Tribes and fishery managers to update coho population counts
Published on Thu, Sep 11, 2008Read More Local News
9/11/08
Tribes and fishery managers to update coho population counts
Beginning in mid-September, tribal field crews will be capturing coho salmon with beach seines and hoop nets on the Stillaguamish River. Anglers should not be surprised if they see a field crew seining, or find a net secured to the shoreline.
State and tribal co-managers, including the Tulalip and Stillaguamish tribes, are continuing a multi-year project to improve the estimation of coho spawning in the Stillaguamish watershed. Coho will be captured, tagged and released in the lower river. The number of tagged and untagged coho recovered during spawning ground surveys throughout the basin will help the co-managers determine population size. The project will update the base year (1977) coho population estimate, which is used to generate annual estimates for the number of spawning adults.
According to Kari Neumeyer of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, hoop nets will be set primarily on private property. All field staff and sampling gear will be clearly marked with insignias of the tribes or Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The coho sampled will be anesthetized, measured, jaw-tagged, gill-punched and released back into the river.
Tag recovery will occur in the many Stillaguamish watershed tributary streams during spawning ground surveys, which occur from November through January.
During this project, anglers may still harvest legal coho after November 1. If a tagged coho is caught, anglers are strongly encouraged to contact WDFW or tribal project coordinators with tag information including the number, color, harvest date and location.
Tampering with WDFW or tribal sampling nets is illegal. If an angler encounters a stationary net marked with WDFW or tribal insignias in the Stillaguamish River, they must leave it alone.
For questions regarding this project, or to report the harvest of a tagged coho, sportsmen should contact Jason Griffith, fisheries biologist for the Stillaguamish Tribe, at (360) 631-0868 or Aaron Bosworth with WDFW, (425) 775-1311 ext. 101.
