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Suquamish Seafoods builds new office, processing facility

The Suquamish Tribe has constructed a new seafood plant to increase the variety of products offered to consumers.

“With the new plant, we have the ability to deliver fresh clams, crab and salmon to our commercial customers,” said Suquamish Seafoods general manager Tony Forsman. “We also plan to develop our product lines further, making them available directly to the consumer.”

The new 16,000-square-foot building includes a flash freezer with a holding capacity up to 28,000 lbs. of Dungeness crab. (more…)

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Read more about the article Jamestown S’Klallam reconnects creek to strait to save fish
Jamestown S'Klallam tribal staff dig out a channel in a sandbar that is blocking the flow of Seibert Creek to the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to low water flow.

Jamestown S’Klallam reconnects creek to strait to save fish

Jamestown S'Klallam tribal staff dig out a channel in a sandbar that is blocking the flow of Seibert Creek to the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to low water flow.
Jamestown S’Klallam tribal staff dig out a channel in a sandbar that is blocking the flow of Siebert Creek to the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to low water flow.

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is starting to see the effects of this year’s predicted low water flow in the Dungeness River Valley much sooner than anticipated.

Tribal natural resources staff discovered this week that the mouth of Siebert Creek had been cut off by a sandbar – a typical problem with the creek during a low water year.

But this year’s low flows are more severe than usual due to the record-low snowpack in the Olympic Mountains.

“We never consider low flows in the spring because we typically have more water coming down the creeks,” said Chris Burns, Jamestown natural resources technician. “But when McDonald Creek started looking really skinny, I started getting really worried and checked Siebert. (more…)

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Read more about the article How the Squaxin Island Tribe is boosting shellfish populations
Doyle Foster, a shellfish technician with the Squaxin Island Tribe, bags clam seed from the tribe's FLUPSY.

How the Squaxin Island Tribe is boosting shellfish populations

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The Squaxin Island Tribe recently constructed a floating upwelling system (FLUPSY) to help maintain a growing shellfish enhancement program. “This gives us much more flexibility in our shellfish growing operation,”…

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Read more about the article Swinomish Fish Co. to sell salmon bacon

Swinomish Fish Co. to sell salmon bacon

everetteThe Swinomish Fish Co. has found a purpose for the meat left on a salmon’s frame after it is filleted.

Salmon bacon.

The tribally owned company is smoking and packaging the remaining meat into a new ready-to-eat product. The Native Catch brand salmon bacon should be in stores by mid-June, along with its new sockeye salmon jerky.

“We suspect that bacon is going to be a big seller out of the gates,” said Everette Anderson, vice president of marketing and sales for the company.

Other products in the works are snack sticks (think salmon Slim Jims) and salmon hot dogs.

“We’re producing from wild harvested raw material – and using what was typically considered scraps – some clever, tasty and unique products,” Anderson said. (more…)

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Read more about the article Coastal razor clam harvest closed indefinitely
Scott Mazzone, marine biologist for the Quinault Indian Nation, digs a razor clam used for sampling for marine biotoxins. All razor clam harvest has been suspended indefinitely on the Washington coast due to a high level of domoic acid in razor clams. The toxin does not harm the clams, but can sicken or kill humans.

Coastal razor clam harvest closed indefinitely

The state Department of Health has closed the non-tribal razor clam harvest for the Washington coast indefinitely and Quinault Indian Nation has also closed its ceremonial and subsistence and commercial…

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Read more about the article Makah Tribe continues pursuit of treaty whaling right
Makah tribal member Paul Hayte addresses NOAA Fisheries personnel during a public hearing on the tribe's whaling proposal.

Makah Tribe continues pursuit of treaty whaling right

Paul Hayte post“Our treaty is a living document just like the Constitution,” said Makah tribal member John Haupt during a public hearing about the tribe’s proposed whale hunt. “You are making something simple, complicated – we ceded thousands of acres of land in exchange for protection of our rights on the ocean.”

The hearing, held in Port Angeles at the end of April, was part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries public comment process for a draft environmental impact statement for the tribe’s whaling proposal. There are six options, including no whaling and the tribes’ proposal of the harvest of up to five Eastern north Pacific gray whales a year. (more…)

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Read more about the article New tools aid tribe’s steelhead tracking
Jed Moore, salmon biologist for the Nisqually Indian Tribe, uses a tablet computer to record steelhead spawning in the Nisqually watershed.

New tools aid tribe’s steelhead tracking

Jed Moore, salmon biologist for the Nisqually Indian Tribe, uses a tablet computer to record steelhead spawning in the Nisqually watershed.
Jed Moore, salmon biologist for the Nisqually Indian Tribe, uses a tablet computer to record steelhead spawning in the Nisqually watershed.

Nisqually tribal surveyors are hitting the water with a new piece of equipment that will help them better track endangered steelhead.

“We’ve been adapting our surveying techniques to gather more precise information on not only how many steelhead make it back each year to spawn, but where exactly they spawn,” said David Troutt, natural resources director for the tribe. “In the past we’ve doubled the amount of walking surveys we’re doing, and now we are using new tools to make that time on the river more productive.”

The surveyors are carrying tablet computers, allowing them to mark steelhead redds – or nests – more accurately than they could with expensive GPS units. The tablets display a detailed stream map prepared by the tribe’s geographic information department, allowing the surveyors to mark redd locations precisely.
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Read more about the article Tribal and state salmon co-managers come to agreement on upcoming fishing seasons

Tribal and state salmon co-managers come to agreement on upcoming fishing seasons

sockeyeTreaty tribal and state salmon co-managers reached agreement late Tuesday on a package of fishing seasons that will fairly share the burden of conserving weak wild salmon stocks while providing limited harvest opportunities.

“Cooperation on both sides helped to ensure that everyone will be able to fish this year,” said Lorraine Loomis, chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

“We are especially thankful for the leadership of former WDFW director Phil Anderson and current director Jim Unsworth in helping to meet our shared conservation challenges,” she said.
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Read more about the article Heronswood Gardens Receives First Tribal Art
Carvers David Franklin and

Heronswood Gardens Receives First Tribal Art

Carvers David Franklin and Brian Perry, and a Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe dancer perform in front of the totem pole at Heronswood. Photos of the totem pole can be viewed by clicking here.

Port Gamble S’Klallam tribal member Brian Perry has dabbled in small carving projects the past 20 years, but knew he needed support for creating his first totem pole.

Perry, under the eye of accomplished Northwest carver David Franklin, spent 2014 carving the 12-foot tall cedar totem pole that is now mounted at the entrance of Heronswood, the botanical gardens owned by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe.

“Working with Dave turned out to be a wise decision,” Perry said. “There are a lot of different tools needed to turn a log into a sculpture, many of which I do not own. Dave had all the tools that we needed and I learned a great deal working on this project.”

(more…)

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