SOCKEYE SALMON- Net Pens

Over the course of their lives, Sockeye Salmon carry out one of the longest fish migrations in the world. But each year, their numbers dwindle and conservationists worry that this migration may be coming to an end. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

One effort to restore the Sockeye migration is taking place on Idaho’s Redfish Lake, where scientists hand raise the fish in protected nets.

“Right now, we’re approaching the net pens on Redfish Lake. And what the net pens are are submerged nets, they’re about 40 feet deep. And we’ve placed sockeye salmon- and they’re about a year old- in these nets to adapt themselves to this environment.”

Sylvia Hamilton is a field technician with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

“Within the next few weeks here, we will release these fish to start their migration to the ocean, which actually won’t happen until next spring so they’ll spend the winter in the lake and then when they reach the stage in their life called the smolt, which means their bodies are changing and adapting to salt water survival, they will leave Redfish Lake, go out Redfish Lake Creek and then into the Salmon river where they’ll start their 900 plus mile migration out to the ocean.”

For the next few weeks, Sylvia and other technicians will feed the fish and protect them from predators. But it’ll be a few years before they know for sure whether their efforts have paid off.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

SOCKEYE SALMON- Net Pens

One of the world's longest fish migrations is getting a little help from conservationists.
Air Date:09/29/1999
Scientist:
Transcript:

Over the course of their lives, Sockeye Salmon carry out one of the longest fish migrations in the world. But each year, their numbers dwindle and conservationists worry that this migration may be coming to an end. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

One effort to restore the Sockeye migration is taking place on Idaho's Redfish Lake, where scientists hand raise the fish in protected nets.

"Right now, we're approaching the net pens on Redfish Lake. And what the net pens are are submerged nets, they're about 40 feet deep. And we've placed sockeye salmon- and they're about a year old- in these nets to adapt themselves to this environment."

Sylvia Hamilton is a field technician with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

"Within the next few weeks here, we will release these fish to start their migration to the ocean, which actually won't happen until next spring so they'll spend the winter in the lake and then when they reach the stage in their life called the smolt, which means their bodies are changing and adapting to salt water survival, they will leave Redfish Lake, go out Redfish Lake Creek and then into the Salmon river where they'll start their 900 plus mile migration out to the ocean."

For the next few weeks, Sylvia and other technicians will feed the fish and protect them from predators. But it'll be a few years before they know for sure whether their efforts have paid off.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.