Salmon Stocking
This years purchase of Atlantic Salmon from the Chateauqay fish hatchery has
been placed on hold. According to Garth Stephen, due to predators (a family
of otters) and drought conditions the Chateauqay Hatchery has lost 400 of
the 500 Salmon he had set aside for us to stock this fall into Lake George.
We have decided at our November meeting that we want the balance of 100
salmon to stock in the spring of 2002.
On a good note the 3,000 salmon held at the Warren County Fish Hatchery in
Warrensburg have been stocked on October 30th and 31st. The salmon were
healthy ranging from 10 -12 inches.
The process started at the Warren County Fish Hatchery with the netting and
weighing of the salmon which were then loaded into the holding tanks on the
truck and transported to the lake. Water temperature at the hatchery pond
was measured to be 45 degrees which was the same as the temperature of the
water in the tanks on the truck. When the fish arrived the meeting place on
Lake George two empty tanks were placed on the DEC Barge and filled with
lake water. The temperature of the lake water at that time was 56 degrees.
Water was then taken from the holding tanks on the truck and mixed with the
water in the tanks on the barge to buffer the temperatures to within 7-10
degrees. This was done to minimized shock to the salmon while transferring
them. The salmon were then transferred from the truck tanks to the barge
tanks. Once completed the barge left the dock and while underway to the
locations picked by Bill Miller for the actual stocking, sample measuring of
the 100 salmon were taken. Upon arrival at the select locations on the lake
the salmon were netted from the tanks and placed into the lake.
Senior Aquatic Biologist Bill Miller said we made history today with the
largest salmon ever stocked in Lake George.
Respectfully Submitted;
Michael Mollica
|
