Pacific Salmon Hatchery Release Records With Coded Wire Tags

Release data for groups of Pacific salmon, both tagged and untagged, from hatcheries and other sites. Fisheries and Oceans Canada maintains this centralized database, with information submitted by state, provincial, and federal agencies. The dataset was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling salmon survival rates by analyzing release group size and associated unique tag codes.
• Tracking hatchery contributions to fisheries by joining release data with recovery and catch records.
• Identifying release site patterns using the 12-character alpha-numeric identifiers for untagged groups.
• Analyzing agency-specific release practices from data submitted by the responsible state, provincial, or federal bodies.

Strengths

• Data is centralized in a regional Oracle database, ensuring consistent structure.
• Includes both coded-wire-tagged and untagged release groups for complete coverage.
• Managed by a national government agency (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) with regular updates.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column details, and temporal coverage range are unknown.
• Data completeness relies on submission from multiple external agencies, which may introduce variability.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region's Coded-Wire Tag (CWT) database.

Collection Method

Information submitted to the Regional Mark Processing Center (RMPC) by responsible state, provincial, or federal agencies upon fish release.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Updated in March 2026, indicating active maintenance.

Geography

Pacific Region (likely coastal Canada and adjacent waters).