January 3, 2022, by admin

The Hatchery Crew have been working for the past couple of weeks to tag at least 10% of our juvenile coho spawned back in 2020. Tagging is the process of inserting a coded wire tag into the nose of the fish for future retrieval from a matured adult. These tags are very small and need to be read with the help of a microscope. Coded wire tags are unique to each hatchery and are a way to gather useful information about fish. To begin the tagging process the desired number of fish are removed from each round pond and are placed into a holding tank. From here each fish is sedated using clove oil and their adipose fin is clipped. Adipose fins are the fin furthest back on the top of the fish and is nothing more than a fatty appendage. The removal of these fins is not detrimental to the fish but acts as a cosmetic signifier that the fish has been tagged. The Hatchery crew then use a specialized tagging machine to insert the wire in a cavity behind the nose. Tagged fish are revived in flowing fresh water and are evaluated for both long and short term retention of the tag. Once all is done the fish are replace back into the general population to be released and are treated no differently than any other until a fisherman catches them as an adult. Tagging is an important process in a hatchery’s season.