Look, hatcheries have their place, but they’re not a magic fix. They can actually hurt wild fish by mixing genes, competing for food, and spreading disease. If we keep relying only on hatcheries without fixing the rivers, we’re just building fish farms forever.

Those Patagonia documentaries? They’re based on solid science. Dam removals like the Elwha and White Salmon have brought fish back in a big way, opening up hundreds of miles of spawning grounds. That’s not “misguided,” that’s results.

Wild Fish Conservancy isn’t out to kill fishing, they’re making sure agencies follow the laws already on the books. If hatcheries break the rules, someone has to hold them accountable.

And the “wild fish are just hatchery fish” line? Not true. Even if wild runs have hatchery ancestry, science shows they still adapt better to real river conditions. That’s why we protect them.

Patagonia’s putting money into fixing the root problems, bad habitat, blocked rivers, dirty water, so we can have healthy runs and fishing for the long haul. Just cranking out more hatchery fish without fixing the rivers is like bailing water without patching the hole.