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As predicted this is turning out to be a huge trapping year for salmon marking the return from four years ago in 2003 when 12,000 adults returned to the Union River.
Known as the Union/Tahuya Wild Salmon Summer Chum Restoration Project, it is a cooperative effort between the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group (HCSEG) and Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) Hatchery Staff.
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| L-R HCSEG interns Loren Swanson and Nick Barrantes doing monitoring duty at the Union River fish trap |
The Hood Canal Summer Chum is an Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed species. An adult fish trap was installed in the Union River in 2000 to count all adult Summer Chum and to enable collection of pairs of fish for spawning. Salmon spawn as they are ending their life cycle between 3-5 years depending on the species.
“The species caught in the trap range from ESA-listed Summer Chum and Puget Sound Chinook, to Coho. During the run, 64 pairs of the Summer Chum will be taken, raised in Wild Salmon incubators and then released at the fry stage. Collecting fish randomly throughout the run is one way to preserve genetic diversity.” said Sean Hildebrandt, Field Specialist for the HCSEG.
The Union River fish trap is watched by interns and volunteers 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a 3-month period beginning Aug. 15 and ending Oct. 15. Four-hour shifts occur during daylight hours and 10 p.m. – 8 a.m. overnight at the site.
HCSEG interns Nick Barrantes and Loren Swanson have taken some of the night shifts along with the staff and volunteers.
“We watch the traps checking every four hours, sometimes more. At any one time there could be over 100, other times just one or two. We net or hand catch them, identify by species, male or female, check for presence or absence of the adipose fin and look for any anomalies,” explained Barrantes.
“Looking at the numbers in the first week, where daily counts have steadily increased — from 7, to 30, to 110, to 130 — for a total of 328 on Aug. 19 you can see that it is way up on previous year’s numbers and it is only going to get bigger,” said HCSEG Outreach Director Chris Daniel, adding that, “If there are any volunteers that you know of who might be available, this is the time, we really need the help.”
The first year the Union Summer Chum supplementation project started, a total of 743 returning salmon were counted. Due to extremely good ocean conditions, 11,916 Summer Chum returned in 2003. In the preceding 25 years there were just 200-800 returning adults annually. The project will continue until 2012.
The goal of this program is to increase the numbers of returning Summer Chum in the Union River to a safe level for transplanting eggs to the Tahuya River (determined to be extinct, WDFW).
“Because the Union River has a relatively stable stock of Summer Chum, and it is just one watershed south of the Tahuya River, it makes a good donor stock,” explained Hildebrandt.
The HCSEG is involved in several on-going research studies to better understand Wild Salmon restoration and the health of the Hood Canal watershed. These studies range from juvenile salmon rearing and nutrification to water quality issues.
Call the HCSEG at 360-275-3575 to volunteer for salmon trap monitoring shifts or other volunteer opportunities year-round. Go to www.hcseg.org to learn more about the group’s many efforts in the Hood Canal watershed.
The WDFW Habitat Work Schedule System Kickoff was hosted by Paladin and Interlocking Software at the Norm Dick Government Center Aug. 13. The database will be made available to the public by Oct. 1.
In his opening remarks, special guest Congressman Norm Dicks applauded the WDFW for its efforts in implementing the system. “We spend over half a billion dollars on salmon recovery and we need to equate that investment with return of the fish. Without tools like the Habitat Work Schedule, gathering that data is an overwhelming challenge,” said Dicks.
“Eighty-five percent of ESA-listed fish are on the upswing!” exclaimed WDFW Director Dr. Jeffrey Koenings commenting on the recent salmon recovery. “Four-year-old fish are returning to Lake Washington and we’ve already had 60,000 Sockeye return out of an expected 125,000.”
The EKO-System database is a product of the 5-year development effort designed for the public and private sector natural resource management industry. Five years of water quality data from the HCSEG is also stored in the system.
For more information about Interlocking Software and the Habitat Work Schedule System, contact Sara Simrell at 360-394-5923 or email ssimrell@interlockingsoftware.com. | 
