1000s Of Salmon Released Into The Bay For 8th Annual Tiburon Event

TIBURON (KCBS) -- Thousands of baby salmon were released into the Bay Saturday morning as part of the 8th Annual Salmon Release at Blackie's Pasture in Tiburon.

Several dozen kids lined up at the salmon tank truck hoping to fill small buckets with water and baby salmon inside. It was very much a family affair including live music, BBQ from the fire department and science booths as the Chinook salmon were set free.

Brooke Halsey, founder of the Tiburon Salmon Institute and the event's organizer said depending on the water's temperature, the kids will either pour it into the Bay themselves or have students from Casa Grande High School take them out further into the water where temperatures are cooler.

He said when it's all said and done, 2,000 salmon smelt raised by students at Casa Grande in Petaluma will be released into the Bay.

"We're celebrating the Bay, celebrating the salmon, but first of all we're celebrating the kids," Halsey said.

Parents were on board too. As the activity of re-populating the salmon provided some valuable and fun-family time.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)