Chinook Salmon

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe uses sonar to count fish in Elwha River

Sonar is helping the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe get an accurate estimate of some species of salmon returning to the Elwha River.

The Tribe has been counting the number of returning adult chinook salmon and steelhead using a sonar camera since 2008 with positive results.

The camera is placed just below the water’s surface, sending out sound beams that “hit” a fish and reflect back to the camera. The camera is connected to a computer that translates the sound beams into pixels that are counted as fish.

This is part of the overall effort to see how many fish return to the river following the recent removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams. The Elwha was removed completely by March 2013 and the Glines Canyon is expected to be fully removed by end of 2014.  (more…)

Continue ReadingLower Elwha Klallam Tribe uses sonar to count fish in Elwha River

South Fork Nooksack Chinook Captive Broodstock Reach Spawning Age

Captive brood ultrasound5
Staff at NOAA’s Manchester Research Station ultrasound a chinook salmon to determine its sex and whether it is ready to be spawned.

More than 500 mature chinook salmon raised in captivity could produce about 1 million eggs at the Lummi Nation’s Skookum Creek Hatchery this year.

Of those, more than 600,000 juveniles are expected to be released into the river next spring.

The fish are part of a captive broodstock program to preserve threatened South Fork Nooksack River chinook. The multi-agency effort involves Lummi, the Nooksack Tribe, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Its goal is to help the recovery of the South Fork Nooksack chinook, a significant population that must be on a path to recovery before Endangered Species Act restrictions can be lifted. (more…)

Continue ReadingSouth Fork Nooksack Chinook Captive Broodstock Reach Spawning Age

Herald: Stillaguamish Tribe gathering juvenile chinook to save dwindling run

The Daily Herald of Everett reports on the Stillaguamish Tribe’s efforts to capture juvenile chinook and raise them to maturity for use as hatchery broodstock:

There was a time when a net cast in the south fork of the Stillaguamish River would bring in a variety of fish.

These days, nets often pull up little more than debris. (more…)

Continue ReadingHerald: Stillaguamish Tribe gathering juvenile chinook to save dwindling run