Video: High-Volume Fish Stocking

Washington’s Baker Lake and Baker River are known for their native population of sockeye salmon. In fact, according to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, one of the earliest fish hatcheries was established on Baker Lake in 1896.

Two dams, one erected in 1925, the other in 1959, obstruct the natural fish migration, however, so adult fish must be trapped below the lower dam and transported by truck to the lake, as this video shows. Some fish spawn naturally in the lake and rivers; others are used for hatchery production.

Likewise, when young fish are ready to migrate to the sea, they are trapped above the dam and transported to the river.

While this mode of transport and release might look rough-and-tumble, it’s standard-operating-procedure in many stocking programs. In some places, young fish are even dropped from aircraft to stock remote lakes that can’t be reached by ground transportation.

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