Are hatcheries bad for wild salmon?

We've been talking a good bit recently about Alaska's network of big salmon hatcheries, and specifically their expansion plans.

Hatcheries are always good for debate, and certainly the fish talk will be running strong this week in Portland, where a four-day conference starts tonight on this intriguing topic: "Ecological interactions between wild and hatchery salmon."

None other than Tom Brokaw is slated to deliver welcoming comments this evening.

The agenda includes a number of speakers with a history of involvement with Alaska salmon including Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington; Greg Ruggerone of Natural Resources Consultants Inc.; John Burke of the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association; and Rich Brenner, Steve Moffitt and Eric Volk of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Deckboss is especially interested in Volk's topic: "Balancing benefits and risks of large-scale hatchery salmon production in Alaska."

Click here to learn more about the conference and see the agenda.