Semi-natural rearing of coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), smolts, with an assessment of survival to the catch and escapement

Abstract. To assess the merits of rearing coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), smolts semi-naturally, trials were made in which 17 groups of tagged smolts, from 4 brood years, were raised on a partially natural diet in a semi-natural habitat. Their subsequent survival, as determined from catch and escapement, was compared with that of four groups of smolts, from the same brood years, raised by a conventional hatchery method. The returns of the semi-natural fish proved lower than or similar to those of the hatchery fish, which attained a maximum survival to catch and escapement of 26%. The survival of the semi-natural fish showed no relation to their location in their linear rearing facility, nor to size of smolt (within a narrow range). Further trials showed that a month's delay in release of the semi-natural fish did not increase returns, contrary to a current predictive model. The distribution of the catches of both kinds of fish was broadly similar in the troll and sport fisheries. It is concludedthat semi-natural rearing of coho smolts is not superior to that of standard hatchery procedures, although it may be favoured for specific locations that lend themselves to this approach.