Based on early data, GPFA has been able to substantially increase the amount of Phillips River chinook to a more stable number. GPFA has also increased the diversity of chinook types in the Phillips population. This all suggests that the GPFA and the S1 program is helping to conserve both the wild Phillips chinook population itself and its unique biological and genetic history (which would be irreplaceable if lost). Additionally, the local recreational and aboriginal fisheries will see benefits from an increase in chinook salmon in the area. However, the high amount of hatchery fish compared to wild fish is troubling as it may cause the wild fish to be overrun by hatchery fish and have harmful effects on the unique wild fish that they are trying to save. Nonetheless, the odds of this happening decreases if the S1 fish do succeed in contributing offspring to the wild population- especially in the stream-type that currently has a low population of wild fish. The government and the GPFA are taking special care to monitor this ratio and the program will not be considered a success if this problem persists.
There is a lot of time and money invested by many people to ensure that the operations of the GPFA runs smoothly. Is it worth it? (GPFA 2012)
It is important to consider that not all of the chinooks from a single release year have returned yet due to the variability in return years of chinook salmon. Full success of the S1 will not be able to be fully determined until all the fish from a release year have returned, which is expected to have occurred this past fall. The early data outlined is promising but needs to see a larger proportion of wild chinooks in the population to validate the rationale of this program. As a result of the vigorous monitoring carried out by the GPFA, the next couple years of S1 returns will reveal if the program lives up to our metrics of success. Rupert, Carol and the countless volunteers will continue their efforts until this job is done. If successful, we believe the S1 chinook program has the potential to be a key tool for helping struggling chinook populations throughout the Pacific that are experiencing similar problems to the Phillips river chinook salmon.
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