As many of you know, all the Chinook Salmon at Ringwood need to be fin
clipped before release into the lake. Also, some of them will be marked with
a coded wire tag. This marking and tagging will be done using AutoFish,
which is state of the art technology in fish marking systems. AutoFish
arrives from New York on April 16 2010. It is presently marking and tagging
at the Salmon River hatchery. You can read all about AutoFish at
<http://www.nmt-inc.com/products/afs/afs.htm.>

I am sure many of you have seen or heard that we have had a banner year at
Ringwood. The fish are the largest ever produced at the facility and not
only have we met our target, we are carrying a significant surplus. This
surplus will be stocked in the lower Niagara River to help the US with their
shortfall. I am not yet certain of the final surplus tally, but it is in the
neighborhood of 100K fish. That means about two extra days of clipping and
tagging with AutoFish.

The plan right now is that setup will take place on the morning of Saturday
April 17, and we should be in full operation by the afternoon. A typical day
will start around 8 am and end about 10 pm, including the weekend. The work
involved includes moving hoses and piping; netting, carrying and placing
fish into a holding tank; and manually clipping and tagging fish that have
been missed by AutoFish. Additionally, we have routine hatchery chores that
need to be performed, including stocking. The marking will likely continue
through April 26 and stocking until at least the first week in May.

As you can imagine, the success of such an operation is entirely dependent
on volunteer support. Without your help, it would fail. I am therefore
asking you if you can make time in your busy schedules to come out to
Ringwood to help. Even if you can spare only a few hours, it would be really
appreciated. If any of you would like to run the BBQ or perhaps prepare some
home-made food to feed the crews, you will be welcomed with open arms; we
all like pizza, but there is a limit as to how many consecutive meals of it
a human can handle. I know I can depend on your continued dedication and
support. Please let me know when you would like to come out to help. I'm
looking forward to seeing many of you during this operation.

__________________________________

Andy Rubaszek
Operations Coordinator
Ringwood Fish Culture Station
13232 HWY 48
Stouffville ON
L4A 7X3

phone: 905-640-6204
FAX: 905-640-6206
cell: 416-627-5560