Seattle Youth Aim for the Outdoors - Seattle Boat Show 2012

Future anglers

The rainbow trout may have been laminated, but you wouldn't have known it from the look on the faces of the future anglers that visited us at the Seattle Boat Show!  This type of enthusiasm was commonplace at the 65th Annual Seattle Boat Show, where Fisheries Division staff provided a fun casting activity station for the attending youth. Participants, ranging from 4 years of age through “kid at heart” adults, learned the basics of casting, tested their casting skills, and even took part in some playful accuracy competitions. The goal of the activity was to provide a relevant and fun activity that would inspire future natural resource recreationalists.

Judging from the sheer volume of smiles, it’s safe to say we accomplished this goal. Over 600 youth participated in the casting activities over the 10 days of the show (January 27 - February 5).  Five staff members and one high school volunteer provided casting lessons, supervision, and distributed prizes to all participants--both young and old.  We hope that these future angling enthusiasts will take their new-found skills to a local river or lake. With future natural resource recreationalists comes future advocates!

For more information about the Seattle Boat Show, visit http://www.seattleboatshow.com/.

    

A Regional View of the USFWS Fisheries Program

This week, our Regional office launched a website (Link 1) containing highlights of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Fisheries Program in the Pacific Region for 2011.

We are one of several USFWS Fisheries offices  located in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and the Pacific Islands.  Each office works with tribal, state, and other federal partners to promote conservation of aquatic trust species and the habitats required to sustain them for future generations of Americans.

Several of our western Washington aquatic species conservation projects and youth outreach programs are highlighted in the report (Link 2). We are pleased to share the report and website with you in an effort to raise awareness of aquatic trust species conservation needs and efforts in our region. 

Link 1:  Region 1 website

Link 2:  A Year in the Water: Pacific Region Fishery Resources 2011 Highlights

  

Elwha River Weir Summary 2011

The Elwha River weir (a temporary trap) was re-installed on August 18, 2011, to count and collect biological data from adult salmon and steelhead as part of an ongoing effort to determine how these populations change as a result of dam removal. A secondary goal is to provide broodstock for hatchery production and conservation during dam removal when turbidity levels are expected to be lethal to fish in the river.


2.340 cfs and still working

Due to an unusually high snowpack (190% of normal), the trap had to be installed at a flow of 1,640 cubic feet per second (cfs). The first fish caught was a sockeye, which was marked and passed upstream. The trap fished continuously from August 18 to October 19, 2011, except for three days when flows exceeded 4,000 cfs. The weir was once again pushed to the limits in 2011, fishing at flows over 2,500 cfs (compared to a high of 2,200 cfs in 2010), which significantly exceeded our weir design expectation of 2,000 cfs. The weir was removed on October 19, 2011, after the removal of a log boom at the Elwha Dam which resulted in the release of hundreds of large logs into the lower Elwha River.

A total of 647 live and dead (carcasses) salmon and trout were captured at the weir during the 2011 summer/fall season, compared to 492 fish captured in 2010. A total of 218 live adult salmon and trout, representing seven different species including Chinook (73), pink (129), chum (1), coho (1), and sockeye salmon (8), and steelhead (3) and bull trout (3) were captured at the weir in 2011.  


Species present in the Elwha River

Fifty-five Chinook salmon were retained for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Chinook salmon broodstock program at the Elwha rearing channel. One hundred twelve pink salmon were also retained as broodstock for the pink salmon captive brood program. This program is designed to protect the pink salmon stock during lethal turbidity levels occurring during dam removal.

In addition to the live fish caught at the weir, 429 salmon carcasses, including 381 Chinook and 48 pinks, were handled. These post-spawn carcasses represent fish that had either migrated upstream past the weir before it was installed or were passed above the weir by weir personnel.

Data collected for fish caught at the weir included, species, fish condition, sex, origin (wild/hatchery), presence/absence of coded-wire tags and passive integrated transponder tags (PIT), fin condition, length, scale samples for aging, DNA samples, and information on adult run timing. Otolith samples were collected from Chinook salmon carcasses.



Sampling a sockeye salmon for PIT tag detection

The weir is planned to be re-installed during the winter of 2012 to capture and count adult steelhead and any other adult salmonids migrating in the Elwha River. In addition to biological data collection, the weir will be used in conjunction with a SONAR system to assess steelhead abundance.

The Elwha River weir project is part of a multi-agency effort which includes the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Olympic National Park, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), to evaluate the response of adult salmonids to the removal of two Elwha River hydroelectric dams. The weir was funded in 2011 by cooperating agencies as part of their annual budget. Additional funds were obtained through the President’s stimulus program (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) which funded the project through September 30, 2011. The weir is funded through September 30, 2012, with funds provided by USEPA through the Puget Sound Partnership.

     


2011 in Review: Elwha Dam Removal and the Fish Weir

As we reach the end of 2011, we find ourselves wondering how the year went by so quickly and thinking about some of the highlights. For our office, this year will definitely be remembered as the year that removal of two large dams on the Elwha River finally started. Since early September, much progress has been made in tearing down the dams. A time-lapse video of the dam demolition can be viewed at http://www.video-monitoring.com/construction/olympic/js.htm. For more information on the events leading up to demolition and how our office has been involved, visit http://www.fws.gov/wafwo/dams.html.

Elwha Dam on December 23, 2011

Once the dams have been completely removed, it won't be long before anadromous fish will once again have access to the >70 miles of pristine aquatic habitat located upstream in Olympic National Park. We intend to document how quickly these salmon, steelhead, and bull trout populations rebound by counting them on their journey up the river in coming years. In late 2010, we added a post describing the weir structure being operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (in partnership with USGS, NOAA-Fisheries, Olympic National Park, the Lower Elwha Tribe, and our office). To date, this is our most frequently visited story since starting the blog.

   

Lake Sammamish Kokanee Return in Large Numbers



Kokanee salmon adult

Like an early holiday gift, kokanee salmon have been observed by the hundreds spawning in tributaries to Lake Sammamish during the month of November. Our partners at King County and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have been out counting the colorful red fish in Ebright, Lewis and Laughing Jacobs Creeks in order to keep track of their numbers and track the recovery of this native fish population. Click on this story and video as covered by King 5 News: http://www.king5.com/news/environment/Samamish-Kokanee--134291168.html 

As of November 28, our partners have counted 1575 kokanee along with 301 redds dug by the female kokanee in these three creeks. These large numbers are cause for celebration! In comparison, only 50 or so fish were estimated to have returned to the same creeks all of last fall. Click on this King County link for a video showing kokanee spawning in Laughing Jacobs Creek:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/salmon-and-trout/kokanee/sammamish-kokanee-video-2011.aspx
 

Collecting kokanee adults for hatchery broodstock

Our office, along with King County, have collected just over 200 of this year's kokanee adults from these three creeks in order to spawn them and rear their offspring within the safe confines of the Issaquah State Fish Hatchery. So far ,we have collected more than 50,000 eggs. We plan to keep on collecting 15% of the adults that return to the creeks during the coming weeks. In the spring, the fry will be released back into the same creeks where the adults were collected. 

Lake Sammamish kokanee hatchery fry

From there they will immediately swim downstream to Lake Sammamish and hopefully return to the creek as adults 3 to 5 years later. The current draft of the Conservation Supplementation Plan for Lake Sammamish Kokanee is available here: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/salmon-and-trout/kokanee/documents/conservation-supplementation-plan.aspx

Fish on the Move - Tule Fall Chinook in the White Salmon River

Biological Technician Kira Mazzi’s Experiences at Condit Dam

On October 26, 2011, after 100 years in operation, the Condit Dam was blown and decommissioning began. The decision to decommission the dam, owned by PacifiCorp, was due in part to the environmental concern for fish passage. The removal of the dam will open 33 miles of the White Salmon River and its tributaries for steelhead, 21 miles for coho, and 8 miles on the mainstem of the White Salmon River will be opened for tule fall Chinook. As part of PacifiCorp’s environmental obligation, money was set aside for the capture and relocation of tule fall Chinook prior to dam removal.

From August 1, 2011, to October 5, 2011, staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Tribal organizations, and other groups worked on the White Salmon River to capture and move as many salmon as possible to sites upstream of the Condit Dam before dam removal. The purpose of this was to ensure that the female salmon wouldn’t lay their eggs in the path of 2.7 million tons of sediment that would be released when the Condit Dam was breached.

Kira with one of the captured tule fall Chinook

Fish were captured in two ways. Boat seining was used at the mouth of the White Salmon River to trap and corral fish gathering below the first rapids. Once the fish were in the net, biologists removed the fish by hand and placed them into a fish tote located on the boat. Then the fish were transported to a floating barge where biological information was collected--length, sex, and genetics. An identification tag was inserted in each fish to identify them during carcass surveys later in the season. The fish were then loaded into a tanker truck which transported them 3-8 miles upriver to be released at one of three designated locations. The second method of capture was using a weir to direct the Tule into concrete holding ponds. The fish were then crowded and netted out by hand. Electro anesthesia was used to calm the fish while data was collected and an identification tag was inserted. These fish were then transported up river by tanker truck to be released. The combination of these two methods is what allowed for such a successful relocation effort.

In total, 679 fish were caught--380 males and 299 females. This was 179 fish above the goal set by the Chinook relocation project and USFWS. If each captured female lays 4,000 eggs, this project could potentially save more than 1,100,000 baby salmon in this run alone!

For the first time since 1911, the White Salmon River now runs unobstructed, and the fish will now once again live, spawn, and die in their native habitat.

Please check out these videos on YouTube for more information:

Condit Dam and the White Salmon
Condit Dam breach

Propagation and Inspiration - Spawning Time at Quilcene NFH

The return of adult salmon to Washington streams is an exciting time of year for all to see and experience. The successful return of these fish is a time of celebration and a busy time of year at Quilcene National Fish Hatchery. Of the approximately 400,000 coho juveniles released by the hatchery each spring, an average of 5% to 7% return to the hatchery as adults. In a typical year, hatchery staff and volunteers spawn the returning coho salmon, resulting in over 1,800,000 fertilized eggs. At the same time, our staff and staff from the Olympia Fish Health Center sample returning fish for coded-wire tags, size, and disease presence. This year, the crew successfully sorted, sampled, and spawned 750 females, 599 males, and 151 jacks (small males). This success is a testament to their teamwork and dedication toward forwarding the USFWS mission of "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people." 

Staff also provided a unique and exciting educational experience for local youth, parents, and teachers. Students from Quilcene, Vinland, and Wolfley Elementary Schools and a local Girl Scout troop visited the hatchery during spawning days and were treated to some new and fascinating experiences. The children were split up into small groups that rotated through five learning activities--hatchery tour, live salmon spawning demonstration, fish health sampling, tag scanning/retrieval, and fish dissection. From watching hatchery workers fertilizing and cleaning buckets of eggs, to exploring and handling internal organs such as the heart and liver, these students had a "grossome" time! In the end, U.S Fish & Wildlife Service employees and volunteers provided a valuable experience for over 200 youth and 45 adults.

Footnote: Quilcene National Fish Hatchery recently celebrated its 100th year of operation! For more information about the hatchery, please visit http://www.fws.gov/quilcenenfh/index.cfm