Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Skagit Valley Herald reports on a fish die-off in Browns Slough. Last week, hundreds of shiner perch and some fingerling chinook were found dead near Fir Island Road:

Other than the dead fish, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Because there was no obvious cause of the fish deaths, Wildlife called in Ecology, which arrived about an hour later.

But Ecology workers saw no sheen

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The Swinomish Tribe is developing a subsistence manila clam fishery on Lone Tree Point.

“We’re using habitat we already have to increase opportunities for our tribal members to gather shellfish,” said Lorraine Loomis, fisheries manager for the tribe. “Shellfish always have been part of our traditional diet and culture.”

In 2011, shellfish biologist Julie Barber seeded five test plots totaling 1,000 square feet with good survival …

Tulalip leader and director of the Hibulb Cultural Center, Henry “Hank” Delano Gobin, Kwi tlum kadim, passed away April 25.

Gobin was born May 29, 1941 in Tulalip, Wash. He is survived by his wife, Inez Bill-Gobin; two sisters, Anna Mae Hatch (Verle, deceased) and Isabelle Legg (James, deceased); a brother, Earl “Moxie” Renecker (Bernice, deceased); and three sons, Rick, Brian, and Bill Coriz, all …

Lummi Nation elder Frances Gladys (Lane) James, Che top ie, passed away April 28 in Bellingham.

Fran James was born May 20, 1924 on Portage Island. She is survived by her son, Lummi Nation Hereditary Chief Bill James, Tsi li xw; sisters Ernestine Gensaw, Rena Ballew and Beverly (Jack) Cagey; brother Glen Lane, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is culturally survived by many sons, …

Every year, the Lummi Nation releases a million coho yearlings from its Lummi Bay Hatchery in two batches of 500,000 fish. The fish are spawned at the Lummi Bay Hatchery and reared at the state’s Kendall Creek hatchery until they are yearlings. Then the fish are transported back to Lummi Bay where they are released.

Lummi Bay Hatchery Releases Yearling Coho Salmon from NW Indian Fisheries …

The Herald of Everett takes a look at culverts in Snohomish County, some that will have to be repaired by the state under Judge Martinez’s ruling, and some that already have been repaired:

Puget Sound-area Indian tribes in 2001 took the state to court over culverts and their effect on salmon runs. In 2007, Martinez ordered the state and tribes to agree on a schedule

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The Upper Skagit Tribe is exploring the possibility of using a tangle net to learn more about Skagit River steelhead.

Last year, the tribe collected scales to determine the age and life history of 75 steelhead harvested over a two-week period during its ceremonial and subsistence fishery. But from a scientific standpoint, researchers need more than 75 samples and a longer sample period to learn about …

Nooksack River water rights were discussed yesterday at a local water policy board meeting in Whatcom County.

The Bellingham Herald reports:

The tribes contend that their fishing rights, recognized by the federal courts based on the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855, also contain a guarantee of Nooksack River water that is abundant enough and clean enough to support the salmon that spawn in the river and

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The documentary team of Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele featured the Swinomish Tribe in a video on the Facing Climate Change website.

Facing Climate Change: Coastal Tribes from Benjamin Drummond / Sara Steele on Vimeo.

The Swinomish Tribe has lived on the coasts of the Salish Sea for thousands of years. Today, rising seas not only threaten cultural traditions, but also the economic

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Wildlife biologists from the Stillaguamish and Tulalip tribes are testing a new way to track the population of the Nooksack elk herd using the animals’ scat.

Tribal biologists have partnered with Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment to determine the most efficient way to collect DNA from elk scat. Genetic material can be found in the intestinal mucus coating the pellets. This winter, biologists …