At 5.45pm on Tuesday a tanker truck stopped at the Leith Wharf and emptied more than 15,000 salmon smolt into Otago Harbour.
Of those 15,000 1-year-old smolt, only an estimated 1300 were likely to return to the area to spawn or be caught by eager anglers, New Zealand Salmon Anglers Association Otago Branch chairman Wayne Olsen said.
The latest release was expected to return to Otago Harbour in early 2011.
The surviving salmon would be about 5-7kg and be "delicious".
Salmon smolt had been released into the harbour since 1986 by the association, and tonight a further 15,000 would be released, he said.
Early release of smolt had led to poor returns, but the June release would lead to higher returns, as fewer predators were around, he explained.
The smolt were bought from Silverstream Hatchery in Kaiapoi for $45,000, and since the association's inception it had released more than 900,000 smolt at a cost of $650,000.
"It is a real asset to the city," Mr Olsen said.
