Salmon fry released into the Caspian the other day

[INTRO]Every year in April–May, staff of the Azerbaijan Experimental Marine Fish Hatchery (which is under the Department for the Reproduction and Protection of Aquatic Biological Resources of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources) release juvenile Kura salmon into the Caspian Sea.[/INTRO]

The salmon fry are brought to the hatchery in November–December from the Gabala and Chaykend (Khanlar district) experimental salmon fry hatcheries.

The process takes seven months. Roe is taken from brood fish and fertilised artificially. The eggs are then reared in special incubators. After 90–100 days they become fry, and over the course of a year they finally grow into juveniles. They are first raised in fresh water, then brought to the sea and kept in special cages until they grow and change colour from pink to silvery-pearl. It is a kind of second birth for the fry...
As always, a special commission came to see the fry off on their long journey through the Caspian Sea. It included representatives of the Department for the Reproduction and Protection of Aquatic Biological Resources of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Azerbaijan Fisheries Research Institute, the Aquatic Biological Resources Protection Service, the Water Transport Police Department, and other officials. Naturally, representatives of various national media outlets were also present.
Before our eyes, 42050 fry were released into the sea from the special cages, each weighing on average 70 to 100 grams. As I learned from the hatchery staff, they have achieved very high results in rearing this valuable fish species: their losses are only 1%, whereas in the wild the survival rate of fry is only 50%.
The young Kura salmon are deliberately kept in cages because if they were released into the sea straight from fresh water, they would go into shock. After a short period of adaptation, however, the fry are ready for life in their new marine environment.
Kura salmon is one of the valuable commercial fish species. In the recent past this fish was listed among the rare and endangered species of our republic's fauna and was entered in the Red Book of Azerbaijan. The annual release of juvenile Kura salmon is of enormous benefit, since, raised by caring human hands, they will be able to grow, develop and reproduce in the wild. In this way Azerbaijani specialists are increasing the numbers of this valuable fish species. Perhaps in the very near future the Kura salmon will become not just an ornament of the Caspian but also one of its main "attractions", alongside the sturgeon, whose stocks are also being increased by the staff of the Department for the Reproduction and Protection of Aquatic Biological Resources of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan.

Source: zerkalo.az