Roaring Judy Hatchery
| Roaring Judy Hatchery | |
|---|---|
  Location in Colorado  Location in United States | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Almont, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 38°25′32″N 106°30′18″W / 38.42562°N 106.50496°W |
| Inaugurated | 1963 |
The Roaring Judy Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located on East River at the base of Flat Top mountain in Gunnison County. It is home to the largest known kokanee salmon run in the United States. [1]
History[edit]
Roaring Judy Hatchery was inaugurated in 1963.[2]
Mission[edit]
An overarching mission among the hatchery staff is the preservation of cutthroat trout. In 2016, the facility rescued 158 unique cutthroat trout from Hayden Creek after the Hayden Pass Wildfire. Biologists are working to spawn them to preserve a unique genetic line, and a link to Colorado's fishing history. [3]
Fish Species[edit]
Hatchery staff works to support the production of over 3 million kokanee salmon fry, 100,000 subcatchable trout, and 180,000 catchable trout. Their source of water comes from groundwater spring and well water. [4] Salmon are released into the East River through underground pipes. This process is done at night to give high survival odds. After release, salmon come back to the hatchery after approximately three years and ten months. They are able to do so through sensitive odor-detection to locate their birth water. The hatchery staff then strips the eggs and sperm to reproduce the salmon. [5]
References[edit]
- ^ "Fish Hatcheries". cpw.state.co.us. Colorado Parks & Wildlife.
- ^ Wiltzius, William. "Fish Culture and Stocking in Colorado, 1872-1978" (PDF). Native Fish Lab. Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ Biddle, Christopher (30 June 2017). "Roaring Judy Biologists Spawn Unique Cutthroat Lineage - KBUT Radio". www.kbut.org. KBUT. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ McGovern, Maura (18 January 2011). "Water Quality Control Vision Fact Sheet" (PDF). Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Control Division: 1–24. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ Tosches, Rich (20 June 2006). "Fish have tough lives but get great start". The Denver Post. Retrieved 30 April 2019.