What Grade Are You In?

The saga of our little Atlantic Salmon continues.  It is time for “Fall Grading.”

In August we had the mid-summer split (see August 9, 2019 blog “Splitting Fish …”).  Fall grading is a lot like mid-summer split but with an extra step in the process.

You start by putting on waders because you are going to be in the tank with the fish and the water is about 63 degrees.

There is a lot of equipment to be set up. 

This is where the difference between “mid-summer split” and “fall grading” starts.  During fall grading the fish in each outside pool are separated into two groups - large fish and small fish.  To do this, bars are used in the crowder that allow the small fish to swim through while keeping the large fish inside the crowder.

Bar panels on the left. 

Panels to hold smaller fish on the right.

Mark and Jarret start crowding the fish.

The small fish are encouraged to swim through the grate.

All that is left is the larger fish.  Sometimes a few of the small fish refuse to leave.

The large fish are weighed and moved to an empty pool.  The large fish average 16-17 to a pound.

Each net full of large fish is weighed.

Large fish are moved over to an empty pool.

After the crowder is emptied of large fish the panels are replaced with much small grates and the small fish are then crowded, weighed and moved to an empty pool.  The smaller fish averaged about 32 fish to a pound.

Large fish have all been weighed and moved.

Any small fish that made it through the crowding get rounded up.

Panels have been replaced for smaller fish.

Smaller fish have been crowded, weighed, and moved.

Any remaining smaller fish are rounded up and moved.

After the pool is emptied all the equipment is moved to the next pool and the process begins again.

 Mark moving scales to the next pool.

The large fish are retained for smolt production.  The small fish are stocked as parr in early October.