Fish Eggs to Fry - Week 2 Update

The salmon eggs have started hatching! Tuesday, October 29, one little salmon had emerged. Today, several more burst forth. It won’t be long and they will all have hatched. Stop by either Bay City or Garibaldi Branch Libraries to see these little wonders grow and change.

Handouts (will vary weekly):

Resource list - To learn more, visit your library
Instructions for how to play the stick game from the traditional Grand Ronde story, “The Salmon and the Eel”. - Check out the book to read the full story. Visit the Bay City or Garibaldi Branch Library to play the game.

Tank updates for Bay City (BC) & Garibaldi (G) as of 10/30/24:

Number of eggs received: BC-250, G-250
Water temperature: BC-52, G-53
Thermal Units (TUs): BC-872, G-880

Note: Salmon eggs mature based on water temperature. Salmon maturity is measured in TUs. One TU is accumulated for each degree over 320F. To calculate TUs, you will need the accumulated TUs and the daily water temperature. If the water temperature is 520F, 20 TUs will accumulate each day (water temperature 0F minus 32 = TU). Example: 10/22/24 TUs = 712 & water temperature at Garibaldi this morning was 530 . The equation to get TUs for today is (712+53-32 = 733 TUs for 10/23/24). Tomorrow, 733 will be our starting TUs in the equation at Garibaldi.

Mortalities (Morts): BC-Eggs 1, Fry 0, G-Eggs 4, Fry 1

Note: Egg and Fry mortality means how many eggs or hatched fry died in the tank.

Salmon trivia question:

Question: What is the largest type of salmon?

Answer: Chinook/King Salmon are the largest and get up to about 58” long and about 126 pounds. While the Chinook may be the largest in North America, there are larger species in Asia. The eggs we are hatching at the library branches are Spring Chinook from the Trask River Hatchery.

Visuals:

The newly hatched salmon are called “Alevins”. Alevins carry their yolk sacs, which hold all the food they need for this life stage. It’s like carrying a lunch box! How many Alevins can you spot in the photos?