After the long line of cars dispersed, each with an ice chest full of kokanee salmon, hatchery manager Seth Firestone put down his net. On the final Friday morning of October, he had distributed 600 salmon — the largest giveaway of the season so far. Even so, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) reports a significantly smaller spawn than usual this year.
Each fall, mature kokanee salmon journey from Blue Mesa Reservoir northward, returning to their birthplace at Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery to spawn. On average, CPW collects 7 to 8 million eggs per season. Nestled just north of Almont, the hatchery hosts the largest known kokanee spawn in Colorado. The salmon, which die shortly after spawning, are collected and shared with the public to prevent the fish from going to waste.
Although Firestone had given away nearly six times the number of fish as the previous week, this year’s low numbers are a reflection of lingering drought conditions in the Gunnison Valley.
“We always hope late in the season that we'll get a final push that will help ramp up egg numbers … but right now, we haven't even hit a million eggs yet,” Firestone said.
River temperatures have remained stable on the salmon’s route home, but the kokanee’s preferred habitat has been disappearing. Downstream, low water levels in the reservoir fueled widespread algal blooms into the late summer, choking the water with green. The presence of algae creates lower oxygen levels in deeper water, while the sun heats the water closer to the surface — forcing fish into a narrow range in the water column, Firestone said. The concentration of more kokanee in smaller areas can also make them more vulnerable to predation.
Kokanee eggtake totals plummeted by more than 50% following the drought years of 2012 and 2013, as water levels fell in Blue Mesa. Data from the hatchery shows another notable drop starting in 2020, corresponding with the reservoir’s declining elevation.
Although the number of eggs collected fluctuates year after year, local aquatic biologists have recorded reduced kokanee survival following significant drought periods. Because the kokanee spend three to four years of their life in Blue Mesa, habitat loss is likely the culprit.
“We’re hoping that we get some good snow years, get the reservoir filled back up and get things back on track,” Firestone said.
In the years the hatchery is short, staff have been able to collect eggs from other hatcheries in Colorado, as well as Wyoming. This allows the hatchery to stock Blue Mesa near schedule, even when numbers are behind. They are also collecting additional fish from the East River and traps in the reservoir this year to check if the salmon are ready to spawn.
At the start of the annual giveaways, Aquatic Biologist Dan Brauch said it was a little difficult to manage the low numbers, as well as expectations. During the hatchery’s first giveaway, staff only had enough to give one fish per person. Some traveled from out of state, hopeful to leave with full coolers.
“Those that traveled very far were just glad to have a road trip,” Brauch said. “But we hate to see people drive hours and hours and just get a very small number of fish.”
On Friday, the numbers had picked up a little, and most people left with at least five salmon and went back through the line for seconds. By Halloween, two and a half weeks of spawntakes remained. The team had only collected 1,180,000 eggs, a little more than half of the 2021 total.
Despite poor water quality at the reservoir, fish caught during advisories are safe to eat. Historically, kokanee will spawn throughout the month of October and into the first few weeks of November. The next giveaway is scheduled for Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. Those interested in attending can call Roaring Judy at 970.641.0190 for more information.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here