June 27, 2014 Seine at Cowlitz Bay, 4:15 pm
Weather at 3:30: 67.1º; light rain; 4.3mph WSW wind gusting to 6.9mph; Pressure 29.75 in; Visibility 4.0 miles; Clouds Few 400 ft Scattered Clouds 3200 ft Mostly Cloudy 4300 ft; Dew Point 59 °F; Humidity 74%; Rainfall 0.02 in; UV 5 out of 16; Pollen 1.30 out of 12, water temperature appx. 51º. Unlike last time, the water was fairly free of algae.
Present: Russel, Madrona, Heather & daughter, Donna & granddaughters, Bob, Gretchen (notes), Laurie (lavage), Julie (website), Winnie. The conditions were perfect for fishing, with the recent rain and flat water. We lost no fish, probably because their net experience was trauma-free, the water temperature was cooler, and there wasn't a thick sludge of algae in the water. |
11 White-spotted Greenlings
7 Penpoint Gunnels
2 Saddleback Gunnels
106 Herring
30 Shiner Perch
81 Striped Perch
1 Pipefish
2 Buffalo Sculpins
1 Sailfin Sculpin (a very small, elaborate creature)
4 Silverspot Sculpins
4 Staghorn Sculpins
5 Great Sculpins
1 Tadpole Sculpin
1 Smelt
3 Tubesnouts
5 Helmet Crabs
33 Coonstripe Shrimp, at the very least
We lavaged all non-hatchery chinook, at least 30 of them, and found that most of them had eaten fish. They emerge from the chinook's mouth carefully accordion-folded, so that the chinook can eat prey that you would think was far too big to fit. Fish origami (魚の折り紙)) is their answer, as it is with so much in life. We continued with our better-than-NOAA protocol of collecting chinook scales by merely pressing a 3 x 5 card against the lavager's hand after she was done, rather than scraping some off of the fish.
7 Penpoint Gunnels
2 Saddleback Gunnels
106 Herring
30 Shiner Perch
81 Striped Perch
1 Pipefish
2 Buffalo Sculpins
1 Sailfin Sculpin (a very small, elaborate creature)
4 Silverspot Sculpins
4 Staghorn Sculpins
5 Great Sculpins
1 Tadpole Sculpin
1 Smelt
3 Tubesnouts
5 Helmet Crabs
33 Coonstripe Shrimp, at the very least
We lavaged all non-hatchery chinook, at least 30 of them, and found that most of them had eaten fish. They emerge from the chinook's mouth carefully accordion-folded, so that the chinook can eat prey that you would think was far too big to fit. Fish origami (魚の折り紙)) is their answer, as it is with so much in life. We continued with our better-than-NOAA protocol of collecting chinook scales by merely pressing a 3 x 5 card against the lavager's hand after she was done, rather than scraping some off of the fish.
June 17, 2014 Seine at Cowlitz Bay, 4:45 pm
The sky was piercingly blue, with vast visibility, a brisk breeze, about 65ºF, and a disturbing brown algae bloom on the water. We had seen it coming over from Deer Harbor, where the water was also stained brown. In Cowlitz, the algae was especially thick in a 3 meter band along the shore (see photo).
Present, more or less: Russel (honcho), Madrona (fish wrangler), Dennis (net), John (boat), Joanne, Bob, Gretchen (notes), Stan, Winnie, Susan T (notes), Jill B (notes and scale cards), Julie (website), Laurie (lavage), Bill & two grandchildren, Chance (dog), etc.
We set and pulled the net in conditions that were less than ideal. The alga bloom was thick enough so that the fish probably were all stressed already. The wind beat the waves against the net. Next time under these circumstances we might decide not to fish.
1 Cod "awesome"
1 White-spotted Greenling
2 Penpoint Gunnels
3 Saddleback Gunnels
690 Herring
681 Striped Perch
1 Quillback Rockfish (lavaged, see photos)
124 Chum Salmon
53 + Chinook Salmon
1 Pink Salmon
3 Buffalo Sculpin
5 Great Sculpins, ginormous
1 Staghorn Sculpin
4 Sticklebacks
Numerous crabs and other "others," not counted.
Present, more or less: Russel (honcho), Madrona (fish wrangler), Dennis (net), John (boat), Joanne, Bob, Gretchen (notes), Stan, Winnie, Susan T (notes), Jill B (notes and scale cards), Julie (website), Laurie (lavage), Bill & two grandchildren, Chance (dog), etc.
We set and pulled the net in conditions that were less than ideal. The alga bloom was thick enough so that the fish probably were all stressed already. The wind beat the waves against the net. Next time under these circumstances we might decide not to fish.
1 Cod "awesome"
1 White-spotted Greenling
2 Penpoint Gunnels
3 Saddleback Gunnels
690 Herring
681 Striped Perch
1 Quillback Rockfish (lavaged, see photos)
124 Chum Salmon
53 + Chinook Salmon
1 Pink Salmon
3 Buffalo Sculpin
5 Great Sculpins, ginormous
1 Staghorn Sculpin
4 Sticklebacks
Numerous crabs and other "others," not counted.
(June 17 seine continued) As we did on June 1, we lavaged the wild but not the hatchery fish. They were in the 100 mm range, larger than last time. Much to our dismay, though, many of the fish were quite unhappy, and a few of them died. We have been proud of our survival rate up to these last two sessions. We believe that the brown algae bloom, combined with the warm water and the waves churning the net around as we counted the fish all contributed to the mortality rate.
The Quillback Rockfish was lavaged and released first, since we didn't know if it was going to eat any of the salmon (usually they like crustaceans, but if a salmon swam into its mouth it would probably not say no). It had eaten larval shrimp, as advertised on wikipedia. Then we lavaged the 53 salmon, which had had a varied diet of herring, sand lance, larval crustaceans, and even a larval poacher! We decided to lavage the dead fish and save the corpses for NOAA, and release any that looked like they would survive once they were released out past the brown algae. We also decided against the NOAA protocol of scraping scales off the fish for sampling. Instead, we stuck a 3x5 card onto the lavager's hand, where there were usually a few scales already, and they stuck to the card. Then before lavaging the next fish, we washed our hands. This seems like a good change to the protocol, since it does not do anything extra to the fish, but still ends up with a scale sample.
The Quillback Rockfish was lavaged and released first, since we didn't know if it was going to eat any of the salmon (usually they like crustaceans, but if a salmon swam into its mouth it would probably not say no). It had eaten larval shrimp, as advertised on wikipedia. Then we lavaged the 53 salmon, which had had a varied diet of herring, sand lance, larval crustaceans, and even a larval poacher! We decided to lavage the dead fish and save the corpses for NOAA, and release any that looked like they would survive once they were released out past the brown algae. We also decided against the NOAA protocol of scraping scales off the fish for sampling. Instead, we stuck a 3x5 card onto the lavager's hand, where there were usually a few scales already, and they stuck to the card. Then before lavaging the next fish, we washed our hands. This seems like a good change to the protocol, since it does not do anything extra to the fish, but still ends up with a scale sample.
June 1, 2014 Seine at Cowlitz Bay, 4:45 pm
At 4:10 the weather was as follows: Temp 59.5º, Wind WSW 6 mph, Pressure 30.02", Visibility 9.0 miles, Humidity 78%, UV 7 out of 16, Pollen 5.6 out of 12
Present (some people have been left out due to my not taking good notes): Russel (honcho), Madrona (fish wrangler), John (boat), Matthew (fish id), Amy (intern), Joanne (net and fish), Bob (net and fish), Carol G (fish count), Julie (lavage), Laurie (net and fish), Marie, etc.
The pull was uneventful, no rocks or anything.
3 Starry flounders
2 English Soles
2 Crescent Gunnels
5 Saddleback Gunnels
5 Herring
2 Pile Perch
116 Shiner Perch
254 Striped Perch
1 Pipefish
87 Chum Salmon (some may have been pinks)
117 Pink Salmon (some may have been chum)
18 wild, 7 hatchery Chinook Salmon
3 Sharpnose Sculpins???
5 Staghorn Sculpins
1 Threespine Stickleback
2 Dungeness Crabs
21 Helmet Crabs
22 Kelp Crabs
1 Rock Crab
appx 200 Coonstripe Shrimp
1 sea slug, transparent white with blooby bits
lots of little jellies, thumbnail sized
We lavaged the wild chinook, but not the hatchery fish. A very small fish, which we did not lavage, died. It was unclear what happened, but since our kill goal is zero, we discussed this at length. The fish have cool aerated water to wait in. The anesthetic has been changed to one that is less harsh on the fish. The recovery bucket is cool and aerated too. At the request of NOAA, we are now not only clipping a tail fin for stream-of-origin analysis and lavaging the stomach for our ongoing prey study, but also scraping one or two scales off for an age study. Since the only difference was that we scraped some scales off, perhaps that was what shocked the fish to death. It did not seem clear, since it was handled quickly, gently, and not lavaged. Luckily, NOAA wants dead fish so it didn't go to waste, scientifically speaking. This will probably not come up again because there was a cohort of unusually small chinook, which we probably won't see again this summer as they all get bigger.
Present (some people have been left out due to my not taking good notes): Russel (honcho), Madrona (fish wrangler), John (boat), Matthew (fish id), Amy (intern), Joanne (net and fish), Bob (net and fish), Carol G (fish count), Julie (lavage), Laurie (net and fish), Marie, etc.
The pull was uneventful, no rocks or anything.
3 Starry flounders
2 English Soles
2 Crescent Gunnels
5 Saddleback Gunnels
5 Herring
2 Pile Perch
116 Shiner Perch
254 Striped Perch
1 Pipefish
87 Chum Salmon (some may have been pinks)
117 Pink Salmon (some may have been chum)
18 wild, 7 hatchery Chinook Salmon
3 Sharpnose Sculpins???
5 Staghorn Sculpins
1 Threespine Stickleback
2 Dungeness Crabs
21 Helmet Crabs
22 Kelp Crabs
1 Rock Crab
appx 200 Coonstripe Shrimp
1 sea slug, transparent white with blooby bits
lots of little jellies, thumbnail sized
We lavaged the wild chinook, but not the hatchery fish. A very small fish, which we did not lavage, died. It was unclear what happened, but since our kill goal is zero, we discussed this at length. The fish have cool aerated water to wait in. The anesthetic has been changed to one that is less harsh on the fish. The recovery bucket is cool and aerated too. At the request of NOAA, we are now not only clipping a tail fin for stream-of-origin analysis and lavaging the stomach for our ongoing prey study, but also scraping one or two scales off for an age study. Since the only difference was that we scraped some scales off, perhaps that was what shocked the fish to death. It did not seem clear, since it was handled quickly, gently, and not lavaged. Luckily, NOAA wants dead fish so it didn't go to waste, scientifically speaking. This will probably not come up again because there was a cohort of unusually small chinook, which we probably won't see again this summer as they all get bigger.