Entries categorized as ‘Salmon Ranching 101’
“Lost” salmon, eh? (Sorry, that’s a little Canadian humor – or is it ‘humour’?).
I think we were supposed to turn left...
The Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, today announced that there will be a judicial inquiry into the disappearance of about 10 million sockeye salmon that were supposed to show up this summer to the Fraser River. The Fraser River runs right threw the little town known as Vancouver, British Columbia – hey, Mr. Harper, you might want to start your inquiry there.
But many people have many fingers to point. Some suggest native fishermen illegally fishing, others suggest warming river temperatures. The list continues; over-fishing, pollution, habitat destruction, lack of food sources, flooding, urbanization, new predators (squid), salmon farms, fertilizer run-off, salmon ranching…yes, salmon ranching.
Dr. Craig Orr, biologist at Watershed Watch, today suggested that hatchery fish may have eaten the ocean dry – someones been reading this blog, huh Mr. Orr? Well, you may be on to something Craig, because 5 billion hatchery salmon are released from Alaska, Russia and Asia to compete for food with wild salmon. These hatchery fished were happily feeding in the Bering Sea before those Canadian sockeye had even shown their fishy passports at customs.
But before all the finger pointing gets put under oath, you may want to answer the most important question – Lost? Were they ever there in the first place?
Categories: Salmon Ranching 101
Tagged: Alaska salmon ranching, British Columbia, Bruce Cohen, canadian government, canadian sockeye, case of the missing salmon, craig orr, Dr. Craig Orr, federal government, fishermen, fraser river sockeye, fraser river sockeye salmon, habitat destruction, honourable Bruce Cohen, house of commons, illegal fishing, judge Bruce Cohen, judicial inquiry, lost salmon, missing salmon, ndp, peter julian, prime minister, sport fishing, stephen harper, stockwell day, vancouver, warming water temperatures, watershed watch, wild alaska salmon
This is really cool!
Just place your mouse over the fish and watch them follow you. Then click away and drop feed pellets in the water and watch them feed. If you really enjoy this, then you can apply for a job in Alaska – they feed 1.5 billion little salmon fish food pellets every year!
Categories: Salmon Ranching 101 · Uncategorized
Tagged: 1.5 billion salmon, alaska fish and game, alaska fishing, aquaculture, blue revolution, farming salmon in Alaska, feed pellets, feed your salmon, feeding fish on the farm, feeding the fish, fish feed, fish pellets, growing salmon, having a lot of fun, how to farm salmon, how to feed fish, how to feed salmon, protein use, salmon farming, salmon hatcheries in alaska, salmon ranching, salmonids, start your own fish farm, the truth about alaska salmon
The State of Alaska has just released its 2008 annual report that summarizes the size of its salmon ranching program. It’s no surprise to us that a significant percentage of Alaskan salmon is cultured, and even less surprising that marketers (including the Seafood Watch program and Marine Stewardship Council) will continue to ignore this fact.
In 2008;
- Alaska hatcheries released over 1.4 billion juvenile salmon into the ocean basin to compete with wild salmon for food
- an estimated 60 million adult salmon of hatchery origin survived and returned
- there were approximately 146 million salmon harvested in the commercial and sport fishery, and an estimated 60 million, or 41% were produced by the Alaska salmon ranching program
- in the Prince William Sound area, ranched salmon accounted for 91% of the salmon in the commercial harvest
- Over 60 million ranched salmon are expected to return in 2009
Wild huh? The only thing ‘wild’ about Alaska salmon is the fact that they can keep this program so secret.
To learn more about salmon ranching, click here.
To view the annual report, click here.
Categories: Salmon Ranching 101
Tagged: wild salmon, ocean ranching, salmon ranching, prince william sound aquaculture corporation, seafood watch, Marine Stewardship Council, prince william sound, farm-raised salmon, Alaska salmon ranch, 2008 salmon enhancement report, commercial harvest of salmon, 2008 copper river salmon, fresh salmon
Since it’s the season to give, we thought we’d share with you our favorite Alaska salmon recipe. This is the best recipe for readying Alaska salmon for your Christmas dinner, but it’s probably not what you think…
Step #1 – pour 100 salmon eggs into a large plastic tray. Culture for about 2 months.
Step #2 - after the eggs hatch, add a pinch of commercially available fish feed. This diet will contain beta-carotenes that are healthy for the baby salmon and also turn the flesh a nice red colour. Continue this process for another 3 months.
Step #3 – when the baby salmon are large enough and feeding well, move them carefully from the freshwater hatcheries to the saltwater fish farms to continue growing. Be careful not to spill.
Step #4 – add more fish feed and continue growing the salmon in net pens for 2 to 12 months. If your salmon doesn’t feel well, order some drugs to make it feel better (don’t worry, that happens a lot in Alaska). Hint : the longer and larger you can grow your salmon, the better chance it has to out-compete wild salmon.
Step #5 – let your salmon go. It may die, but that’s OK, cause there are 99 more right behind it. And don’t worry about the fact that your salmon is eating fish in the ocean not meant for it or that your salmon may hump other wild salmon and eradicate them – it happens all the time in Alaska – it’s called ocean ranching.
Step #6 – when your salmon returns a few years later, catch it, tell your dinner guests it’s wild and serve it with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of basil.
Serving Size – Due to the fact that 96% of the 100 baby salmon you released will die, this meal only serves a family of four. If you would like to serve millions, then simply add more eggs. Try 1.5 billion – why not – the state of Alaska does it. Don’t you worry if there isn’t enough food in the ocean or if you erase the gene pool of natural wild salmon! If no one else cares, then why should you?
Not quite what you were expecting, huh?
Merry Christmas from ‘The Truth About Alaska Salmon’!
Categories: Salmon Ranching 101
Tagged: 1.5 billion, alaska salmon, Alaska Seafood, alaska seafood marketing institute, Alaska wild salmon recipe, anadromous, awesome salmon, ben stein, best salmon recipe, beta carotene, culturing salmon, favorite Alaska salmon recipe, fish feed, fish food, how to cook salmon, how to grow salmon, how to serve wild salmon, is Alaska salmon really wild, largest hatchery in Alaska, merry christmas, ocean ranching, randy hartnell, salmon farming, salmon for Christmas, salmon ranching, seasons greetings, vital choice, what to eat at Christmas
A local rag in Juneau, Alaska, recently printed a full page ad asking readers, “What’s the secret to catching fish in Alaska”?
Oh, oh, teacher, can we answer that one!
To catch a fish in Alaska, why don’t you just hang out next to one of the state run hatcheries (like the one in the photo below) and wait for 80 million hatchery released salmon to return like boomerangs. You see, these cultured salmon aren’t supposed to return to actual rivers. As long as their compass is working they’ll return to the same place where they were hatched, fed and released.
Hidden Falls Salmon Ranching Hatchery
These ‘boomerangs’ are actually referred to as ranched salmon. Ranched salmon account for over 30% of the annual salmon catch in Alaska.
Call us ‘brown nosers’ or ‘teacher’s pet’, but we think we deserve an A+ for nailing that one!
Categories: Salmon Ranching 101
Tagged: 2008 Juneau Alaska Guide and Travel Planner, Alaska department of fish and game, alaska wild salmon, an anglers heaven, dolly varden, fishing in Alaska, hatcheries in alaska, how to catch fish in alaska, juneau alaska, Juneau Empire, latest news on wild salmon, migrating salmon, newspaper, ocean ranched salmon, salmon are boomerangs, the great salmon question, where to catch salmon, wild slamon
