A lowering population of kokanee salmon at Flaming Gorge is a major topic for local anglers and one that wildlife officials say will take a long term plan to address. The Division of Wildlife Resources reported this week that DWR personnel have only been able to collect about 50% of the eggs needed to restock Utah waterbodies with kokanee next year, and the kokanee runs at Flaming Gorge and Strawberry are tapering off. While Flaming Gorge and Strawberry Reservoirs usually provide all the eggs needed to restock the state, this year DWR biologists are heading to Fish Lake in an attempt to harvest the remaining eggs needed to restock Utah waters. This is the first time the DWR will attempt to harvest kokanee eggs at Fish Lake but with the decrease of fish in the normal spawning areas, biologists are having to get creative. “Kokanee salmon are a challenging fish to manage, partly because they are short-lived fish that die after spawning,” shares DWR Hatchery Coordinator Richard Hepworth. “We’ve heard the frustrations from anglers regarding the poor kokanee fishing this past year in some areas of the state, and we’re trying to fix the problem by adding an additional location to our egg-collection efforts so we can meet our kokanee production target next year. This is one of the many ongoing efforts to help address recent kokanee salmon declines in the state.” For more information, visit www.wildlife.utah.gov.
