Friday, July 12, 2013

SOLOMON GULCH HATCHERY - VALDEZ FISHERIES

All the fresh ocean air, sunshine and cruising yesterday paved the way for a great night's sleep.  This morning we drove just down the road to the Solomon Gulch Hatchery parking lot and spent the day watching Steller sea lions, seals, eagles and gulls feasting on the salmon.  The hatchery was completed in 1983 and is licensed to incubate, rear and release 230 million pink, 18 million chum, 2 million silver and 300,000 king salmon eggs.


Fish Weir

It was a quiet, relaxing day in between the excitement of all the wildlife visitors we had.

Nesting seagulls on the lower bridge

Eagle with his catch

Hanging around the hatchery for a tasty salmon dinner
Steller Sea Lion
Caught him in flight

The seals didn't come in as close as the sea lions
Learning to cast - spent most my time untangling the line

Another eagle sitting in a tree across the street from our coach
Here's some fish hatchery facts for those of you interested in that kind of stuff.

Each female yields about 1,700 eggs
About 50% of returning adults are caught by commercial fishermen

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.



1 comment:

  1. Nice to relax and take it easy for a change.
    Interesting facts on the fishery.

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