Salmon Returned to The Penobscot! 1000+ and Counting !!!

[taxid]

Grilse include both males & females, Grilse are just adult salmon (after the smolt stage) that are returning to freshwater after 1 winter at sea for the first time to spawn I believe, whereas multi sea winter salmon (MSW) are larger adults (over 24") that have spent multiple winters in the ocean and are possible repeat spawners.

Thanks I knew all that except the fact that grilse can be male AND females. Good information! And I was assuming the net pens operations were triploids but that may not be the case with salmon.

Here in Indiana we have an indoor recirculating system farm that raises genetically altered salmon. The home office of the corporation is in Massachusetts. They probably got a steal on the massive fish farm as the farm that started out raising yellow perch filed bankruptcy. Typically the equipment at bankrupt fish farms sell for 10 cents on the dollar so I'm sure the entire operational farm was a steal too.  The investors of the perch farm pumped in 20 millions dollars! That's what happens when you are naive enough to think you can compete with commercial perch fisherman that don't have the overhead you do. One thing I learned being an aquaculture association president: rich investors are not necessarily smarter with their money than us paupers! 

It's so amazing that during the early colonial days the salmon runs were so plentiful that farmers could easily harvest them with pitchforks. And servants had clauses not get fed salmon too often!

[seamonkey84]

I could be wrong but would guess the farm raised and pen raised salmon are sterile triploid females? If so they obviously wouldn't be much good for wild fish planting. And they are probably selectively bred for captive rearing which may not suit them for the wild. Additionally the males have a lower dress out weight and some of the males peak out at much smaller sizes. I think they are known as grilse? I think we in the Great lakes have a King Salmon counterpart know as jack salmon.

If they only raise triploids then they won’t spawn with the wilds. If they get one or two pens to hold wild salmon genetics, (give a tax break or something for conservation) and plant them directly into the spawning grounds when the time comes, that would produce a large influx of wild salmon young that have the chance to have a natural lifecycle. I think that would be more successful than just planting a bunch of hatchlings in spring. A few hundred or thousand spawning pairs being planted vs a few thousand fingerlings.

[taxid]

If they only raise triploids then they won’t spawn with the wilds. If they get one or two pens to hold wild salmon genetics, (give a tax break or something for conservation) and plant them directly into the spawning grounds when the time comes, that would produce a large influx of wild salmon young that have the chance to have a natural lifecycle. I think that would be more successful than just planting a bunch of hatchlings in spring. A few hundred or thousand spawning pairs being planted vs a few thousand fingerlings.

It sounds like it but I would defer to the experts as it would seem they would know from trial and error or research?

[TightLinesMaine]

If they only raise triploids then they won’t spawn with the wilds. If they get one or two pens to hold wild salmon genetics, (give a tax break or something for conservation) and plant them directly into the spawning grounds when the time comes, that would produce a large influx of wild salmon young that have the chance to have a natural lifecycle. I think that would be more successful than just planting a bunch of hatchlings in spring. A few hundred or thousand spawning pairs being planted vs a few thousand fingerlings.

I think the issue with that is a. It's more expensive then egg planting (which has proven to work) and fry stocking and b. There may not be any guarantee those "spawning pairs" would successfully spawn in their new transplanted environment.  Just a guess/hunch though idk.

[taxid]

I think the issue with that is a. It's more expensive then egg planting (which has proven to work) and fry stocking and b. There may not be any guarantee those "spawning pairs" would successfully spawn in their new transplanted environment.  Just a guess/hunch though idk.

I think you're right. I believe imprinting is very strong in salmon. In fact I read where on the west coast they purposely have imprinted the hatchery produced salmon to come back to an area in the open sea to net them vs. going back to a natal stream. 

[seamonkey84]

Very true, I would just hope somewhere along the way the farms can help with the wild population, considering all the flack they get. Otherwise give us some of those Frankenstein super salmon to fish for lol.