Long Live the Kings Welcomes New Board Members!

Long Live the Kings welcomes new Board members Tom Alberg and Gaylord Kellogg! Both Tom and Gaylord will bring valuable experience, management expertise, enthusiasm, and support for the salmon resource. LLTK is grateful for their participation and oversight as we move forward with ongoing and developing projects to protect and restore salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest.

Long Live the Kings hosted its first annual Hood
Canal Donor Circle Picnic on August 28 at Lilliwaup Hatchery. Visitors were welcomed to the hatchery by LLTK staff on a bright and sunny afternoon. Guests enjoyed a delicious lunch generously provided by Alderbrook Resort and Spa, Hama Hama Seafood Company, Hoodsport Winery, and Hood Canal Brewery. Executive Director, Jacques White, provided an update on LLTK’s current and future projects in the Hood Canal basin. Tours of the hatchery and the Hamma Hamma River were conducted by Hatchery Manager Rick Endicott and Steelhead Biologist Joy Lee. The steelhead returns are looking positive this year, and staff believe that we are seeing the benefits of the Hamma Hamma River Steelhead Supplementation Project. Chinook in the Hamma Hamma River appear to be returning in greater numbers this year as well.

Annual Salmon Homecoming Event

Donors and guests were treated to a pleasant surprise at this year’s Salmon Homecoming Event on Orcas Island. A change in the Chinook program at Glenwood Springs hatchery along with improved ocean conditions, have resulted in larger numbers returning than in recent years. Hatchery Manager, Mike O’Connell, gave a tour of the Glenwood Springs adult holding pond and explained how LLTK has implemented changes to its Chinook hatchery program. In 2006, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife made a decision to have some hatcheries, including Glenwood, release only zero-age fish instead of yearling fish. They determined that yearlings have a much lower rate of ocean survival. While we don’t know yet why this occurs, Mike said that yearlings tend to refrain from joining wild fish on ocean migrations, instead choosing to stay in Puget Sound. Mike’s presentations were repeatedly interrupted by the splash of leaping salmon, both in the bay and climbing the fish ladder.

Lunch was generously provided by Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Red Rabbit Farm, the Inn at Ship Bay, and Chinook Wines. Peter Birk, Executive Chef at Ray’s Boathouse, grilled salmon; Geddes Martin, chef/proprietor of Inn at Ship Bay, prepared homemade pizza in a stone oven; and Clay Mackey, owner of Chinook Wines served wine to compliment the meal. LLTK Executive Director, Jacques White, provided an overview of LLTK’s projects and direction during lunch.

Hood Canal Steelhead Project

Throughout late summer and early fall, LLTK field staff have been busy collecting adult summer chum and Chinook, and rearing steelhead. The 2010 steelhead season wrapped up with 15 redds on the Duckabush River. Of those, only 6 of the 11 redds were pumped, which produced 3,140 viable embryos collected for the season. In late August, Quilcene National Fish Hatchery delivered 3,588 Dewatto fry (5,861 embryos were collected from the 8 redds observed in 2010) and 2,917 Duckabush fry to Lilliwaup Hatchery.

In September, during the lowest flow regime on the Duckabush River, juvenile snorkeling and parr sampling was completed with NOAA staff. A snorkel survey was completed to quantify the number of wild and hatchery parr (yearlings) and smolts within the system. The hatchery smolts observed were likely those fish that did not migrate out to feed for another year before truly smolting. Through each reach, a breakdown of habitat composition was also recorded. Following the snorkel survey, hook and line sampling was completed. Genetic, age and life history data was collected from both wild and hatchery parr collected. Additionally, stomach contents from each parr were collected by flushing out the stomach with water through a water bottle with a pipete. Stomach contents should be analyzed in 2011. The final component of the summer parr sampling was to gather micro and macro invertebrates from each reach. This was accomplished by installing small nets anchored to rebar into riffles for 2 hours. The contents of the nets were then identified, quantified, and recorded, as well as the flow and temperature of each collection site (one per reach).

Fall Chinook and Summer Chum Supplementation

Hamma Hamma fall Chinook collection began in mid-September when the first pulse of fish schooled up. To date, 10 females have been spawned, totaling 52,613 eggs. There have been a few wild jacks, indicating that next year’s returns of wild fish should be good, and the remaining fish have been from our hatchery releases. Broodstock collection should continue through mid-October. These fish will be otolith marked, coded-wire tagged, and then released in mid-May and June.

Lilliwaup Creek Summer Chum collection began in early September and presently we have spawned 64 pairs, totaling 153,000 eggs. Broodstock collection has been tricky this year due to low returns all around Hood Canal. There has been a lack of healthy habitat in the creek since the aftermath of the 2007 flood. The fish come in to the creek at dark, spawn, and then leave. In years past, the fish would remain in the creek for a couple of days then spawn, giving staff ample time to collect them. The eggs will be otolith marked and then released in March.

Glenwood Springs Hatchery Experiencing Tremendous Return of Adult Chinook salmon. Adult Coho starting to arrive as well.

Starting in mid-August adult Chinook salmon started returning to the Glenwood Springs facility located on Orcas Island. Numbers have climbed steadily into September and October. As of the second week in October, 650 adult Chinook have made it up the fish ladder.

Facility Manager, Mike O’Connell, commented that, "We had so many chrome bright surplus male Chinook that we did not want to overcrowd our adult holding pond. As a result, surplus fish were donated to the local food bank and our public school cafeteria. With such a good return this year it looks like we are on track to make our egg take goal from our own broodstock, which has not happened in several years due to low returns." Glenwood Springs staff and volunteers are also starting to see adult Coho returning up the ladder. All in all, it looks like this will be a banner year for the hatchery, and a good sign of things to come in the future.