Deer Lake Sets Another Coho Record

For the second year in a row a record number of coho smolt have emigrated from Deer Lake. Since April, 2.2 million coho have left the lake. It is likely another hundred to two hundred thousand smolt will add to that total by the end of next week. A dual strategy, beginning with rearing the fry in net pens to keep them from the jaws of rainbow, and rearing them until late December for release into the lake when they are 20 grams in size. A portion (25%) of the net pen fish are kept in the pens throughout the winter and released into the outlet stream late in May the following year.

Two million smolt emigrated from Deer Lake in 2012; if marine survival is 6% we should see a return of some 120,000 adults this summer and fall.