Salmon trout planted in Strömmen and in the archipelago

Salmon trout planted in Strömmen and in the archipelago Fish stocks in Stockholms Ström and the Stockholm archipelago will receive a real boost over the Easter weekend, when Vattenfall, the sports and recreation department of Stockholm City Council and the Strömstararna angling club plant salmon and salmon trout in the waters around Stockholm. The planting of fish is a sure sign that spring has arrived. Vattenfall and the City of Stockholm regularly plant fish in April-May, when the two-year old salmon trout fry have become smolt and are preparing for life in the sea. In recent years, over 100 000 salmon trout fry have been planted per year. In Stockholms Ström- alone, 22 100 salmon trout fry and 2 500 salmon trout will be planted this spring. Planting will begin at16.30 on Easter Monday (16 April) at Strömbron, and will continue on Tuesday 17 April at 13.30 and on Tuesday 24 April at 14.30. The smolt imprint in the watercourses in which they are planted or grow up. Salmon trout can therefore be introduced into new suitable streams that can then act as natural "nurseries" for the salmon trout in the future. The salmon trout planted in Stockholms Ström also imprint there. Adult fish thus return after spending a few years in the archipelago and provide Stockholm with a feature that is unique throughout the world -the opportunity to fish for salmon trout in the middle of the city. This opportunity is dependent on the planting of fish. Vattenfall's planting activities in the County of Stockholm are voluntary and having nothing to do with the company's obligation to plant fish in order to compensate for fishing in watercourses that have been regulated for energy generation purposes. Marking has revealed that approximately 20 per cent of the salmon trout planted are caught as adult individuals. This means that 20 000 salmon trout weighing between 2 and 10 kilograms are caught in the county each year as a direct result of the planting programme. Half of these are caught by anglers. The largest salmon trout caught to date weighed 14.7 kilograms and was caught outside Gålö. The Swedish record is 15,3 kilograms. It is, as yet, prohibited by law to take up the fish that will be planted this spring, they have to be allowed to grow first. The minimum size for a salmon trout is 50 centimetres, and a fish this size weighs approximately 1.5 kilograms. In the case of salmon the minimum size is 60 cm. From Vattenfall's Press Office, tel: 08-739 50 10. For further information, please contact: Kjell Winström, Fishery Biologist, Vattenfall, telephone +46-8-739 66 08, mobile +46-70-539 66 08. Vattenfall's vision is to be a leading European energy company. The Nordic region, Poland and Germany are its domestic markets. Today, Vattenfall generates power and supplies energy solutions to 2.2 million customers in the Nordic region and northern Europe. The largest electricity customers are industrial plants and energy companies. Vattenfall's main products are electricity, heat and natural gas, as well as network, consulting and maintenance services. Vattenfall's net sales in 2000 amounted to almost SEK 32 billion. Sales included 83 TWh electricity and 17 TWh heat. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/04/11/20040817BIT20750/wkr0001.pdf