Fish Eggs to Fry: Week 7 Update

Greetings everyone,

Well, this will be our last weekly update.  Next week, we’ll be releasing the fry! 

Join us Wednesday, December 11, 3:00pm, at Al Griffin Memorial Park in Bay City to help set them free.  Tillamook Estuaries Partnership will be hosting a special Explore Nature program at the release. 

Tank updates for Bay City (BC) & Garibaldi (G) as of 12/4/24:

Water temperature: BC-52, G-51

Thermal Units (TUs): BC-1,572, G-1,1596

Mortalities (Morts): BC-Eggs 0, Fry 20*, G-Eggs 0, Fry 2**

The egg sacs on the fry at both Bay City and Garibaldi are almost completely absorbed.

*Bay City suffered a small die off this week.  They have changed out some water and are monitoring closely.  This sometimes happens.

**Garibaldi had one that got trapped in the pump intake and perished.  We also had one that was struggling right before we closed for the holiday.  We removed both to prevent tank contamination.  We’ve also lowered the chiller temperature two degrees in stages. Since fry growth is measured in thermal units (heat), we are attempting to slow their growth to so their bellies finish closing up right about the time we plan on releasing them.  

Salmon trivia question:

Question: What happens if a salmon cannot find its stream?

Answer: Some salmon will try to find the right stream until they use up all their energy and die but most would simply try to find other salmon to spawn with.  These fish stray into other streams to spawn if they are lucky.

Question: Why do salmon change color when they spawn?

Answer: Salmon change color to attract a spawning mate.

Visuals:

How much of their egg sacs can you see?

Video link:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/SmGLaQoy1yzBMoNq8 

Handouts:

• Salmon release observation sheet…

More to come next week! Click here to go back to the Fish Eggs to Fry weekly update page.