The Coho Salmon and the Steelhead Trout are listed as "threatened" under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The hatcheries near the Russian River are trying to reverse this trend and stop the extinction of the fish. The hatcheries track the fish that come into the river from the ocean and capture the females that have eggs. Once caught, about 15 out of 100 fish are actually taken to the hatchery. The eggs from the female are squeezed out and then fertilized by the male fish.
Once the fish are about 8-10 inches long, which is about 9-11 months later, they are ready to be put back into the river. The fish from the hatchery are usually let go on a New Moon. The New Moon is called a period of darkness, which is when the fish imprint in the river.
Imprinting starts when the fish are put back into the Russian River or in the original river they came from. Once the fish are released into the river, they are kept in captivity in this area for 30 days in order to become familiar with the river areas. This is the area where the fish will return later in life to spawn. This is what the hatchery calls fish imprinting. After 30 days in the Russian River they open the screen to the ocean for the fish to voluntarily leave.
Every fish that is put back into the Russian River is marked. Marking the fish is done by cutting the little fin between the adipose and the tail. This is done in order for the fishermen to tell whether or not it is a wild fish or hatchery fish. Another way in determining whether or not the fish is wild or hatchery is by the dorsal fin on the back. If it is worn off the top it is a hatchery fish. There is a current proposal that will make it a law for fishermen to only catch hatchery fish. When they catch a wild fish, they will need to let the fish go.
The positive side to this is that it is helping the Coho Salmon and the Steelhead Trout from becoming extinct. There is also a negative side. Once the reproduced fish are put into the river, they mix with the native fish and wild fish. Federal fish officials worry that mixing salmon and trout raised in man-made hatcheries, with fish in the wild, will hamper the species growth. Those raised in hatcheries are not self-sufficient and may have problems surviving. In reproducing the fish, it does not really preserve the "wild fish", but only allows for more fish to be caught by humans (Aramando).