By Kirk Flatter
 
June 9, 2009
 
WHITE CITY, Ore. - Another tough fishing season has lead the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to look into utilizing some old tools to help restore fish populations.
 
Some experts say an incubator box, or hatchbox, could get the Rogue River and other areas thriving with salmon again. The plastic compartments are filled with fish eggs and laid directly in the gravel of streams or rivers in hopes they will hatch.
 
"Hatchboxes are a tool where spawning gravel is lacking. So hatchboxes can be a tool to increase fish numbers where spawning gravel is lacking, and for instance, egg survival is very poor," says ODFW Fish Biologist Dan Van Dyke.
 
An Oregon statute designates that the boxes can only be placed in scientifically designated areas.
 
Van Dyke says ODFW is looking into installing the boxes in a few areas, including Evans Creek, Bear Creek, and Jackson Creek.
 
Some fishermen say they would like to see the boxes placed in large quantities to evaluate how well they would work.
 
Currently, a bill in the Oregon Senate aims at evaluating the effectiveness of the hatchbox program.
 
Senate Bill 472 is sponsored by Senator Jason Atkinson (R-Central Point Dist. 2).