Sixty-thousand fish, all a part of the fall brood and each about four inches long, were dumped from the truck, through a wide rubber hose and into a specially made holding pen that was about 54 feet long by 30 feet wide and 14 feet deep. When the operation was complete, the pen was pulled to a mooring between the inner and outer break of the harbor.
The delicate operation was quite a spectacle. A crowd gathered at the end of Johnson Pier to watch as the fish splashed into the pen and shimmered in the sun.
The work is a joint venture by the Coastside Fishing Club and the California Department of Fish and Game, and it is funded through private club donations and proceeds from the salmon stamp necessary to fish for Salmon in California waters.
Mark Gorelnik is a member of the fishing club’s board of directors. He said the project is intended to introduce the fish to saltwater while bypassing the hazards of the inland delta. Salmon populations had diminished greatly in recent years. Gorelnik credits the hatchery trucking program, in part, with bringing back salmon in large numbers. This year fishermen expect a banner year.
Read more here: http://forums.coastsidefishingclub.com/showthread.php?27995-Salmon-net-pens-the-guests-of-honor-have-arrived
Courtesy HMB Review