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receives a combination of fry and smolts and the Pawcatuck River has a parr stocking <br />program. <br />We reviewed nine projects in the New England states; two were considered true <br />supplementation, both were evaluated. <br />Fry Stocking <br />Restoration in the Merrimack River relies mainly on fry that are scatter planted into <br />nearly all suitable rearing habitat. Roughly 250 miles of stream are presently included in <br />the program. In 1989 and 1988, over 1.0 million and 1.7 million fry respectively were <br />released in the river basin.. The fry stocking goal for the Merrimack River Basin is 1.8 <br />million. <br />The majority of returning .salmon are trapped and held to be used for spawning. <br />Domesticated captive broodstock and reconditioned kelts are also used to obtain the <br />number of eggs desired for the program. All fry stocked into Merrimack drainages in <br />1987 were of Merrimack River origin. <br />Fry-are stocked at 20 to 50 fry per 100 square meter unit depending on the quality of <br />habitat, etc. Seven index sites are then monitored for growth and survival, condition <br />factors and water quality. <br />Since 1982, roughly 40 percent of the adult returns to the Merrimack River have <br />originated from the fry stocking program. Seventy-four percent of these fry emigrate as <br />two-year-old smolts. The contribution of the fry program was 66 percent of returns in <br />1988 and 67 percent in 1989. It should be noted that total fish for 1988 and 1989 was 65 <br />and 84, respectively. These are the first and second lowest full-season totals since <br />salmon returns to the river were first documented in 1982. The range of adult returns to <br />the Merrimack for 1983 to 1987 is 103 to 214 with a mean of 137. Total return through <br />1989 numbers 860. The adult return rate for 1984 fry plants surviving to 1 + parr was <br />estimated at 0.04 percent. Total return fry-to-adult was 0.005 percent for 1984 releases. <br />Of the adults returning to the Merrimack, 78 percent return as 2-sea-winters, 18 percent <br />as 1-sea-winters and 4 percent as 3-sea-winters. <br />The Connecticut River program utilizes fry releases in its restoration efforts with a <br />stocking goal of 2.0 million fry. In 1989 and 1988, over 1.2 million and 1.3 million fry, <br />respectively, were released in the river basin. Minta et al. (1987) found the survival of <br />"wild" smolts (smolts .produced from fry releases)-to-adults was nearly 10 times greater <br />than hatchery smolt-to-adult return rates for a Connecticut River tributary in 1984. <br />These "wild" fish comprised 36 percent of the total run. Y. Cote, a Quebec biologist, <br />found that flow for 30 to 40 days after stocking is a critical factor in fry survival. <br />33 <br />