September 24, 2010 beach seine, Cowlitz Bay
At 3:00 there were low, heavy clouds, no wind, sea rippled. 14ºC air, 10ºC water at 18" depth, salinity 1.026 or 34 ppt. We did four pulls because we were hoping to catch more than the two salmon we got on the first pull. (Winnie said that the salmon have returned to the Youngren's hatchery near Eastsound). The wrack was eelgrass, and hundreds of Lion's Mane Jellies were washed up.
First Pull at 15:15
Herring: 2,500 For a while we thought they might be anchovies because they weren't acting like herring, but the maller mouths and fins of some that we sampled are characteristic of juvenile herring.
Cabezon, 1 @ 70 mm
Greenling, Kelp: 2 @ appx. 275 mm
Perch, Pile: 3 @ appx. 100 mm
Perch, Shiner: fewer than 10
Perch, Striped: fewer than 10
Red Irish Lord, 1 @ appx. 250 mm
Salmon: two, one of them large and covered with tumors. They might have been old scars from parasites.
Sculpin, Buffalo, 1
Tubesnouts, 20 @ 75 - 125 mm (3 - 5")
Red rock crab
Lots and lots of Lion's Mane Jellies
Cabezon, 1 @ 70 mm
Greenling, Kelp: 2 @ appx. 275 mm
Perch, Pile: 3 @ appx. 100 mm
Perch, Shiner: fewer than 10
Perch, Striped: fewer than 10
Red Irish Lord, 1 @ appx. 250 mm
Salmon: two, one of them large and covered with tumors. They might have been old scars from parasites.
Sculpin, Buffalo, 1
Tubesnouts, 20 @ 75 - 125 mm (3 - 5")
Red rock crab
Lots and lots of Lion's Mane Jellies
Salmon with Parasites
You can see some of the parasitic copepods that we removed from this salmon on the edge of the bucket. Note the tumors on its flanks.
Second Pull at 16:00
Herring, 1
Gunnel, Penpoint, the largest seen at Cowlitz so far. It was put in the photarium so spectators could look at it, and gagged up a hyperiid amphipod.
Perch, Shiner: small ones
Perch, Striped: 10
Sculpin, 3
Smelt, 1
Stickleback, 7 small
Tubesnout, 9
A Red rock crab which bit Stan.
Lots of Lion's Mane Jellies.
Gunnel, Penpoint, the largest seen at Cowlitz so far. It was put in the photarium so spectators could look at it, and gagged up a hyperiid amphipod.
Perch, Shiner: small ones
Perch, Striped: 10
Sculpin, 3
Smelt, 1
Stickleback, 7 small
Tubesnout, 9
A Red rock crab which bit Stan.
Lots of Lion's Mane Jellies.
Third Pull at 16:20
Clingfish, Northwest
Greenling, White-spotted: 2 in spawning colors. One had a shrimp in its mouth.
Rockfish, Copper: These fish may have a nursery in Cowlitz. They have site fidelity, which means populations don't mix much.
Sculpin, Silver-spotted
Snailfish: a small creature with a sucker to hold on to rocks or Madrona's hand.
Tubesnout, lots
Kelp crab
A crab too small to tell whether it was a Kelp Crab or a Decorator Crab. Kelps decorate themselves when young, too.
Greenling, White-spotted: 2 in spawning colors. One had a shrimp in its mouth.
Rockfish, Copper: These fish may have a nursery in Cowlitz. They have site fidelity, which means populations don't mix much.
Sculpin, Silver-spotted
Snailfish: a small creature with a sucker to hold on to rocks or Madrona's hand.
Tubesnout, lots
Kelp crab
A crab too small to tell whether it was a Kelp Crab or a Decorator Crab. Kelps decorate themselves when young, too.
Fourth Pull at 17:00
Sculpin, Buffalo
Smelt, several, one covered with parasitic copepods and a roundworm that looked like a leech.
Coonstripe Shrimp
Helmet Crab with barnacles on it
Smelt, several, one covered with parasitic copepods and a roundworm that looked like a leech.
Coonstripe Shrimp
Helmet Crab with barnacles on it