Nisqually Salmon Watchers Training
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This presentation is designed to help Nisqually Salmon Watcher volunteers identify salmon species in the Nisqually Watershed.
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Nisqually Salmon Watchers Training
- 1. Salmon Watchers2015 Nisqually Salmon Watcher Program Training Slideshow BillPriest
- 3. Salmon Life Cycle Life Cycle of Pacific Salmon
- 4. Spawning 6” - 18” Deep 18” - 48” long x 12” - 36” wide Water 6” - 18” Deep Eggs buried in gravel Female builds a series of gravel nests called a redd
- 5. The redd grows upstream daily with covering and digging
- 6. A Redd
- 7. Eggs Eggs are fertilized and develop in gravel nests called redds
- 8. Alevin The hatched eggs, called alevins, develop in the gravel getting nutrients from their yolk sacks. yolk sack
- 15. Death Death
- 16. Food Web Many Organisms Rely upon Pacific Salmon
- 17. Salmon Anatomy Dorsal fin Adipose fin Caudal fin Anal fin Pelvic fin Pectoral fin Gill cover Gumline Salmon Identification
- 18. Lateral Line Dorsal fin Adipose fin Caudal fin Anal fin Pelvic fin Pectoral fin Gill cover Gumline Lateral line
- 19. Hooked SnoutMales develop a hooked snout Dorsal fin Adipose fin Caudal fin Anal fin Pelvic fin Pectoral fin Gill cover Gumline Lateral line
- 20. Identifying Features 1. Does the fish have spots? Where? 2. What is the coloring? a. Body and head? b. Gumline color? c. Gill cover, other distinctive markings? 3. What size is it? 4. What are the behavioral characteristics? Questions to Ask When Identifying Salmon
- 21. Chinook Facts Nisqually Chinook •Spawn throughout the Nisqually River’s accessible length and in larger tributaries, especially the Mashel River and Ohop Creek. • Spring run went extinct in 1950’s. • Fall run of native Chinook was largely replaced by planted and hatchery fish. No new introductions since 1990. Weir to exclude hatchery fish 2012. • Recent run sizes have been 10,000 - 40,000 • Upstream migration July - October • Spawn September - November
- 22. Chinook Identification Chinook (“King,” “Tyee,” “Blackmouth”) Small irregular spots on back and on BOTH upper and lower lobes of tail *Can also be a reddish color
- 25. Chum Facts Nisqually Chum • Unique native run that is the latest returning chum on the Pacific Rim. • No hatchery production. • Spawns in late December - March. • Recent run sizes: 10,000 to 150,000 fish • Spawns mainly in mainstem Nisqually River below Centralia Diversion Dam and in Muck, Yelm, Murray and McAllister Creeks. • Upstream migration November – March.
- 26. Chum Identification Chum (“Dog”, “Keta”) Notice the difference in the coloration of the vertical markings between females and males.
- 27. Chum Photo Chum
- 28. Chum at our Counter Camera
- 29. Pink Facts Nisqually Pink • Unique native run that returns every odd year. • No hatchery production. • Spawns in October – November. • Upstream migration August – November. • Recent run sizes: 100 to 800,000 fish • Spawns in the mainstem, and to a lesser degree in the Mashel River and Ohop Creek. They rarely travel far upstream to spawn.
- 30. Pink Identification Pink up to 30 inches
- 31. Pink Identification Pink Olive green to green on dorsal side White to pink on underside
- 32. Pink
- 33. Image from Salmon Nation
- 34. Coho Facts Nisqually Coho • A late run of naturally spawning coho is found in the Nisqually, and returns around the same time as chum. No fishery exists for late run coho because the population is at risk. • Most of the hatchery stock is an early spawning population that migrates September – December • Most spawning takes place in the Mashel River and Ohop, Tanwax, Horn, Yelm, Muck and McAllister Creeks. • Recent run sizes: 600 to 13,000 fish • Spawning November - February
- 35. Coho Identification Coho (“Silvers”) Notice the kype/ hooked nose on the male Small round black spots Greenish backs Lower sides bright red to purplish.
- 36. Coho Photo anks! Coho are powerfully built and can jump waterfalls that most salmon cannot negotiate.
- 37. Coho at our Counter Camera
- 38. Steelhead Facts Nisqually Steelhead Nisqually Steelhead • Native winter steelhead • No hatchery production • Spawns in April through June • Recent run sizes: gone from 7000 to a few hundred fish • Spawns primarily in the mainstem Nisqually, Mashel River and Muck Creek, though they may use almost any tributary in the watershed • Sport and tribal fisheries closed due to declining numbers • Upstream migration November - April
- 40. Steelhead Identification Steelhead Small dark spots scattered over entire fish, including tail
- 42. Steelhead at our Counter Camera
- 43. Cutthroat Facts Sea-run Cutthroat • Occur in both sea-going and resident forms. Difficult to distinguish between the two. • Can be found in most fish-bearing waters from high-elevation glacial-fed streams to the estuary • Upstream migration August - June • Spawning December - June • Sport fishing is allowed for coastal cutthroat
- 44. Cutthroat Identification Cutthroat Trout “coastal cutthroat trout”
- 46. Sockeye Facts Sockeye • No unique run of Nisqually sockeye • Stray pairs known to spawn in upper McAllister Creek • Usually spawn in streams near lakes, where young fry migrate to rear for 1 - 2 years
- 48. Sockeye Photo Sockeye A few stray pairs of sockeye spawn near McAllister Springs. There is no native run of Nisqually sockeye.
- 49. Review Review
- 50. Quiz Photo 1
- 51. Quiz Photo 2
- 52. • Head blunt, jaw does not extend past the eye • Distinct small spots on dorsal fin • Small scattered spots over entire body • Square-shaped tail • Often has reddish stripe along sides, gill cover reddish • Up to 45 inches in length Name the fish that has: Quiz Question 1
- 53. Quiz Photo 3
- 54. Quiz Question 2 •Large oval spots on back and both lobes of the tailfin •Rarely travel far up river to spawn - most likely seen in coastal streams •Males develop a large hump on their back (hence the nick name "Humpback" or "Humpy") •Dark band along lateral line •Numerous, small scales •Forked Tail Name the fish that has:
- 55. Quiz Photo 4
- 56. • No distinct black spots • Dark blue above with reddish-purple vertical markings • Well developed teeth • 30-42 inches in length Name the fish that has: Quiz Question 3
- 57. Quiz Photo 5
- 58. Quiz Photo 6
- 59. • Back and head dark blue-green • Lower sides red-purple • Spots on back and UPPER lobe of tail fin only • Lower gum line is white • 17 to 38 inches in length Name the fish that has: Quiz Question 4
- 60. Quiz Picture 7
- 61. Photo by 2015 Salmon Watcher Roger Andrascik
- 62. Quiz Photo 8
- 63. • Head blunt, jaw extends past eye • Small black spots extending well below lateral line • Red “slash” marks on underside of jaw • Yellow colored fins • Silver body • 8-12 inches in length Name the fish that has: Quiz Question 5
- 64. Quiz Picture 9
- 65. Quiz Photo 10
- 66. • Olive brown to dark brown • Spots on upper and lower part of tail • Lower gum line is black • 2 feet to 5 feet in length Name the fish that has: Quiz Question 6
- 67. Quiz Photo 11
- 68. Quiz Photo 12
- 69. Salmon Watching Tips Nisqually Salmon Watcher Tips • Approach your viewing site slowly • Be as quiet as possible • If you need to walk in the stream, look out for clean-looking gravel (redds) • Remember your polarized glasses, data sheet and pencil • Take observation data for 15 minutes only • If you are unsure, take notes and/or a photo and contact us • Observe from the same location each time • Dress for the weather • If possible, view after a rain as soon as the water clears • View before it gets too dark
- 70. Reminder 1 Remember not to step on redds
- 71. Reminder 2 Don’t count ‘Carcass Toss’ Fish with Clipped Tails
- 72. Clipped Tails Don’t count ‘Carcass Toss’ Fish with Clipped Tails
- 73. Clipped Tails There are some Chinook with jaw tags out there
- 74. Beaver dams provide important juvenile salmon rearing habitat and are usually left alone if naturally constructed Passage often improves when the rains come Photo by 2015 Salmon Watcher Roger
- 76. Female Spawning Behaviors •Reach spawning ground after males •Exploring for a good nest site •Exploratory Digging •Real nest building Digging •Probing •Covering Digging
- 77. Female Spawning Behaviors: Digging Chinook Digging Coho Digging Chum Digging
- 78. Male Spawning Behaviors •‘Tasting’ •Quivering •Male Digging (Displacement) •Crossing Over
- 79. Male Spawning Behaviors: Quiver Coho Quiver Pink Quiver
- 81. Aggression Females will fight other females to defend their nest site. Females will fight off males they don’t want to spawn with (or delay spawning). Males will fight other males to establish dominance. This can involve actual fighting, biting, etc. or ritualized displays. Manu Esteve 2000
- 82. Male Aggressive Displays Lateral Display T Display
- 83. Male Strategies and Tactics Strategies: •Mature Old •Mature Young •Mature Precocious Tactics: •Fight for dominance •Sneak (satellite) •Mimic Female
- 84. Thanks Thank-you for your contribution! We couldn’t do it without you.
Editor's Notes
- Intro to the life cycle of salmon
- Adult Spawning Salmon: salmon will lay from1,500 – 10,000 eggs chinook the most gravel will be from pea size (cutthroat) to grapefruit (chinooks) Female will dig for a few days to a few weeks, facing upstream against the current Water flowing over the redds will carry oxygen in and flush out wastes and bacteria Female may live for 1 to 2 weeks after to protect her redd
- Clean looking gravel that is slightly mounded is most likely a redd Sweeping movements of female’s tail while digging cleans off algae and dirt
- Eggs are usually buried 10 – 30 cm deep Most likely you cannot see the buried eggs If you see eggs they are probably not alive Many fish and other animals feed on salmon eggs Developing eggs require clean, cool, well-oxygenated water
- Once the alevin uses up its yolk sac It must emerge from the gravel to find food The alevins need cool, clean, well-oxygenated water to survive in the gravel
- Outmigration takes place in spring/summer Different species migrate at different times While feeding in freshwater, juveniles will develop parr marks To help hide from preditors As they head toward the marine invironment, the juveniles Will turn silvery, called smolts, to blend into the marine environment
- Depending on the species, ocean adults will spend 2 – 5 years feeding in the ocean
- The adult salmon will swim back to the streams from Which they were born to spawn and eventually die
- Death provides important ocean-derived nutrients to young salmon, riparian vegetation and Many other terrestrial and aquatic organisms
- Scientists have documented that over 137 Terrestrial and aquatic species feed directly or Indirectly off of decaying salmon carcasses, including juvenile salmon, stream bugs and even riparian vegetation.
- In the Nisqually only hatchery chinook may have a clipped adipose fin. Clipped fins may re-grow.
- Lateral line: steelhead develop a red coloring along the lateral line
- Chum Only males develop hooked snouts. The hooked snouts may be more pronounced in some species as compared to males in other species.
- Chinook
- Chinook
- chum
- Need length. Pinks rarely travel far Upstream to spawn. They mainly spawn in the odd years; although you may find a few strays in the even years.
- Green head and backs Pink underside
- More likely to see earlier run in Nov.\ Late run returns ealrier but spawns later
- Explain that the hatchery did not have eggs for this brood stock year. We do not expect many hatchery-reared coho to return this year. Most likely, the coho you observe spawning in the wild are off-spring of naturally reproducing coho, although there may be some Hatchery stray jack and jills returning a year early to spawn.
- A summer run was planted until mid-90’s Winter run in decline Peak spawning Mid-March – early may Do not die after spawning, so usually count redds
- steelhead
- Searun cutthroat intermingles with all salmon runs, Often tries to eat eggs that are left unburied Check the tailout of pools where the salmon hold
- Searun cutthroat
- Very rare in Nisqually May see in Mashel or Ohop systems too
- sockeye
- chum
- chinook
- Steelhead
- coho
- Pink
- Coho digging
- Chum
- pink
- Cutthroat
- Coho
- Steelhead
- Chinook
- Cutthroat
- Chum
- Coho
- Chinook
- Notice the reddish color on the gill cover Notice the reddish stripe along the lateral line Small dark spots scattered over entire body and tail steelhead
- cutthroat
- If you approach too quickly or loudly you may scare the salmon The salmon may hide It takes awhile for the salmon to return to their spawning activity
- Please do not step in the stream; you may smother a redd
- Chinook top left, chum bottom right
- Coho and then pinks
- Weaver cr chum spawning