SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Clipping an unneeded fin from hatchery salmon and trout has proved to be a valuable method for scientists and fishery managers to separate the fish from their cousins in the wild.
The Spokesman-Review reports two dozen members of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club recently snipped adipose fins off 60,000 trout fry at Spokane Fish Hatchery. They’re destined for Curlew Lake as part of a Fish and Wildlife Department study to determine the best size to release trout.
The adipose fin is a fleshy fin behind the dorsal fin. Millions of trout and salmon have been marked in recent years by fin-clipping.
The practice enables anglers to keep hatchery fish and to release wild, endangered salmon.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com
