Chinook Salmon Marking Projects
ï‚· In 2008, NYSDEC purchased an automated fish marking trailer (AutoFish) which is capable of
adipose clipping and/or applying coded wire tags (CWTs) to salmon and trout at high speed
and accuracy. To determine the proportions of wild and hatchery Chinook salmon in Lake
Ontario, all Chinook salmon stocked by New York and Ontario from 2008-2011 were marked
with an adipose fin clip. Percentages of wild Chinook salmon in Lake Ontario varied by year
class and age and among regions from 2009-2015. The wild study was completed in 2015 and
overall, wild Chinook were an important component of the Lake Ontario fishery averaging
47% of the age 2 & 3 Chinooks harvested in the lake.