VALLEJO — State conservationists hope a million Chinook salmon will call San Pablo Bay their home this fall after being introduced there this week.
Truckloads of these fish, known as smolts, were released Monday, but only after sunset to reduce bird predation, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release Friday.
Source: CDFW
“Our hope is that these fish will contribute to inland harvest and spawning yields for years to come,” said Jason Julienne, a senior environmental scientist at the agency.
California has increased production at its hatcheries to offset poor environmental conditions in recent years, which have contributed to low salmon stocks and the closure of recreational and commercial salmon fishing seasons, the Wildlife Agency said.
The salmon were transported in tanker trucks from the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville to the waterfront campus of the California State University Maritime Academy in Vallejo.
Twenty-five percent of smolts bear coded wire tags and a small dorsal fin is clipped to indicate the origin of their breeding site. The coded wire tags will help CDFW scientists and hatchery managers evaluate the release, the agency said.
