Fish Hatchery Genetic Management Techniques: Integrating Theory with Implementation

Abstract

Artificial propagation of fish species in hatcheries has been conducted on a large scale for several decades. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in conservation hatcheries, which aim not only to produce fish for supplementing wild populations but also to preserve the genetic diversity and integrity of threatened or endangered species. Important considerations for the latter are maximizing genetic diversity and effective population size while minimizing inbreeding and adaptation to captivity. Several studies document the theoretical implementation of captive management strategies designed to achieve these goals. However, the practical application of many of these strategies to conservation hatcheries remains challenging, as the majority of the guidelines were developed for small zoo populations. The aims of this review are (1) to survey current fish conservation hatchery managers in order to assess current hatchery practices and goals; (2) to present available management strategies for conservation hatcheries that may minimize the genetic effects of artificial propagation; and (3) to present genetic management options and their trade‐offs to managers developing fish conservation hatcheries. The results of the survey suggest that the majority of the responding conservation and nonconservation hatcheries use random broodstock selection and pairing techniques while valuing the importance of maintaining genetic diversity and effective population size and minimizing inbreeding. This article reviews the application of small‐population management techniques to conservation hatcheries in an effort to increase their utility in recovery plans for endangered fish species.

Forecasting the genetic influences of red drum stock enhancement in South Carolina

“…A hatchery N b of 10 individuals is well below the recommended level in supportive breeding programmes to avoid inbreeding in the wild population as a result of the “Ryman–Laikre effect” (Ryman & Laikre, ). The results from this study demonstrate clear benefits of a large adult N C , as well as obtaining new broodstock from the wild and rearranging genetic pairings between spawning tanks to help mitigate the negative effects of inbreeding since random mating is maintained in the hatchery and buffers the wild population from inbreeding depression because cohorts of stocked fish are less related on average (Fisch, Kozfkay, Ivy, Ryder & Waples, ). Although, if the South Carolina red drum population experiences a substantial abundance reduction ( N C < 500), large‐scale stock enhancement efforts required to restore depressed populations have the potential to reduce the genetic diversity of the population below recommended levels.…”

Evaluation of Effective Number of Breeders and Coancestry among Progeny Produced Using Common Hatchery Mating Strategies

“…; Fisch et al. ). The need for analysis of hatchery mating strategies is increasing as the role of hatcheries changes from supplementing to sustaining fish populations (Ryman ; Naish et al.…”

Saving the spandrels? Adaptive genomic variation in conservation and fisheries management

“…In many ways, the current debate about AGV mirrors discussions from 25 years ago about the relative importance of variation at major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci associated with disease resistance (Miller & Hedrick, 1991). Both passive monitoring and active genetic management have and will continue to play a critical role in conservation and recovery planning of threatened fish species through conservation unit delineation (Waples, 2006), pedigree reconstruction (Abadía-Cardoso et al, 2013) and captive broodstock management (Fraser, 2008;Conrad et al, 2013;Fisch et al, 2015). In addition, the conservation applications of AGV that do exist clearly show that the appropriate use of such technology has the potential to provide significant conservation benefits (Newhouse et al, 2014;Garner et al, 2016).…”