Do you have some questions
about Kooskia National Fish Hatchery? We've tried to answer some of the
most often asked questions below. If your question isn't answered here,
please contact us with your question.
Why
was Kooskia National Fish Hatchery built?
What kind of fish are raised at Kooskia NFH?
How far do the fish have to travel from the ocean to reach
the Kooskia hatchery?
How many adult chinook from Kooskia NFH return to the
Clearwater River?
When are chinook spawned?
Are adult salmon fed at the hatchery?
How many eggs do female fish produce?
What happens to the fish after they are spawned?
How many fish are raised in each pond at the hatchery?
What are the young fish fed?
How much fish food is used each year at Kooskia NFH?
Why
was Kooskia National Fish Hatchery built?
Kooskia National
Fish Hatchery (NFH) was established in 1969 to enhance fishing and to
mitigate spring chinook salmon losses resulting from federal dams and
other water development projects in the Columbia River Basin.
What
kind of fish are raised at Kooskia NFH?
Spring chinook salmon.
The young chinook salmon will swim to the ocean and return to the hatchery
as large adult fish.
How
far do the fish have to travel from the ocean to reach the Kooskia hatchery?
In June and July,
adult salmon weighing from 12 to 22 pounds migrate from the ocean 525
miles to Clear Creek where they were released as five-inch smolts two
or three years earlier. These adults are trapped and transported to
Dworshak hatchery where they are held for spawning two months later.
How
many adult chinook from Kooskia NFH return to the Clearwater River?
Less than 0.3% of
the total chinook released return as adults to Kooskia hatchery.
When
are chinook salmon spawned?
Spring chinook
salmon spawning season is in the late summer, completed in a short time
from mid-August to early-September. Spawning is accomplished at Dworshak
National Fish Hatchery in Ahsahka, Idaho.
Are
adult salmon fed at the hatchery?
We do not feed any
of the adult brood fish that return. They are generally in good health
and do not need feed when in the river or in the hatchery.
How
many eggs do female fish produce?
The average adult
chinook salmon produces about 3,500 eggs. The number varies with the
age and size of the fish.
What
happens to the fish after they are spawned?
Spring chinook
must be disposed of to a landfill, as the quality of the fish at spawning
time is not desirable for food.
How
many fish are raised in each pond at the hatchery?
Generally, we will
have 50,000 in each Burrows pond and 25,000 in each raceway.
What
are the young fish fed?
Fish are fed a mixture
of fish meal (ground-up fish), fish oil, grain products, minerals and
vitamins that will give them all they need to be healthy when they go
into the river.
How
much fish food is used each year at Kooskia NFH?
At capacity production,
about 26,945 pounds of food will be used every year to raise approximately
20,000 pounds of fish.
