Lilliwaup Summer Chum Program May Be Extended
Posted on: February 4th, 2010
Lilliwaup Hatchery’s summer chum supplementation program, originally scheduled to conclude this February with the final release of adult fish into Lilliwaup Creek, may be extended.
The program’s Technical Workgroup is discussing whether or not to continue the supplementation effort for one or two additional years.
The possible extension would be in order to compensate for fish lost during catastrophic December 2007 flooding which destroyed all of the summer chum eggs incubating at Lilliwaup Hatchery at that time, and buried the summer chum redds in Lilliwaup Creek under several feet of gravel. As a result of the egg loss, few natural-origin or hatchery-origin summer chum are expected to return to Lilliwaup Creek in 2010 or 2011.
While the Technical Work determines whether or not to extend the summer chum program, LLTK staff will release a greater number of chum this February than previously planned as a near-term measure to help buffer the effects of the 2007 loss.
