Peter Gray Hatchery Update
February 2018
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Hatchery Update
February is in the books and boy did it go fast! As you can see above, our hatchery's namesake is featured with some of his prized poultry. You may find yourself asking why I have a picture of a man holding chickens as the first photo on this hatchery update? Well...because it's
Peter Gray
...and chickens...and the rest of the report is about something else he loved --and that's Atlantic
salmon
! It also speaks to the fact that the man was a renowned judge of the quality of animals - a quality of salmon that we pride ourselves on replicating for all the "little athletes" produced at the
Peter Gray Hatchery
each year.
So what are salmon up to in February? Well, the adults are either overwintering in a lake or they made their way back out to sea after spawning in the fall. The eggs they deposited in the river gravel are starting to eye up and the little, baby salmon are growing every day inside the eggs. Those eyed eggs are what we currently have in our hatcheries' egg trays. They will stay in the trays until they hatch from their eggs, transforming into alevin. At that point we will transfer them to our
substrate incubation boxes
that mimic a natural redd (more about the boxes in next month's hatchery update).
The final take of eggs for the 2018 rearing season are being added to each hatchery today. For those of you that are new to these updates, DSF operates two Atlantic salmon hatcheries: the
Peter Gray Hatchery
in East Machias, ME and our
Pleasant River Fish Hatchery
in Columbia Falls, ME.
Egg Planting
Because we currently don't have the facility capacity to raise fall parr in our Pleasant River Fish Hatchery we use a couple different stocking techniques in that river system. One of those techniques we have done now for a few years is
egg planting
. T
his link will take you to a few videos showing the process.
In short, we partner with the Jonesboro office of Maine DMR and using a water pump and steel pipe, bore holes in the spawning shoals of the upper Pleasant River. In these holes we add eyed eggs received from the USFWS at Craig Brook. As the cones are pulled out of the gravel, the eggs settle among the rocks and then are covered by the gravel, protecting them from the elements. This year we planted 105,318 eyed eggs into the upper Pleasant River.
The goal of this process is to make "man-made" redds that mimic those of a wild, female Atlantic salmon. As these eggs hatch into alevin, and then fry, they start their
lifecycle
in the river, just as if they were placed there by a spawning Atlantic salmon. Here at DSF, along with our many partners in the salmon world of Downeast Maine, we are continually trying new ways of accelerating Atlantic salmon restoration in Maine.
Fish Friends
Every year DSF works with local schools under the Fish Friends program. This program gives participating schools 200 salmon eggs to raise in their classroom. DSF utilizes this as an outreach tool, interacting with each school three different times throughout the spring. Presentations are given about the salmon lifecycle, incubation in the wild and the hatchery, and at stocking time we do an in-river search for aquatic insects before releasing the little salmon each school has raised. This year we have eight schools that DSF is mentoring along this process.
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Hatchery Expansion
We're chugging along on the ride that is the hatchery expansion and we are making some headway. Indian author and motivational speaker, Shiv Khera, said it this way: "Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success."
We have seen many successes from the first 6 years of the
Peter Gray Parr Project
and
we fully plan on continuing those results on the road to Atlantic salmon restoration in the East Machias River.
We are committed to making it happen and with the continued
support
from all of you, the salmon have a great ally.
The majority of the lighting has been installed into the expansion. LED fixtures were chosen to keep our energy footprint as low as possible. The moisture resistant drywall has been installed and over top of that the waterproof wall material will be applied.
As I've mentioned in previous reports, this expansion will allow the salmon growing in the
Peter Gray Hatchery
to be spread out into more tanks. We will be going from having 10 tanks on station to 25 tanks! Decreasing the densities in each tank will help lower the stress of the salmon and give them an even better environment to develop into the "little athletes" that will survive in the East Machias River, and later, the Atlantic Ocean. Lean, mean swimming machines!
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Thomas & Thomas Fly Rod Purchase Supports the Peter Gray Parr Project
There are a few different ways to help save wild American Atlantic salmon. One way is to purchase a Thomas & Thomas fly rod--for yourself or as a gift for someone special!
With two-handed rods seeming ubiquitous on many famous salmon and steelhead rivers, at times it seems as though single-hander’s have been forgotten. That’s not the case at T&T. The “Salmon and Steelhead Special” rods are designed to offer salmon and steelhead anglers the ultimate balance of sensitivity and fish fighting prowess. These rods are deadly accurate for dry fly work and still perfectly capable of lifting a long line off the water as you step and swing flies through the pool.
The medium fast action facilitates smooth, controlled casts, even with highly wind resistant flies. Strength in the lower sections of the rod enables good hook setting and provides the power to battle these magnificent migratory fish.
To purchase this or another gift, or to donate to this effort to restore Atlantic salmon, please visit
www.wildatlanticsalmon.org
.
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As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to reach out to me at zach@mainesalmonrivers.org. I hope this hatchery update finds you well and you enjoyed reading about the
Peter Gray Parr Project
. Thank you for all you have done, and continue to do, in the pursuit of Atlantic salmon restoration!
Kind Regards,
Zach Sheller
Hatchery Manager
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There is a short Parr Project video on our website
HERE.
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DONATE TODAY!
If you believe in the importance of restoring Atlantic salmon to our U.S. rivers, then please consider making a gift to the Peter Gray Parr Project. We will be continuing our work to restore salmon to Downeast Maine and would appreciate your help! Click
HERE
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Leave a Legacy by
Making a Planned Gift to DSF
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A planned gift to Downeast Salmon Federation is a wonderful way to contribute to the health of our rivers and fisheries for future generations while also meeting your financial goals. You can create a legacy gift that will help DSF continue to improve river ecology, restore Atlantic salmon populations, increase fish passage, run educational programs, and much more. Click on the link below for more information about planned giving.
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Wild Atlantic salmon numbers in the U.S. have been at a record low, but DSF is working to bring them back. Please support our work by
becoming a member
of the Downeast Salmon Federation. Together, we can restore sea-run fisheries in Maine.
Downeast Salmon Federation
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www.wildatlanticsalmon.org
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