Chinook returns continue to lag

Shayne Morrow
October 27, 2009
The Alberni Valley Times

Staff at Robertson Creek Hatchery have hit their target of six million chinook salmon eggs but the number of wild spawners will likely be lower than expected this year.

Manager Harley Gaetz said while coho returns have been reasonably strong, the chinook continue to straggle in later than expected.

"We've got our quota of chinook but we won't switch over to coho for another week," Gaetz said. While cohoes ripen at about the same time, there are numerous distinct pulses of the fish over the course of the run, he explained.

"We take fish in here all the way through the run," Gaetz said. Those fish are penned separately, where possible, to ensure eggs are taken throughout the spectrum, to ensure genetic diversity. The coho egg take typically begins in the first week of November.

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