Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Fisheries crews have completed their annual salmon spawning operation on the Missouri River System, after collecting more than 2.1 million eggs.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department Missouri River System fisheries biologist Russ Kinzler said crews easily collected enough eggs to stock the 400,000 smolts planned for Lake Sakakawea in 2021, as well as provide approximately 400,000 surplus eggs to South Dakota.
The majority of eggs were collected from Lake Sakakawea, with help from the Missouri River below Garrison Dam. Average size of female salmon was 8.3 pounds, which is almost two pounds heavier than last year.
“We’ve had good numbers of rainbow smelt, which is the primary forage for salmon in Lake Sakakawea,” Kinzler said. “This year we are seeing that the average size of those smelt has increased and we are seeing that resulting in larger salmon.”
Chinook salmon begin their spawning run in October. Since salmon cannot naturally reproduce in North Dakota, Game and Fish personnel capture the fish and transport them to the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery where they are relieved of their eggs.
Once the eggs hatch, young salmon spend 6 months in the hatchery before being stocked in Lake Sakakawea.
Hunters Encouraged to Have Deer Tested for CWD
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2020 hunting season by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease from units in the western third of the state.
Samples from hunter-harvested deer taken will be tested from units 3A1, 3A2, 3A3 (that portion of the unit north of U.S. Highway 2), 3B1, 3C (that portion of the unit west of the Missouri River), 3E1, 3E2, 3F1, 3F2, 4A, 4B and 4C.
Game and Fish wildlife veterinarian Dr. Charlie Bahnson said given the COVID situation, Game and Fish is focusing resources and personnel to prioritize hunter-harvested surveillance in the northwestern and southwestern parts of the state where CWD is a little greater concern.
In units where CWD is documented, Bahnson said roughly 10% of license holders end up dropping off heads for sampling. Outside those units, in adjacent units, he said it’s more like 2-3%. That’s a number he would like to see increased quite a bit.
“In hunting units where CWD is documented, it’s important to get a good handle on where and how common it is,” Bahnson said. “But equally important, is documenting where CWD is not.
“In order to be confident in saying that we don’t have CWD in a unit, we have to test a lot of heads,” continued Bahnson. “Only testing 10 heads doesn’t give you much confidence. But if we can get a lot of hunters to participate, if we can test a few hundred heads from each unit, then we can start to confidently make assessments of whether CWD is likely there or not. So, hunter surveillance is a critical part of the big picture.”
Hunters are encouraged to drop off the head of an adult or yearling deer. Fawns and head-shot deer cannot be tested. Hunters wishing to keep the deer head can bring it to a Game and Fish district office during business hours to have it sampled.
The department will attempt to provide results within three weeks, however, delays may occur. Results for lottery licenses can be viewed by logging on to their Game and Fish account and clicking on “Additional Info” for the associated license. Results for first-come, first-served licenses will be sent via email. To add or update contact information, visit My Account at the department’s website, gf.nd.gov.
Hunters should note a carcass or head of a deer taken from units 3A1, 3B1, 3F2, 4B and 4C may not be transported to a collection site outside of the unit. Exception: hunters can transport the whole deer carcass between adjoining CWD carcass restricted units.
More information on CWD, including transportation restrictions, is available at the Game and Fish website.