Trout and Salmon Culture

Salmonid Life Cycle

Commonly Cultured Trout Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Brown TroutBrown Trout Salmo trutta Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis

Trout Culture

Stages of Culture - Trout Broodstock Spawning Egg incubation Fry culture Fingerling production Growout

Broodstock Females are 2 to 3 years old –Can be used for more than one year but may have decreased egg quality and quantity Males are 2 to 3 years old –Can be used several times in one spawning season but not for more than one year

Dry Spawning

Eggs “Green eggs” = eggs from 48 hours post- spawn to eyed stage Can be shipped in plastic eggs at 38°F Ship eggs wrapped in damp cheese cloth Chill with ice and let water drip onto eggs

Egg Incubation

Trout – Sac Fry = Alevins

Size Grading

Trout Fingerling Production

Trout Growout RacewaysRaceways PondsPonds CagesCages Tri-Omega Trout Farm, Pisgah National Forest in Transylvania, NC

Trout Raceways in NC

Trout Raceways In Idaho

Trout Pond Culture

Trout Tank Culture

Marketing Trout Fee fishing Live hauling Filet products

Fee Fishing

Live Hauling

Fillet Products

Salmon Culture

There are six species of salmon in the Pacific Northwest. The largest salmon, the Chinook, can reach over 6 feet in length and weighs over 100 pounds.

Atlantic Salmon stock enhancement - collection of wild broodstock

In the fall, salmon deposit eggs in the gravel of flowing streams. Eggs hatch in the spring, and the alevin grow quickly. Later, the fingerlings continue to grow toward maturity in the streams near their birthplace. When they become strong enough to swim in rushing currents, and quick enough to escape their enemies, the salmon begin migrating to the sea. Salmon can grow to be over 100 pounds as they feast in the nutrient- rich waters of the ocean. When full grown, the beautiful, silvery fish begin their migration back to the waters of their birth. As they get closer to their spawning grounds, salmon change in their appearance. Some salmon travel over 1000 miles to lay their eggs. After spawning (laying eggs), the salmon die sometimes inches from where they were hatched! Amazing instincts! The Salmon Life Cycle

Commonly Cultured Salmon Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Atlantic salmon hatchery

Stages of Salmon Culture Spawning Egg incubation Fry culture Fingerling production Growout

Salmon Egg Incubation

Sac Fry Culture

Tiny alevin grow quickly after being hatched. When they are as long as your fingernail, they are called fry, and look like real fish! Whey they get to be about as long as your longest finger, they are given a new name -- smolt. As the smolt grow, they eventually begin their migration to the ocean. Alevin Smolt Ocean Bound!

Salmon Fingerling Production

Salmon Growout ExtensiveExtensive Net PensNet Pens Hills Island Salmon Farm, Canada

Salmon - Extensive Culture Culture fingerlings in tanks Stock fingerlings (smolts) into native streams Fish will migrate to the ocean and undergo smoltification Fish will live in open ocean for approximately 3 years Fish will return to stream they were planted (chloramine-T, Seattle) Can be harvested when they return and before they die Approximately 1 in 1000 return

Salmon - Net Pen Culture

Salmon Net Pens Stocking density usually between 8 – 14 kg/cubic meter, but research has shown that 75 kg/cubic meter may be feasible! Feeding by hand, or electronic (SONAR) Atlantic salmon represent 80% of net pen operations in the Pacific Northwest and Canada Atlantic salmon???? –Better FCR, higher survival, better dressout %. Escapees of Atlantic salmon into Pacific Ocean –A threat to Pacific salmon? –Not yet! Escapees experience high mortality, poor reproduction, do not spawn with Pacific salmon

Salmon Processing

Marketing Fillets

Total production 23,067,973 metric tons & valued at US $ 31,565,104,100 in 2000 FILTER FEEDING CYPRINIDS PELLET FEEDING CYPRINIDS OTHER FRESHWATER FISHES SALMONIDS TILAPIA MARINE FISHES CATFISHES MILKFISH EELS Figure Total finfish aquaculture production by major species groups in 2000 (values expressed as % by weight) CATFISH

Credits Pictures and diagrams found in this photo essay are courtesy of: The Alaskan Department of Fish and Game The Washington Department of Fish and Game The Army Corps of Engineers The US National Marine Fisheries

These salmon are on their way to the ocean where they may live for 1-5 years, depending on the species, before returning to the rivers and streams to spawn (lay eggs). Only one salmon out of a thousand salmon survives to return to the river to spawn. What are some possible reasons why such a small percentage of salmon actually live long enough to lay eggs?

Going home! These salmon are on their way back to the waters of their birth. Scientists do not know how salmon find the exact location of their birthplace, but their sense of smell (and the chemical signature of the waters) is an important cue. Along the way are many hazards – some more hungry than others!

Replenishing Nutrients When salmon die after spawning, they provide nutrients to plants and animals near the rivers in which they swam. It has been found that 20 % of the nitrogen (an important element for all living things) in evergreen trees that grow next to salmon spawning waters in Alaska actually was carried upstream with salmon. These nutrients are essentially transported from the ocean to the headwaters by the salmon.