The Main Bay Hatchery is an ADF&G Hatchery that PWSAC operates under contract, located in Main Bay, Prince William Sound, approximately 40 southeast of Whittier.  The hatchery was built in 1981 by the ADF&G Fisheries Rehabilitation, Enhancement and Development (FRED) Division as a chum salmon hatchery.  ADF&G discontinued the chum program in 1986 and switched to a sockeye enhancement program with the goal of producing 20 million sockeye smolts annually.  PWSAC assumed operational control of the hatchery in 1990.  Main Bay was the first sockeye smolt producing hatchery in the world and with that comes lots of trials and errors.  Up to six different sockeye salmon stocks have incubated and reared in the same hatchery building which lead to an incredible amount of hoops to jump through to adhere to the strict Alaska Disease Management Policy.  PWSAC decided to discontinue the Eyak-early and Eshamy-late stocks to concentrate solely on the Coghill-mid stock in 1998.  This decreased the risk of disease, improved fish culture, and may increase marine survival by a percentage or two.  MBH currently produces eight million sockeye salmon.

Dave Robertson is the MBH Hatchery Manager (left picture above) and leads a permanent staff of six on-site year-round, with a seasonal staff of 8 during the summer.  He received his B.S. in Fishery Resources from the University of Idaho 1993.  Dave has worked with PWSAC since 2005 and background includes; Idaho DF&G Clearwater Hatchery 1992-1996, Montana DFW&P Lewistown and Great Falls Hatcheries 1996-2005.

All the Hatchery Managers enjoy giving tours, showing off their hatcheries and the fish, so stop by if you are in the area.  All the hatcheries can be contacted on VHF 16 and SSB 2430.

RED indicates preliminary numbers

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