See the Biggest Steelhead Seen at the Coleman Fish Hatchery This Season
Since steelhead were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1998, Coleman Fish Hatchery has been dedicated to growing the species of fish for Northern California waterways. This season was no exception.
Like salmon, steelhead possess the extraordinary ability to sense their native rivers from more than a thousand miles away in the open ocean. When it is time to spawn, they need no directions. Humans have tried and failed to understand this without success, and even the best GPS units cannot compare with a steelhead’s innate ability to find home. Every steelhead knows where home is.
Steelhead return to their spawning ground at Coleman where their eggs are processed in the facility. While steelhead numbers were down this season, that didn’t stop the workers at the hatchery to marvel at the beautiful fish known to be feisty and elusive in the waterways of NorCal. Here are some of the biggest and most beautiful steelhead seen at Coleman Fish Hatchery this season:
Coleman Fish Hatchery is California’s most productive hatchery, with annual production goals totaling over 13 million. Coleman spawns all of these fish in the Anderson, CA facility and releases them back into the waterways in order to keep steelhead and Chinook salmon populations thriving.