A view of the salmon spawning operations, where personnel harvest and fertilize eggs, at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville, California. Photo taken Oct. 9, 2014. Photo courtesy of the Department of Water Resources

OROVILLE, CA (MPG) - Annual Chinook salmon spawning activities at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville have been completed. The Hatchery collected enough eggs to meet its normal production goal of 2 million spring-run fingerlings and 6 million fall-run fingerlings, with additional eggs collected to increase production this year. To help address recent declines in Central Valley Chinook salmon populations, the Hatchery will produce an additional 1 million spring-run fingerlings and 2.5 million fall-run unfed fry, as well as 1 million fall-run Chinook salmon fingerlings to support ocean fisheries.

The Hatchery’s spawning process collects eggs from returning adult females and milt (sperm) from returning adult male Chinook salmon to fertilize the eggs. After fertilization, the eggs are placed in incubators to develop for approximately 85 days. Once they reach the fry stage and can consume food, they will either be released into the Feather River or transferred to long ponds called raceways at the facility to grow into fingerlings. Chinook salmon fingerlings raised at the Hatchery will be released in the Feather River and San Francisco Bay between March and June to support inland and ocean populations. In addition, the Department of Water Resources and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife continued thiamine treatments to combat B1 vitamin deficiencies. This treatment improves the health of the fish, increasing the survival of Chinook salmon from egg to juvenile.

The Feather River Fish Hatchery is a California State Water Project facility built in the late 1960s by the California Department of Water Resources to mitigate impacts on fish migration resulting from the construction of Oroville Dam. Department of Water Resources owns and maintains the facility and provides funding to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to perform spawning, rearing and stocking operations.