclimate fish to waterways where their parents did not originate.

On the other hand, production volumes are much lower than in hatcheries, system operation is harder to monitor, and fish are released as fry rather than smolts. Unlike fry, smolts can be marked prior to release in a way that allows for later identification by simply looking at the fish.

The biggest issue, of course, is that these are still hatchery fish with all of their problems. One important issue specifically for reintroduction programs is the fact that hatchery fish have much lower reproductive success than wild fish. They spawn at much lower rates.

One key to a successful reintroduction program is to have good quality broodstock that incorporates wild fish genetics which leads to positive outcomes like greater reproductive fitness. Of course, that means harvesting wild fish for use in a hatchery rather than letting them naturally spawn which is problematic at best. If there are enough wild fish to use for broodstock, why not simply place them in the waterway where reintroduction is desired? (Lack of wild fish genetics in broodstock is one of the reasons for the low success rate of the reintroduction program in the Upper Deschutes.)

One scientist also noted that hatchery fish, and their naturally spawned offspring, have higher stray rates than wild fish. So, even if a hatchbox was successful in releasing fry, a high percentage may not return and those that do will likely have low spawning success. On the other hand, short of dam removal, hatchboxes may be the only option for some reintroduction programs. It’s a real delimna and I understand why hatchery and reintroduction supporters are interested in exploring the use of hatchboxes in niche applications. It would be helpful to have some examples of successful use of hatchboxes to help gauge their benefits along with their risks.