End of the Season Fisheries Meeting

[Morgan-E]

On October 19th at 7PM there will be an end of the year meeting for anyone interested in attending at the Salmon River Fish Hatchery. DEC personnel will be there to go through the egg take, hatchery updates, general health / observations of the fish handled at the hatchery.  There will likely be other information presented on the bait fish trawls and any research being done or proposed for the fishery.   Please spread the word and try to attend to become more informed about what is going on and to be a part of or listen to meaningful discussions / conversations.

 

 

[Morgan-E]

Bump
Hope to see familiar and new faces. The Hatchery looks great and it should be a fun and informative night.

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Tall Tails]

A lot has been said about the DEC not having the "State of Lake Meeting" anymore.  There new approach is to be out in public trying to do more interactive meetings to keep people informed on the Fishery.  This is one of those meetings and attendance is important.  You don't have to be a member to attend.  

 

Thank you

Brian

[Morgan-E]

Thank you to all who came out and especially to the DEC staff who volunteered their time to share updates, information, and answer questions.  It was a very informative event.

 

Phil

[Yankee Troller]

4 hours ago, Morgan-E said:

Thank you to all who came out and especially to the DEC staff who volunteered their time to share updates, information, and answer questions.  It was a very informative event.

 

Phil

 

I was impressed with your questions. It was nice to put a face with a name.

 

I still can't believe they were stumped on whether they could identify the male in that "love triangle" they create at the hatchery by taking DNA samples from the males. Maury Povich does it daily on his TV show. 

 

It would just be nice to take DNA samples from all the top fish in the derbies to understand if there is a stocking site, or some variable that grows bigger fish. If they can index the females DNA why not do the males? I was impressed with the lack of fish it takes to get our egg needs. I would think an intern or college would be interested in being a part of that study.

[Morgan-E]

Thanks.  It is quite an undertaking by the researchers of Cornell.  In the end they would still be looking at the female DNA if they are using the mitochondrial DNA - even with males.  Love the Maury comment.

 

In order to get bigger fish they would actually have to take time and effort to separate the sizes as they came into the hatchery and then try to only use three and four year olds to spawn to try to artificially direct genetic selection towards potentially bigger fish (more in the lake to try to get to maturity without being caught in the first 2-3 years).  The super large fish in Michigan are older fish that have made it to maturity.  With the cuts out there the pressure has moved to other fish species and allowed them to get to this size / age class.  Their bait density / biomass is no different and maybe lower than ours on a cubic hectare basis.

 

In the end I think that they are happy with numbers / catch rate and not having to do more work with the shoestring budgets and manpower that they have available.  They truly are doing a great job with the resources they have available.  Most college kids would mess things up more than help with many of them having a hard time identifying a guppy.  If any study, trying to figure out if selective breeding would make a difference, (which we all know that it should) was going to take place in any form, it would need to be driven by a grant with a university heading it and us charter captains would be more efficient at separating the species, gender, and size than any college students.  

 

Another push would be for them to open another tube to a holding pond and any "smaller" males sent down the tubes or directly into the dumpster, rather than placed in the "male breeding tub".  This would at least eliminate the jacks and the small two year olds without much effort.

 

It was nice seeing people interested in the future of the fishery able to get together again.  It was also great that Scott, Tom , and Dan were willing to give their time to be there and answer questions and give us information.

Good luck this deer season.

Phil

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by Morgan-E

[Gator]

I wasn't able to make the meeting, but agree that they're doing what they can given the budget and staffing. 

 

The comments on mitochondrial DNA are interesting. My lab studies mitos, and we published a paper a couple years ago where we identified a protein expressed on the outside of sperm mitochondria, but not oocyte mitochondria, which is responsible for initiating selective degradation following zygotic fusion. Hence, Morgan-E's comment that by looking at mito DNA, they're be definition following the female lineage resonated with me. I'll take a look at that study. Molecular determinants of mitochondrial heteroplasmy is a fascinating topic, and if you want to build a bigger, badder salmon, that's a great place to start.

Edited October 28, 2022 by Gator

[rolmops]

1 hour ago, Gator said:

I wasn't able to make the meeting, but agree that they're doing what they can given the budget and staffing. 

 

The comments on mitochondrial DNA are interesting. My lab studies mitos, and we published a paper a couple years ago where we identified a protein expressed on the outside of sperm mitochondria, but not oocyte mitochondria, which is responsible for initiating selective degradation following zygotic fusion. Hence, Morgan-E's comment that by looking at mito DNA, they're be definition following the female lineage resonated with me. I'll take a look at that study. Molecular determinants of mitochondrial heteroplasmy is a fascinating topic, and if you want to build a bigger, badder salmon, that's a great place to start.

Meliora!

[Sk8man]

Guess I'd just rather say 'better"

[UNREEL]

50 minutes ago, Sk8man said:

Guess I'd just rather say 'better"

U of R graduate maybe?   😋

[HB2]

14 hours ago, Gator said:

I wasn't able to make the meeting, but agree that they're doing what they can given the budget and staffing. 

 

The comments on mitochondrial DNA are interesting. My lab studies mitos, and we published a paper a couple years ago where we identified a protein expressed on the outside of sperm mitochondria, but not oocyte mitochondria, which is responsible for initiating selective degradation following zygotic fusion. Hence, Morgan-E's comment that by looking at mito DNA, they're be definition following the female lineage resonated with me. I'll take a look at that study. Molecular determinants of mitochondrial heteroplasmy is a fascinating topic, and if you want to build a bigger, badder salmon, that's a great place to start.

I feel pretty insignificant after reading this . 

 

I guess I'll just stick to catch and trying to catch them . 

[Sk8man]

Nah I looked it up

[Gator]

9 hours ago, HB2 said:

I feel pretty insignificant after reading this . 

 

I guess I'll just stick to catch and trying to catch them . 

Heck, no!! Science. like fishing, is for everybody. Most days on the lake, I feel dumb as a box of rocks, but I've got good friends who steer me right. 

 

Gotta go shoot a big buck with Gambler. 

[Sk8man]

Keith is living proof that you can still remain a science "geek" and and yet be a very competent hunter and fisherman