Salmon Hatchery December 15 2013

On Sunday 15th December some 14 Rotarians traveled to Maerdy near Corwen to the salmon hatchery on the River Ceirw (a tributary of the Dee) and Gwynn Parry describes what they saw.

We enjoyed a fascinating demonstration and talk of how salmon are caught on the line, on this day it was from the Dee at Bangor on Dee, and transported to the hatchery.   Here the females (five or so) were "milked" of their eggs, up to 5000 per fish and the sperm of the male (about 3) was introduced and mixed in by stirring with the fingers.  The eggs were then taken to the hatchery building to fertilize before being placed in large tanks and fed whilst they grow. 

Eventually the fish are returned to the river from whence their parents came.   The success rate in the wild is for 5 - 8% of the eggs fertilizing whereas in these controlled conditions the rate is about 95 - 98%.  The hatchery deals with salmon from most rivers of the north including the Mawddach, Seiont, Conwy, Clwyd and Dee.   The purpose of the work is to boost the numbers of fish in the rivers, which have become depleted over the years for various reasons. The group enjoyed fellowship over lunch at Rhug Farm on the way home. Gwynn says that he noticed  no one chose fish for main course!