In video from Utah, thousands of baby fish get the chance to fly down to their watery home via airdrop over the lakes they are sent to restock.
Since 1950, Utah has used aerial fish restocking to fill over 200 remote lakes across the state. Today, more than 35,000 small fish — known as fingerlings — can be released in a single drop, repopulating marine life in hard-to-reach bodies of water throughout the state.
Video shows a small plane taking off near a lake in Utah's Bicknell area. As the plane passes over the lake, a hatch is opened, and thousands of live fish pour out. The cloud of fish fill the sky before they rain down, one by one, to the lake below.
Because the lakes are so remote, maintaining proper oxygen levels can be a challenge if the fish are transported by road, which is why airdrops have become the method of choice to restock.
