Fluorescent red kokanee salmon on display as they spawn
(Rick Bowmer | The Associated Press) A Kokanee Salmon swims up stream during the spawning period Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, along the Strawberry River, about 20 miles southeast of Heber City, Utah. The salmon run goes from the end of August till October.
Utah wildlife technicians are trapping kokanee salmon near a mountain reservoir this week and collecting their eggs and milt at spawning time.
The fish’s transformation from a silver color to fluorescent red was on display Wednesday at a fish trap along the Strawberry River, about 20 miles southeast of Heber City.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources spokeswoman Faith Heaton Jolley says the fish eggs and milt, or sperm, are sent to a fish hatchery. Once the hatchery-raised fish are big enough, they are sent to lakes around the state.
Jolley says the hatchery-raised salmon have an 80-90% chance of becoming adult fish, compared to 5-10% chance for the salmon in the wild.
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