35,000 fish dropped from airplane to restock remote Utah lake

Fish Dropped From Plane to Restock Remote Utah Lakes

The wildlife division stocked around 200 remote lakes that are not accessible by vehicle across the state in early June.

BOLDER MOUNTAIN, Utah - Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources released footage of an airplane dropping fish into a remote lake in the Boulder Mountain region.

In the video, a small aircraft released a plethora of fish into the lake as Utah increases its efforts to restock remote high elevation lakes across the state.

The wildlife division stocked around 200 remote lakes that are not accessible by vehicle across the state in early June.

In a Facebook post, the division said the airplane holds "hundreds of pounds of water and can drop 35,000 fish in a single flight without reloading."

The fish are between 1-3 inches long and flutter slowly down toward the water.

The fish are between 1-3 inches long and flutter slowly down toward the water, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Utah has used aerial fish stocking since the mid-1950s. Post-stocking surveys show that the survival rate of aerial-stocked fish is "incredibly high," according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

"We used to load fish into milk cans and we needed horses to get us into these remote areas." the division said on its YouTube page. "The aerial method of stocking is much quicker and less stressful for the fish."

This story was reported from Boston.