Grand Haven, MI (WGHN) – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources delivered 150,000 Chinook Salmon today in the City of Grand Haven.
The City of Grand Haven, Grand Haven Steelheaders, Grand Rapids Steelheaders and Grand Haven Custom Molding partner in this endeavor. GHCM provides the use of their SkyTrak to place the net pens in the municipal marina. The Grand Haven Steelheaders volunteer to feed and care for the fish before release.
Interesting information about Net Pens:Net pens initially allow the juvenile Chinook Salmon to orient to their new environment. They are moved from a safe hatchery environment, loaded on a truck, and then ride down a tube to the receiving river. The initial disorientation makes them vulnerable to seagulls and predatory fish. Stocking in the pens allows the juvenile Chinook Salmon to acclimate to their new environment. Chinook Salmon are often left in the pens for a couple of weeks to imprint to the river they are stocked in. Imprinting helps the salmon remember where they were stocked or hatched, so they will return to that same river when they are adults to spawn. This time also allows them to grow to help increase their chance of survival.The fish in the net pens are held in the nets for 3-4 weeks and fed three times daily. The MDNR fisheries biologist determines the exact release date.
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