The Rainbow Trout are running up-stream to spawn and the Saugeen River is a haven for them as they climb the fish ladder at Denny’s Dam.
The volunteer-driven Lake Huron Fishing Club (LHFC), which has long been a conservationist group, was on-site several times recently to collect the eggs that will ensure the fish population continues to grow.
The volunteers carefully lift the fish from the fish ladder and ‘milk’ some of the eggs from each female leaving enough to be spawned in the wild up-stream in the Saugeen River system.
During the three-to-four-day collection, it is anticipated that some 350,000 eggs would be collected. According to the LHFC, egg ‘fertilizing’ in the wild is approximately two per cent while in a hatchery environment it is 75 – 80 per cent.
The eggs are divided and transported to various hatcheries including Wiarton (Bruce Pensinsula Sportsmens Association), Owen Sound and Kincardine.
Once developed into the ‘fingerling’ stage and released into Lake Huron, survival rate is almost 60 – 65 per cent.
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