Measuring and Adipose Clip quality checking a sample of Net Pen coho smolt

Over the last couple of weeks Squaxin Island Natural Resources have released approximately 1.8 million coho smolt from the Net Pen facility located in Peale Passage.      “Our hope is these coho live a healthy life through out their journey   through the Puget Sound into the ocean and return back as 8 lbs adults for the 2011 Washington Sport and Tribal Fisheries,” said Will Henderson Enhancement Manager for Squaxin NR.

Joe Peters measures a sample of coho

Squaxin Island Tribe and Washington Fish and Wildlife co-manage the Net Pen facility in Peale Passage.   Juvenile coho arrive to the net pens in late January at 30 fish to pound.   Staff feed these coho an EWOS diet feed for four months and then the fish are released.  Coho are released at an average of 13 fish to the pound.    The coho smolt released May 2010 will begin returning to South Puget Sound in September 2011.

Forecast for returning adult Net Pen Coho for 2010 is  33,600.

Squaxin Net Pen Inventory Video

Yesterday we were able to get the traps  fishing again only to let the blow out panels lose today. With another big spring storm scheduled to hit Western Washington early Friday morning, we are preparing for the worst and want to save Skookum and Cranberry traps from complete destruction.

The weir panel traps are designed to blow out when  there is higher water and debris gathers at the panel.  Add more than an inch of rain and windblown debris and the force on can snap wire, bend T-post and break panels.

Fortunately we installed these traps a week and half earlier than normal.  Generally we are not seeing out-migrating coho smolt for another week.  We plan to get things back to normal early next week and begin installing Sherwood and Mill Creek traps.

Goldsborough screw trap is still fishing.

March 29th @9:43 am

Wind and Rain from the spring storm that hit Western Washington Sunday and Monday blew out smolt traps temporarily. As of 7 am Monday March 29th and estimated 1.3 inches of rain fell in Kamilche since Saturday.

Water almost flowing over Skookum Creek smolt trap panels.

We had water flowing over the top of the weir panels and one tree fell over the screw trap diversion panels .

A wind blown tree over Goldsborough

In a few days after the weather has calmed and the creek levels lower  we will get the traps buttoned back up and we will continue installing our remaining two traps.

Monday, March 22nd a rotary screw trap was installed on Goldsborough Creek and a weir panel trap was installed on Skookum Creek, Tuesday March 24th.   Over the next week and a half weir panel traps will be installed on Mill, Cranberry and Sherwood Creeks.

Rotary screw trap on Goldsborough Creek

Project objectives of  smolt trapping are to determine current levels of natural coho  production and smolt outmigration timing.  In addition, the information collected on outmigrants can be used to form relevant spawning escapement goals.

Once traps are installed they are checked daily.  All Oncorhynchus spp. (salmon species) that are captured will be placed into a bucket containing MS-222 (Tricaine Methanesulfonate) and water, fork length recorded on to a data sheet.  Fish exposed to the MS-222 will then be placed into a recovery bucket of stream water and released after noticeable revival from MS-222.  Each fish will be released in a low flow area of the stream, close to the area of capture.  Oncorhynchus kisutch (coho) will be our primary focus of research.  Organisms other than Oncorhynchus spp. caught in the smolt traps will be identified, recorded and released.

Trapping continues from late March through the end of June. In the creeks around the South Puget Sound, coho smolt outmigration  occurs  between the months of April through June.

For more information about North of Falcon go to Washington Fish and Wildlife web page ——->  North of Falcon Q&A.

Regional Chinook, coho and chum forecast have been developed for Washington State and as of February 12th, have been agreed to by  Tribal and Washington State Fish and Wildlife policy representatives.  Below are the agreed to 2010 Deep South Puget Sound salmon forecasts.

The Squaxin Island Tribe is appealing to Gov. Chris Gregoire the decision by the state Department of Ecology to reject a petition to protect Johns Creek. ”Ecology’s inaction does further harm to our treaty-based fisheries,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the Tribe. “Salmon recovery should not have to bear a disproportionate share of the fallout from tough economic times.”

This is the second time in two years that Ecology has rejected the Tribe’s request to protect Johns Creek, citing the need for study on the connection between ground and surface water in the Johns Creek watershed. The Tribe’s petitions were based on a state law that closes a watershed to new well drilling activity if not enough information exists to establish that water is legally available.

If the Gov. Gregoire is serious about protecting the waters of Puget Sound, then she will direct Ecology to act. “Ecology’s excuse is the lack of resources. It takes a commitment to their responsibilities, not money, to close the basin,” said Kevin Lyon, the Tribe’s attorney. “The rule is simple: if you lack information, you don’t take water – especially when minimum flows are not being met.

Read more here.

The Squaxin Island Tribe has filed a second petition with the state Department of Ecology (DOE) to stop all new water withdrawals, including permit-exempt wells, in the Johns Creek watershed near Shelton. The action was taken to protect several runs of salmon that spawn and rear in the creek.

“There isn’t enough water in Johns Creek to support salmon,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the Squaxin Island Tribe. Likely because of withdrawals from hundreds of domestic and municipal wells, the creek does not meet state mandated minimum flows to protect salmon.

The tribe filed the petition under a state law that closes a watershed from future withdrawals if not enough information is available to justify those withdrawals.

This new petition comes almost two years after the state declined an initial call from the tribe to protect Johns Creek. With the original refusal came the promise that the state would work with Mason County to develop ways to achieve minimum streamflows. “That so-called ‘alternative path forward’ never materialized,” Whitener said. “Neither the state or Mason County took any action.”

Read the entire news release here.

Spawned out Kennedy Creek chum- November 4th

Thousands of chum salmon have started to make their journey up Kennedy Creek to spawn.  The past weeks small rain events have push this fish out of the estuary in to the spawning grounds.    It’s great to see the chum are here.

Squaxin Island Tribe treaty fisheries do target chum destined for Totten inlet streams.   The fishery is managed according to  escapement requirements for stocks that are intercepted.    The Totten Inlet escapement goal for this year is 11, 500 chum.

Weekly adult spawner stream surveys are conducted to ensure we are meeting escapement goals.

Kennedy Creek Adult Spawner Survey Counts

Date                   River Mile    Observer     Live    Dead
10/15/2009     0.0-2.3         WDFW           0           3
10/22/2009    0.0-2.3         WDFW         151         3
10/29/2009    0.0-2.3         WDFW        2503      3
11/5/2009      0.0-2.3          WDFW        7208    223

Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail is a great place to view spawning chum.

The trail is open to the public from 10 am to 4 pm on the following days in November:

* Weekends (10/31/09 – 11/29/09)
* Day after Thanksgiving (11/27/09)
* Veteran’s Day (11/11/09)

For more information go South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Groups Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail website.

Chum anglers at the mouth of Kennedy Creek

Joe Peters in Campbell Creek doing an adult spawner survey.

We are monitoring about 15 streams.  The data collected is used to formulate the overall escapement for chum and coho in each surveyed region.

Fish Ladder from Lake Limmerick feeds into Cranberry Creek

Also 2009 marks the 10th year of installing a trap on Cranberry Creek.  This trap is located above a fish ladder at Lake Limmerick.  The target species in this trap is Coho, where we see up to 30 coho a year.  A number of Chum also are encountered.

Fish Tech Bear Lewis scooping chum salmon out of a fish trap in Cranberry Creek

Squaxin Fish Tech. Danny Snyder sampling the Tribes coho fishery. Photo by Emmett O'Connell

This year the Squaxin Island Tribe closed the  Arcadia Pt. area in Pickering Passage during  its Treaty coho fishery to protect wild chum salmon.   The area is well know by Tribal fishermen as a great place to intercept chum salmon as they begin to return to Totten and Hammersley Inlet streams.

In 2008 an unusually high number of chum were caught at Arcadia during coho season. This catch led the tribe to close its chum fishery for a couple of weeks in November to ensure enough fish made it back to Kennedy Creek to perpetuate the run.  We manage our chum fishery based on the numbers of chum we see in the creek.  If we are not making escapement we restrict and even close our chum fishery……….

See the story by Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC