Save the salmon!

Keith took a class called "Wild About Salmon" through the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. I tagged along and this is what we did!

This is the fish trap at the south fork of the Salmon River. They are Chinook Salmon which are an endangered species. They are 4 years old, were born in this same exact spot, traveled 900+ miles to the ocean where they lived for a few years, and then swam UPSTREAM back to this EXACT spot where they were born. This is where they spawn and die. They are endangered because of some dams that were built along their path to the ocean. It makes it very difficult for them to get to and from the ocean and many die. Because of this, there are a few hatcheries that try to keep the population from becoming extinct. The hatchery fish are marked by the removal of their adipose fin. So at the trap they track the population. Here we are, catching them and tagging them as needed. The blue tube is where we put them to be reviewed and tagged before we send them off to the hatchery or back to the wild.

It you are lucky enough to get a WILD salmon (not born in a hatchery), that has its adipose fin intact, you get to take it down into the stream and release it. The others are kept for stock, to spawn, and for harvest if there is enough.

Yes, I am kissing the fish. Since I did not take the class for credit, the teacher let me stay at the fish trap to watch while the others moved onto another assignment. They were kind enough to let me release a wild fish when they caught one. Only 6% of the salmon returning are wild, all the rest are hatchery fish. We love the WILD SALMON! They are amazing creatures! They live in fresh and salt water, travel 900 miles to live in the ocean, and then travel back to the same spot where they came from! And all this while surviving a slew of dangers, the worst being 8-10 dams in their way. AMAZING! So if you get a rare wild salmon, you give it a kiss as you release it into the stream. Just a little encouragement for them to keep up the great work! HEE HEE!