Picking fertilized salmon eggs in a Hatchery.

Egg picking is an important part of salmon hatchery operations. The process involves identifying unfertilized or dead salmon eggs from fertilized ones to mitigate the spread of Saprolegnia, a water mold that can infect and kill off healthy eggs.

Step one: Shocking/Bumping
At the hatchery I worked at (Nanaimo River Hatchery), once the eggs were at a certain development stage, we would "shock" the eggs. This process involved bumping the eggs against a barrel lightly to hasten the decay process in unfertilized eggs. These dead eggs turn white, making them easy to identify and remove from the incubation tray.