Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks collected an estimated 791,000 eggs in October from about 200 Chinook salmon in the Fort Peck Reservoir.

Salmon do not reproduce naturally in the reservoir so the eggs will be raised to fingerlings before being released in 2018, according to FWP.

The number of collected eggs were down from the 1.4 million collected in 2016, a record year. Despite this, 2017 represents the second most eggs collected since the program began. Salmon were first introduced to Fort Peck in 1983.

FWP officials used electrofishing boats to capture the salmon and targeted areas near the dam. The presence of older females, many four years old, allowed for more eggs to be collected.

Most of the females captured weighed about 20 pounds. The largest measured 35.8 inches and weighed 26.7 pounds.

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