Keyword: swim-up fry

Photo

FIS001-00102

Snake River sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, at Eagle Fish Hatchery in Eagle, ID. These are ‘swim-up fry’, meaning they’re just a couple months old.

This species was nearly lost to extinction, getting as low as 16 founder fish for the breeding program. Today, hundreds are produced in a hatchery setting, but the fish are still having difficulty making it in the wild, with overfishing, pollution and a series of dams restricting their movement to their spawning grounds near Redfish Lake, ID. This fish has the longest run inland and spawns at the highest altitude, of any sockeye salmon on Earth.