Tough choices when high heat threatens fish

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The high heat has biologists on the lookout for area water conditions that could threaten fish.

Idaho Fish and Game reports it initiated the first fish salvage order of 2021 in mid-June due to low water, which is earlier than usual and signals more challenges ahead as summer progresses. With drought in some areas and near-record high temperatures throughout the state in late June, conditions may become hazardous for fish.

“Fish salvage is common in Idaho, but this is about two months earlier than normal, so this is shaping up to be a bad year,” Fish and Game State Fisheries Manager Joe Kozfkay said.

Fisheries managers closely watch these situations and know what actions to take. These decisions aren’t taken lightly, and they can be controversial in the literal “heat of the moment,” but biologists have experience and scientific research to help guide them.

If there’s a reservoir, lake or pond that’s destined to be drained by the end of summer, or become uninhabitable to fish, a fish manager has limited options: trap and relocate fish, offer salvage fishing, do nothing, or a combination of them.