615,000 fall Chinook fry released into the Sacramento River
NCGASA has been on the front line for over five years advocating for the Fry program to be reinstated on Sacramento River and we’re very happy to announce that the Department of U.S. Fish and Wildlife at Coleman National Fish Hatchery is leading the way! We have discussed the Fry program with two different Hatchery managers, three different supervisors, and many biologists & two directors over this timeline. Our group believes in planting fish in the river to RETURN to their home waters.
Trucking salmon from Coleman leads to a 98+% percent stray rate, (never returning to Sac River) and that’s the number one reason we advocate for in river releases to protect the INLAND fishery and returning adult salmon for escapement.
Last week Coleman released approximately 615,000 fall Chinook fry into the Sacramento River. This was the first of three fry releases that will occur this season. These experimental releases are being done to study the possibility of increasing adult returns to the main stem Sacramento River.
“This project will allow us to study the potential of generating additional adult returns to spawn naturally in the Sacramento River by releasing fry. We’re excited to provide these additional salmon to increase recreational opportunities for fishermen and women here in California.” – Paul Souza, the regional director who covers the California – Great Basin Region.
More: http://ow.ly/h2CO50Hg4cw
Watch a video of small fish swimming underwater with some plants visible in the foreground on the Coleman Hatchery’s Facebook page.
