Atlantic Salmon

[Cheju]

Understand there was a returning Atlantic salmon caught and released on the Farmington River last week. Please remember that these fish are returning to spawn as a part of the restoration effort for Atlantic salmon on the Connecticut River and tributaries and should be carefully released ( don't remove from water) and reported to the Conn. DEP. This is further evidence that the program is working as it is very early for returning spawners, most of which are trapped at the Rainbow dam and used for broodstock. These fish are very valuable as broodstock and should be considered with great awe and respect as they are the gene pool for a unique species, The Connecticut River Atlantic salmon.

Cheju

[IanB]

How can I read more about this effort...truly very exciting!!

I didn't even know there was a program, and I also thought the water would be to warm/not the best habitat for Atlantic salmon?

If anyone does catch one....please oh please follow the guidelines for keeping this fish safe for this 'recovery effort' !

[Cheju]

Try www.ctriversalmon.org for info on the Connecticut River restoration and the Atlantic Salmon Federation for general Atlantic salmon conservation.

Cheju

[jewmont3]

I worked on that project for two years a few years ago now. Its not very early for the return. Some years are better then others but overall the program has been going for almost 30 years now I believe. There are too many dams in the way. The CT river never really had a great salmon run in the first place way back in the day. Right now no wild salmon spawn on their own. All fish pass through a fish way and are caught and sent to the Cronan fish hatchery ( U.S. Fish and Wildlife) in sunderland, ma. There they are spawned out by hand and raised to go back into the CT tributaries. Because they do not get enough fry to stock back into the system they also get fry in the spring from White River in Vermont to supplement the stocking efforts. The young salmon do great in the streams for 1 to 3 years before heading out to sea as smolts. It is out at sea where they run into problems. No one knows what happens to them after that but data shows that when striper populations rise the salmon decline and when the stripers decline the salmon return rises.


-Mike