Idaho's Sockeye Salmon Take Center Stage Tuesday

Sockeye salmon will be in the spotlight Tuesday, September 2, when Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter takes part in two special events marking Idaho's largest sockeye run in more than five decades. More than 540 adult sockeye have returned to the Sawtooth Valley this summer. Last year four returned, and the average over the previous nine years is 39 sockeye. First, the governor and Idaho Fish and Game Director Cal Groen will release over 50 adult sockeye into Redfish Lake to spawn naturally. The release will take place at 9 a.m. at the boat ramp on the east side of the lake. At 11:30 a.m., the governor celebrates the opening of a new state-of-the-art sockeye spawning facility at Eagle Fish Hatchery, part of the Snake River sockeye recovery effort led by Fish and Game and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Otter will join officials from Fish and Game, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Bonneville Power Administration and NOAA Fisheries at Eagle Fish Hatchery, 1800 S. Trout Rd. in Eagle, to cut the ribbon on the new facility. It is designed to double the capacity of the captive breeding program to further jumpstart the recovery of Idaho's sockeye salmon. The sockeye captive breeding program started in May 1991, months before the sockeye was listed as an endangered species. For information about sockeye and the breeding program go to the Fish and Game Web site: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/sockeye/