Thursday May 9, 2024
KCAW —
NSRAA has been keeping the chinook program going at Little Port Walter since 2020 when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stopped collecting eggs at the site. NSRAA general manager Scott Wagner says that his organization stepped in to help by using its Hidden Falls Hatchery permit, and shuttling eggs and fry the 64 miles between the two locations.
The broodstock for Little Port Walter come from the Keta River and were being reared experimentally in a joint effort between NOAA’s Auke Bay Laboratory and the state. Wagner says NSRAA was interested in further developing Keta River chinook, and integrating them into their overall program.
“Fish & Game and NOAA started that program, maybe a decade ago, and it was just starting to show good signs of progress,” Wagner said. “And then that (Keta River) stock also tends to be an inside-rearing king salmon stock. So those will be harvested more in the winter troll fisheries. And additionally (Keta) tends to be a larger bodied stock, so slightly larger per-fish pounds that the fisherman receive when they harvest those.”