Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) ocean ranching maintains valuable fisheries and compensates the North Pacific Ecosystem for freshwater habitat loss. These anadromous fish spawn, incubate eggs and early rear in streams, rivers and lakes around the North Pacific Rim. Following early rearing they smolt and migrate seaward to productive ocean waters where they spend the majority of their life and put on over 95% of their body weight. In the southern portion of their range freshwater habitat is heavily impacted by dams, logging, agriculture, urbanization and pollution resulting in low natural production requiring hatchery smolt production to maintain fisheries. In the Northern portion of their range hatchery production is utilized to enhance fisheries. Since 1990 combined mitigation and enhancement production has leveled out around 5 billion fish (Figure 1). This production level is about 17-20% of the overall North Pacific salmon population with combined hatchery and wild production being less than historic levels (Figure 2). During their first spring and summer at sea Pacific Salmon reside in the productive nearshore epipelagic zone feeding on zooplankton as well as crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), cephalopods (squid) and fish larvae. In turn they are a crucial food source for breeding marine birds, nursing seals, porpoise, dolphins and baleen whales. Following their initial spring-summer entry they progress to larger prey and in turn are preyed upon by additional predators including lamprey, sharks, sealions beluga and killer whales. Many of these avian and marine mammal predators dependent on salmon productivity are legally protected and/or charismatic fauna with high economic value to the tourist, wildlife viewing and film industries. The negative impact current salmon production has on crab, shrimp and squid fisheries is likely less than historic levels. Resource managers establishing hatchery smolt release numbers should consider both their ecosystem and fishery value with the goal of maintaining overall smolt production at historic levels.