Monthly Archives: April 2012

Monitoring Health and Growth of Net Pen Coho

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Each month Squaxin NR staff takes samples of coho from the net pens to monitor growth progress and fish pathology.   We select pens that are representative of the stocks we have and then seine a random sample of these pens.

George Krise seining coho smolt samples
George Krise dip netting a sample
Will Henderson and Joe Peters take fork length measurements.
Coho Smolt
Net Pen lethal samples of Skookumchuck fish to be sent off to NWIFC Pathology Lab

All photos above taken by Sarah Zaniewski

The sample is weighed and one hundred of them are measured.   Eight fish are taken from this sample as lethal samples to be looked at by Northwest Indian Fish Commission Fish Pathologists.

Squaxin Smolt Trapping Underway

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Cranberry Creek Weir Panel Smolt Trap
Fork length measurement of a coho smolt (photo taken by Sarah Zaniewski)
Goldsborough Rotary Screw Trap

Squaxin Island Tribe is entering the thirteenth year of monitoring downstream outmigration of Oncorhynchus kisutch smolts (coho salmon smolts) by using weirs, rotary screw traps and mark/recapture methodology.   The enumeration  data of outmigrating smolts is used to estimate natural coho salmon production and for forecasting returning adults for South Puget Sound.

Squaxin will install weir panel traps on Mill, Cranberry, and Skookum Creeks at a site below observed coho spawning locations thus, capturing all outmigrating smolts.  Also a rotary screw trap will be installed in Goldsborough Creek  to be used in standard mark/recapture methodology.  Outmigrating coho salmon smolts will be captured, enumerated and lengths measured.  Other species such as chum fry, cutthroat, rainbow trout, and sculpin are also seen in the trap.