August 6, 2010 Beach Seine, Cowlitz Bay
At 14:30, it was high tide, sunny, breezy. The water was at 5º. We did four pulls because we wanted to end up with 50 Chinook gut samples. Didn't make it. The fish counts are not as well documented as usual because there were quite a few people. The focus on salmon meant that some fish and other creatures were tossed out of the net without being counted.
First Pull 14:30
14 Chinook Salmon, 97 - 146 mm, most at 115 mm. One had bite marks on it, and we found three parasitic copepods.
Sculpins; two at 250 mm, one at 150 mm, more or less.
Sticklebacks, at appx. 25 mm.
Sculpins; two at 250 mm, one at 150 mm, more or less.
Sticklebacks, at appx. 25 mm.
Second Pull 17:00
Gunnel, Penpoint, 1
Salmon, Chinook and Coho, 19 – 90 - 137 mm, 1 hatchery fish, 6 with parasitic copepods, 2 of those also with bite marks.
Sculpin, 2 – one of them at 250mm
Dungeness crab
helmet crab
moon jellies, 11 – from 6" down to about 1.5"
Salmon, Chinook and Coho, 19 – 90 - 137 mm, 1 hatchery fish, 6 with parasitic copepods, 2 of those also with bite marks.
Sculpin, 2 – one of them at 250mm
Dungeness crab
helmet crab
moon jellies, 11 – from 6" down to about 1.5"
Third Pull 17:45
Greenling spp, 1
White-spotted greenling, 1, 125 mm
Rockfish spp, several, very small
Salmon, Chinook, 2 – 87 and 143mm
Sculpin spp, 6, all sizes
Sticklebacks, 47, small
Tubesnout, 1
moon jellies
Dungeness crab
White-spotted greenling, 1, 125 mm
Rockfish spp, several, very small
Salmon, Chinook, 2 – 87 and 143mm
Sculpin spp, 6, all sizes
Sticklebacks, 47, small
Tubesnout, 1
moon jellies
Dungeness crab
Fourth Pull 18:15
Salmon, Chinook
Sculpin, Silver-spotted, 1
Sculpin, spp, 3
Stickleback, 3
Tubesnouts, 331
Sculpin, Silver-spotted, 1
Sculpin, spp, 3
Stickleback, 3
Tubesnouts, 331
Lavage
All chinook were lavaged with no fatalities. At least two had empty stomachs. Several had eaten sand lance, one a juvenile tubesnout. Other gut items included shrimp, crab zooea, copepods, and terrestrial midges.
Herring
Glen R. was not there this time around to sample herring DNA. That's good, because I don't think we actually caught any.
Other activity
There were several small children present, who added a delightful ambience. They set up a petting zoo with a bunch of moon jellies and a gunnel. Adults made sure that the creatures were eventually released.
There was a dog who had quite an afternoon. He found a dessicated seal pup, which he dragged away and ate with horrible crunching noises. Then he found two sandwiches and a wedge of St. Alban's cheese, each in its own styrofoam tray with plastic wrap, wrapped in a reuseable bag. He ate the sandwiches, cheese, half of the styrofoam and plastic, and a hole in the bag, but carefully left the four little green-wrapped mints. I saw him the following day and he seemed quite perky.
There was a dog who had quite an afternoon. He found a dessicated seal pup, which he dragged away and ate with horrible crunching noises. Then he found two sandwiches and a wedge of St. Alban's cheese, each in its own styrofoam tray with plastic wrap, wrapped in a reuseable bag. He ate the sandwiches, cheese, half of the styrofoam and plastic, and a hole in the bag, but carefully left the four little green-wrapped mints. I saw him the following day and he seemed quite perky.