niteskies
Member
Here is a link to today's Denver Post article Kokanee Predator-prey balance vital to egg supply.
http://www.denverpost.com/huntfish/ci_14274220
Here a couple of paragraphs.
Fishing for kokanee salmon in Colorado is only as good as the supply of eggs available to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and for many years, Blue Mesa Reservoir has been a major source of salmon for the state. In recent times that egg basket has become less reliable, and the DOW has had to look to other waters to help meet the demand for kokanee.
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The Blue Mesa salmon run has been declining because of a growing population of kokanee-eating mackinaw in the reservoir, according to DOW fisheries biologists. With fewer salmon making the run, the supply of eggs at the hatchery has dropped significantly.
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The effort yielded a little more than 10.1 million eggs last fall, compared with just under 11.6 million in 2008, down roughly 14 percent. However, with an excellent hatching rate, the actual difference in the supply of young fish is about 10 percent, according to Matt Nicholl, the DOW's chief of hatchery production.
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Approximate egg yields for 2009
Roaring Judy/Blue Mesa - 2.4 million
Granby/Shadow Mountain reservoirs - 2.3 million
Vallecito Reservoir - 2.1 million
Williams Fork Reservoir - 2.0 million
McPhee Reservoir - 700,000
Cheesman Reservoir -500,000
Elevenmile Reservoir - 121,000
In another article from the CDOW they state - Because of the decline in the egg take, two reservoirs - Carter Lake and Taylor Reservoir - were not stocked with kokanee fingerlings in 2009.
Last year we discussed the DOW plans to remove Lake Trout from Blue Mesa, in reading the Denver Post article it sounds like the DOW is putting those plans into action.
niteskies
http://www.denverpost.com/huntfish/ci_14274220
Here a couple of paragraphs.
Fishing for kokanee salmon in Colorado is only as good as the supply of eggs available to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and for many years, Blue Mesa Reservoir has been a major source of salmon for the state. In recent times that egg basket has become less reliable, and the DOW has had to look to other waters to help meet the demand for kokanee.
.
.
.
The Blue Mesa salmon run has been declining because of a growing population of kokanee-eating mackinaw in the reservoir, according to DOW fisheries biologists. With fewer salmon making the run, the supply of eggs at the hatchery has dropped significantly.
.
.
.
The effort yielded a little more than 10.1 million eggs last fall, compared with just under 11.6 million in 2008, down roughly 14 percent. However, with an excellent hatching rate, the actual difference in the supply of young fish is about 10 percent, according to Matt Nicholl, the DOW's chief of hatchery production.
.
.
Approximate egg yields for 2009
Roaring Judy/Blue Mesa - 2.4 million
Granby/Shadow Mountain reservoirs - 2.3 million
Vallecito Reservoir - 2.1 million
Williams Fork Reservoir - 2.0 million
McPhee Reservoir - 700,000
Cheesman Reservoir -500,000
Elevenmile Reservoir - 121,000
In another article from the CDOW they state - Because of the decline in the egg take, two reservoirs - Carter Lake and Taylor Reservoir - were not stocked with kokanee fingerlings in 2009.
Last year we discussed the DOW plans to remove Lake Trout from Blue Mesa, in reading the Denver Post article it sounds like the DOW is putting those plans into action.
niteskies
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