shawn kempkes
11-07-2012, 09:07 PM
The native fish society had this on their blog.
http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_21948573/eel-river-salmon-run-largest-ever-seen
Eel River salmon run 'largest ever seen'
The Willits News
Posted: 11/07/2012 10:04:23 AM PST
Chinook and half-pounders in the front of 12th Street Pool. (Eel River Recovery Project/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
Old-timers along the banks of the Eel River are calling it the largest run they have ever seen, and the Eel River Recovery Project is helping document another potentially record-breaking salmon run.
The third 2012 ERRP fall Chinook dive census of the lower Eel River, on Saturday, October 27, substantiated that more than 5,000 fish were holding in the river between the Van Duzen River and Fernbridge. Earlier reports from ERRP volunteers also chronicled mass migrations of salmon when the river rose October 22 and 23. The combined information suggests more than 10,000 Chinook salmon have entered the Eel River system so far this fall, and this is only the beginning of the run.
More than 60 people have volunteered to help conduct three
The lower dive team on October 27 in wetsuits just before jumping into the 12th Street Pool. (Eel River Recovery Project/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
salmon census dives, with support from the Wiyot and Bear River Tribe staff. The 17 volunteers last Saturday included experienced abalone divers and surfers, who could withstand the chilly waters of the Eel River for several hours at a time. Fisheries biologists from the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata offices also volunteered on their days off, as they have in the two previous dives. Humboldt State University scientific dive class students added their talent and youthful energy.
The combination of trained observers and hardy volunteers coalesced into "very capable fish-counting dive teams."
The dive census techniques follow standard scientific protocols. Divers form a line where each can
see each other, and count salmon that pass between them as they move through a pool. Some pools are as long as a mile and volunteers must swim in formation for upwards of an hour.
On October 27, divers split into two teams. One team swam and walked from River Lodge, in Fortuna, to below Fernbridge and a second team went upriver, and dove in the Weymouth Pool off the Grizzly Bluff Road and at the mouth of the Van Duzen River.
In the Weymouth Pool, the dive teams pushed schools of salmon back
Eel River Recovery Project volunteer coordinator Pat Higgins with lower dive teams gear in a dry bag at the Boxcar Pool on the lower Eel River. (Eel River Recovery Project/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
until they formed a solid mass of fish then the surface of the water boiled as the salmon stopped their retreat and ran back by the divers.
Counts are not precise because of these conditions, but rather an index of abundance that can be used to measure relative run trends over time. The combined total of greater than 5,000 Chinook salmon observed was they highest count this year and much higher than those in 2010 and 2011.
The Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) has joined the ERRP and the Wiyot and Bear River Tribes as a co-sponsor of the dives. HRC fisheries biologist Nick Simpson was the captain of the upper ERRP team on Saturday, and also led ERRP volunteers and HRC staff on another dive upstream of Scotia on Monday, October 29. They
The upper dive team in formation above Weymouth Pool. (Nicholas Simpson, Humboldt Redwood Company/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
estimated 2,700 Chinook salmon were holding in the Holmes Bluff Pool alone.
ERRP volunteers throughout the Eel River watershed have reported observations, including the time, date, duration and the number of fish passing, providing evidence that several thousand fish are on the move. Chinook have passed Alderpoint on the main Eel and are as far upstream as the mouth of Outlet Creek, in Mendocino County. Several hundred fish entered the South Fork Eel River on Tuesday, October 23, and volunteers verified that at least a few have migrated as far as Redway.
Together, the dive counts and migration observations indicate that more than 10,000 Chinook salmon have entered the Eel River already, with the run expected to continue into early January. This would suggest this year's return will be equal or higher than those from 1955-58 when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the last basin-wide surveys and found the population ranging from 14,500 to 38,045, with an average of 24,361 returning Chinook salmon.
The ERRP operates under the Trees Foundation, and the fall Chinook volunteer dive surveys are being funded by the Rose Foundation and Patagonia. The Humboldt County Fish and Game Advisory Committee is also providing grant funds to report on the migration, distribution and abundance of salmon as they disburse throughout the watershed. If lower Eel River conditions permit, the last ERRP dive will be conducted on Saturday, November 10.
People wishing to share salmon observations or to join in the last dive should contact ERRP Volunteer Coordinator Pat Higgins at 223-7200.
On Saturday, December 1, the Eel River Recovery Project will present the findings of 2012 water temperature and salmon monitoring project at 10 a.m. at Little Lake Grange. The presentation will be followed by a salmon education event on the bridge at Hearst, beginning at 1 p.m..
Fisheries biologist and ERRP Volunteer Coordinator Pat Higgins will describe this year's run and talk about salmon biology and behavior.
Salmon should start to arrive in good numbers at any time and Willits area ERRP volunteers may hold salmon watching events before December 1.
Check www.eelriverrecovery.org to find out about events or see video of salmon under water.
Persons iinterested in joining others to watch the salmon may call ERRP volunteer Paul Futscher at 459-3344.
http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_21948573/eel-river-salmon-run-largest-ever-seen
Eel River salmon run 'largest ever seen'
The Willits News
Posted: 11/07/2012 10:04:23 AM PST
Chinook and half-pounders in the front of 12th Street Pool. (Eel River Recovery Project/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
Old-timers along the banks of the Eel River are calling it the largest run they have ever seen, and the Eel River Recovery Project is helping document another potentially record-breaking salmon run.
The third 2012 ERRP fall Chinook dive census of the lower Eel River, on Saturday, October 27, substantiated that more than 5,000 fish were holding in the river between the Van Duzen River and Fernbridge. Earlier reports from ERRP volunteers also chronicled mass migrations of salmon when the river rose October 22 and 23. The combined information suggests more than 10,000 Chinook salmon have entered the Eel River system so far this fall, and this is only the beginning of the run.
More than 60 people have volunteered to help conduct three
The lower dive team on October 27 in wetsuits just before jumping into the 12th Street Pool. (Eel River Recovery Project/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
salmon census dives, with support from the Wiyot and Bear River Tribe staff. The 17 volunteers last Saturday included experienced abalone divers and surfers, who could withstand the chilly waters of the Eel River for several hours at a time. Fisheries biologists from the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata offices also volunteered on their days off, as they have in the two previous dives. Humboldt State University scientific dive class students added their talent and youthful energy.
The combination of trained observers and hardy volunteers coalesced into "very capable fish-counting dive teams."
The dive census techniques follow standard scientific protocols. Divers form a line where each can
see each other, and count salmon that pass between them as they move through a pool. Some pools are as long as a mile and volunteers must swim in formation for upwards of an hour.
On October 27, divers split into two teams. One team swam and walked from River Lodge, in Fortuna, to below Fernbridge and a second team went upriver, and dove in the Weymouth Pool off the Grizzly Bluff Road and at the mouth of the Van Duzen River.
In the Weymouth Pool, the dive teams pushed schools of salmon back
Eel River Recovery Project volunteer coordinator Pat Higgins with lower dive teams gear in a dry bag at the Boxcar Pool on the lower Eel River. (Eel River Recovery Project/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
until they formed a solid mass of fish then the surface of the water boiled as the salmon stopped their retreat and ran back by the divers.
Counts are not precise because of these conditions, but rather an index of abundance that can be used to measure relative run trends over time. The combined total of greater than 5,000 Chinook salmon observed was they highest count this year and much higher than those in 2010 and 2011.
The Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) has joined the ERRP and the Wiyot and Bear River Tribes as a co-sponsor of the dives. HRC fisheries biologist Nick Simpson was the captain of the upper ERRP team on Saturday, and also led ERRP volunteers and HRC staff on another dive upstream of Scotia on Monday, October 29. They
The upper dive team in formation above Weymouth Pool. (Nicholas Simpson, Humboldt Redwood Company/Courtesy) (The Willits News)
estimated 2,700 Chinook salmon were holding in the Holmes Bluff Pool alone.
ERRP volunteers throughout the Eel River watershed have reported observations, including the time, date, duration and the number of fish passing, providing evidence that several thousand fish are on the move. Chinook have passed Alderpoint on the main Eel and are as far upstream as the mouth of Outlet Creek, in Mendocino County. Several hundred fish entered the South Fork Eel River on Tuesday, October 23, and volunteers verified that at least a few have migrated as far as Redway.
Together, the dive counts and migration observations indicate that more than 10,000 Chinook salmon have entered the Eel River already, with the run expected to continue into early January. This would suggest this year's return will be equal or higher than those from 1955-58 when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the last basin-wide surveys and found the population ranging from 14,500 to 38,045, with an average of 24,361 returning Chinook salmon.
The ERRP operates under the Trees Foundation, and the fall Chinook volunteer dive surveys are being funded by the Rose Foundation and Patagonia. The Humboldt County Fish and Game Advisory Committee is also providing grant funds to report on the migration, distribution and abundance of salmon as they disburse throughout the watershed. If lower Eel River conditions permit, the last ERRP dive will be conducted on Saturday, November 10.
People wishing to share salmon observations or to join in the last dive should contact ERRP Volunteer Coordinator Pat Higgins at 223-7200.
On Saturday, December 1, the Eel River Recovery Project will present the findings of 2012 water temperature and salmon monitoring project at 10 a.m. at Little Lake Grange. The presentation will be followed by a salmon education event on the bridge at Hearst, beginning at 1 p.m..
Fisheries biologist and ERRP Volunteer Coordinator Pat Higgins will describe this year's run and talk about salmon biology and behavior.
Salmon should start to arrive in good numbers at any time and Willits area ERRP volunteers may hold salmon watching events before December 1.
Check www.eelriverrecovery.org to find out about events or see video of salmon under water.
Persons iinterested in joining others to watch the salmon may call ERRP volunteer Paul Futscher at 459-3344.