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Chinook salmon swimming up the Manistee River are blocked by this dam until enough fish have been taken.
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When fish are needed, this 'ladder chute' is opened and the fish are 'enticed' to swim up it into the holding pens.
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Some the holding pens being looked at by some elementry school children on an outing.
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Many of the fish could be seen as they swam around. Some of them would even jump occasionally.
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You could see the individual fish quite clearly. Some of them were already showing the white spots indicating they are nearing the end of their life span.
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Workers then scoop up baskets full of fish to be sorted. Any fish other than Chinooks are released up stream from the dam.
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A worker inserts a small needle into the female and forced air squirts out the eggs into the waiting bucket.
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Eggs from ONE female and ONE male are then combined to ensure maximum genetic diversity. Each container is numbered for identification.
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Each fish is examined and tested for disease and if found, the eggs are destroyed along with the infected fish. The remaining fish are processed and shipped out.
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Next was a visit to the Harrietta Fish Hatchery which raises brown trout and steelhead trout from eggs.
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It's a good sized building, capable of raising some 25-35,000 small fish annually.
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General view of the interior.
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A better view of the holding pens where the fish are raised.
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This is a batch of quite young fish. They will be kept for about 18-months or until they achieve a size of about 8 inches to ensure maximum survivability when they are released.
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Another tank where the fish are substantially larger. These will most likely be released next spring.
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