39,013 Coho were released into Chapman Creek Hatchery. Tanks 29 and 31 were full of 39,013 Coho all together. The eggs were fertilized in October 2021 and were in incubation. They left incubation from March-May 2022. The fish were then reared in the tanks until May 25, 2023 when they were released as smolts. These Coho will spend the next year-and-a-half in the ocean, and then will return to spawn as adults in Chapman Creek in the Fall of 2024. To release the fish, we started in tank 31 and used a sein net and had two people on each side of it walk the net around the tank from one side of the other to wrangle all the Coho to one side. Once the fish were all together in the sein net, we used a net to scoop out the fish and brought them over to the box. The box had a pipe which had flowing water from the tanks that went into the box and through the hose and out to the creek. Once the fish were in the box, they swam into the hose and into the creek and eventually into the ocean. We went back and forth with the sein net a few times recollecting all the fish to get as many as we could. Once there was only a few left, we pulled the sandpipe that controls water levels and drained the tank to very little water – just enough for the fish to survive. We then scrubbed a path in the tank so it was not as slippery and got in the tank with a bucket and net to get the last stragglers. We then repeated the same process in tank 29. All our Coho have now left the Creek and are ready to spend the next year-and-a-half in the ocean!
