Wanted to provide an update on an earlier posting I made. Talked to another Biologist within the organization heading up the culvert replacement. He filled me in on the efforts that ARE in fact being undertaken to determine numbers of spawners, redds, outmigrating fry, etc, both before and after the culvert replacement with a bridge.

Excellent point regarding opening up more of the river to creatures other than salmon, as well as the point about the importance of Chum. Talk about a quick turnaround between entering the river and the outmigrating of the fry. Just a couple months!

Chums and pinks are the foundation for a strong salmon producing ecosystem. But, large numbers of all species are required in order to ensure the whole anadromous zone of a watershed receives the ecosystem services the spawners bring.

The importance of these species as a foundation for a strong salmon producing ecosystem diminishes to to nil southward from the Willapa.

Not historically. Oregon had, and probably still has, strong chum runs. There are pinks as far south as the Russian, but not in such numbers as we have. The base rock further south is more fertile, meaning less need for as many salmon. But, as you go south, the number of Chinook increased. They are actually close being just piscivorous chum, and they really excavate the stream bed to clean it out.

Archeologist studying the historic tribal settlements found evidence that the Chum range has moved up and down the Pacific coast. It is about the weather and during times like the Little Ice Age the range goes well South but in warmer times the range moves North. The creature is rather adaptable to its environment.

Well, there were steelhead in Tijuana (the fish, not the fishermen). I am sure the range moves with changes in climate, that is how the ice-covered Puget Sound got fish back. And why Pacific salmon are now moving east in the High Arctic. Maybe west, too, but I haven't heard about Siberia.

Anyone see many Chum on the Satsop this year? Seemed like a lower than average kind of year while being an above average Coho year. Granted, almost all of November was blown out, this was the first year I didn’t catch a single Chum. Saw a pre-spawn dead one in late October, and saw a few others jumping, but never caught one this year. Seems like they usually come in after the A run Coho which is when the rivers really started blowing out.

Don't forget the Chinook now populating South America, ie. Chile. Even though they were introduced from our Columbia R. Chinook stock, they have expanded and proliferated in multiple river systems since. Might be the next AK in the future if the environment stays clean and commercials keep out.

And they destroy the local ecosystem. There are also Chinook in New Zealand.

Seabeck, I saw a few carcasses in the Satsop but not a lot. I live in the South Sound and the chum run here was huge . Minter stopped counting in November and they had over 33,000 in the hatchery. That didn't include all the chum the flossers caught in there. The State opened up commercial fishing in the Tacoma area for the purse seiners and I know one seiner who caught 70,000 lbs of chum in one set near Vashon Island! Hoodsport had over 20,000 chum in that hatchery. the State was way off on their chum forecast for the South Sound because the recs could not keep a chum if you caught in Area 11 in the saltwater.

Yeah, I saw that other areas had some huge returns. Just the Chehalis tribs I was wondering about. Maybe just a down year for whatever reason. Guess I could look at the escapement numbers vs last year.

You could also look at the Tribal and NI gillnet catches of chum for the last couple of years in the Chehalis.

Where can I find these online? Just did a Google search for QIN tribal catch and can’t find what I’m looking for? Would appreciate a link!

Appreciate it