Release to Rivers

truck and hose completing release of hatchery fishHatchery Success!

When fish reared at Pen Rearing or Salmon River Fish Culture Facility are ready to be released to their watershed, QDFi staff either dip or pump the smolts into a tank on a truck. They are transported to a suitable pond in the watershed where they can be held (using a bag dam or other means) for a week or two and fed, giving the smolts time to imprint on their natal environment. Then the dam is removed and they are free to begin their out-migration.