07-SalmonEggPlanting-MarandaNemeth-MidcoastConservancy.jpg

Photo By/Credit

Maranda Nemeth/Midcoast Conservancy

Media Usage Rights/License
Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved - Used by Permission
Image
Egg planting puts fertilized salmon eggs into a natural environment for the eggs to incubate, hatch, and grow. A specialized water pump setup is used to insert funnels several inches into the river bottom, mimicking a redd, or salmon nest. Female Atlantic salmon create these nests in the fall using their tail to dig a shallow pit in gravel. After laying eggs in the pit, the female covers them with gravel, which protects them throughout the icy winter and high water flows of early spring.
Ecosystem
River/stream
Species
Subject tags
Fish hatcheries
Fish passage
Fishes