Fin clipped 30 pound salmon caught by Fish & Game Hatchery Manager

Fish & Game Hatchery Manager Dirk Barr caught a 30 pound salmon at the Rakaia Gorge last week. He was pleased to see that it was one of the Fish & Game hatchery fish that had been fin clipped by volunteers four years prior. This fish released into the Rakaia above the gorge had gone out to sea for three years before returning to where it was hatched.

Before their release from the hatchery, and under aesthetic, the salmon have their adipose fin removed using scissors. Mr Barr says that the fin clipping helps Fish & Game to monitor the effectiveness of their hatchery operations. Past phone surveys have indicated that around 10% of salmon caught come from the hatchery; however at certain times of the year it can be up to 50%.

Mr Barr tagged the fish and released it back into the river, as part of a study that he is conducting into the effect of catch and release on salmon.

For those who are interested in seeing the hatchery and helping out with the fin clipping Fish & Game are running a fin clipping day this weekend the 16th and 17th of April at the Montrose Hatchery in the Upper Rakaia.

Fish & Game will supply volunteers with a BBQ lunch and drinks. Volunteers are invited to meet at the Yaldhurst Pub at 8am on Saturday or Sunday to organise car pooling between them. Alternatively they can meet at the Montrose Hatchery at 9:15am. To get to the hatchery head south a few kilometres from the Rakaia Gorge Bridge on SH72 and turn right at the first road (Blackford Road). Head up Blackford Road for approximately 6km and look out for a Fish & Game sign on the gate on your right. Head down the track, stick to the right of the ponds and you will arrive at the hatchery.

Fish from the hatchery are released into the Waimakariri and Rakaia catchments, and into Lake Coleridge.