Peter Gray Hatchery Report

June 2017

Welcome, and thank you, for reading June's Peter Gray Hatchery Report. I hope you find our hatchery update informative and entertaining. Of course there are always pictures to look at as well.

June in Downeast Maine is the transition from Spring to Summer. The days get longer, the sun gets higher in the sky, and temperatures start to warm. Fortunately for us here at the Peter Gray Hatchery and the "little athletes" swimming in our tanks, June also included some rain, cooler nights, and overcast days to help keep the river a little cooler through most of June. Cooler river temperatures mean cooler temperatures in the Peter Gray Hatchery, which equals less stress on the 300,000+ plus fish that are growing in our black rearing tanks.

As seen by the picture above, our genetically river-specific East Machias Atlantic salmon (say that five times fast) are growing since their emergence from the incubation boxes into our tanks this May. Distinctly visible are the vertical bars along the side of the salmon. These markings stay with the salmon during their entire life in the river, providing important camouflage among the rocks of the river. The coloration of our fish in the Peter Gray Hatchery is the same as their wild counterparts thanks to the black rearing tanks we utilize. If you look closely between the dorsal (back) fin and the caudal (tail) fin you will see the adipose fin. This is the fin that every fish stocked from the Peter Gray Hatchery has clipped off. This fin clipping is how we distinguish our fish from wild fish, thereby generating all the population information we now have from electrofishing and smolt trapping.

The river is now warming into summer temperatures. Here is hoping there is plenty of rain mixed into the summer sunshine to keep cool water flowing into the hatchery and plenty of water in the rivers for the wild and hatchery origin fish already living in the river.

Smolt Trapping

The 2017 smolt trapping season officially ended on June 9th. As seen in the picture to the right, the rotary screw traps used are now in their off season resting place on the front lawn of the DSF's . If you're interested in taking a look at them, feel free to stop by the Peter Gray Hatchery at 13 Willow Street East Machias, Maine.

We captured 260 new salmon in 2017 making it the highest capture year of the Project's history. Also important to note that the East Machias River had never been smolt trapped prior to the Peter Gray Parr Project. This is an example of how the Project is not only striving to restore Atlantic salmon, but also gathering information on aspects of salmon in Downeast Maine that we didn't know before. Every year we learn more then the year before and sometimes we find out things we didn't even know we didn't know! Mother Nature still has her hidden secrets.

Although I don't have the finalized figure from our friends at Maine DMR and NOAA, the smolt trap season's data is being audited and the population estimation calculated. Preliminary calculations give an estimate that conservatively has hundreds more smolts headed to sea than in 2016 (previously the Project's high smolt population year). This is especially encouraging considering the incredible drought conditions Downeast Maine experienced during last summer and fall. Along with the final smolt population estimate, the data collected during this year's smolt trapping will also give us the age distribution of our smolt population. This is important because we are trying to produce salmon that act as wild as possible, so our goal is to produce P20 and P32 smolt (hatchery produced fish that have spent 20 and 32 months in the river), which are the equivalent to wild age 2 and age 3 smolt. Adequate amounts of in-river experience will aid our fish on their epic journey to the feeding grounds off West Greenland and back to their natal river.

Final Smolt Captures For the 2017 Trapping Season

210 hatchery origin smolts - These are smolts that came from the Peter Gray Hatchery - aka "little athletes".
48 wild origin smolts - These are smolts resulting from natural spawning or limited amounts of fry stocking.
2 unknown origin smolt
51 recaps - We use a mark-recapture method that helps determine the capture efficiency of our smolt traps. These salmon are fish that were captured, worked up, released above the trap, and recaptured.

Expansion

As I sit here and type this report, the first concrete for our hatchery expansion is being poured into the forms for the footers. This day has been long anticipated and we are excited to be entering this phase of the construction process. After the footers have cured the stem walls will be poured and we will be well on our way towards pouring the slab for our expansion. With a cured slab we will be able to begin constructing the walls and roof. The only way to go is up from this point!

This expansion will allow the salmon growing in the Peter Gray Hatchery to be spread out into more 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!

Funders have generously donated to get us started, but we are continuing to raise funds for the expansion project to ensure it is completed this year. If you would like to contribute to this very important Project please visit here.

Pleasant River Hatchery

The last of the 2017 cohort of salmon being raised at our Pleasant River Hatchery were stocked in early June. This hatchery facility is where DSF first started raising endangered Atlantic salmon in 1990. Those basement walls have seen the evolution of DSF's hatchery progression.

Between the egg planting done in the upper river's spawning shoals and the fry stocked in the lower portions of the river, the Pleasant River will have salmon swimming around its riffles for years to come. If you'd like to visit DSF's Columbia Falls location the address is: 187 Main Street Columbia Falls, Maine 04623.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, and/or comments feel free to reach out to me at zach@mainesalmonrivers.org.

I hope this report 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!

I hope everyone enjoys an excellent July 4th!

Regards,

Zach Sheller

Downeast Salmon Federation

Hatchery Manager

If you'd like to read more on the Parr Project's beginnings and future please read our Parr Project Booklet. .

There is a short Parr Project video on our website HERE.

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 for 2017. We will be continuing our work to restore salmon to Downeast Maine and would appreciate your help! Click HERE

Leave a Legacy by Making a Planned Gift to DSF

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.

Planned Giving

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

www.mainesalmonrivers.org