SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 14, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — This year’s spawning run of the kokanee salmon was down drastically, according to state wildlife officials, but a largely untapped resource, one that’s homegrown, helped make up some ground.
“This fall, we only saw a fraction of the kokanee salmon we normally see at our usual egg-take locations,” the Division of Wildlife Resources said online Tuesday, referring to Flaming Gorge and Strawberry reservoirs.
“So we decided to use kokanee from Fish Lake, which is a backup location for the egg-take process,” the DWR statement said.
“This was the first time we’ve used the Fish Lake population, and we were able to obtain more than 650,000 fertilized eggs.
“Despite these efforts, we still hadn’t met our statewide quota for next spring.
“Fortunately, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks had 400,000 excess kokanee eggs, and they were willing to help us make up the difference.”
Fish Lake, Sevier County, Utah. Photo: Gephardt Daily/ Patrick Benedict
