High school students from Tacoma’s Science and Math Institute swarmed a net pen floating in the Salish Sea, busying themselves with the daily tasks of caring for thousands of Chinook salmon fry.
The kids operated like a well-oiled machine, needing no instructions as they cleaned algae off the sides of the net, tested the water turbidity, and sprinkled pounds of fish food in the water.
As part of the Chinook Orca Research and Education (C.O.R.E.) Project, some 40 or so students spent the school year immersed in hands-on, real-world learning and research intended to raise awareness about the importance of southern resident orcas and the Chinook salmon they need to survive.
“This is a community-based project where students answer authentic problems with authentic community partners,” said Elizabeth Minks, SAMi co-director. “The kids get involved, explore their interests, develop their strengths and explore pathways to careers while working alongside professionals and honoring tribal practices.”
Both native Northwest species are endangered, and a unique private-public partnership hopes that by saving orcas and salmon, they can preserve local ecosystems, Tribal treaty rights, Indigenous culture, and local fishing.
Every year, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) hatch Chinook salmon and bring them directly to the rearing pens at Point Defiance Marina for an intensive period of salt-water care and feeding before being released. This bypasses some of the highest mortality when releasing salmon into potentially toxic freshwater and helps them avoid early-stage predators.
The technique, stemming from southeast Alaska, makes the salmon heartier and less susceptible to predation than the usual technique of releasing them into a freshwater river so the salmon can do their fresh-to-saltwater migration.
Over the last several months, the partnership overseen by the Puyallup Tribal team, fed and monitored by Gig Harbor Anglers, SAMi students and community members, have raised nearly 120,000 salmon that will be released Wednesday, June 21.
“It’s amazing to see so many partners pull together for conservation,” said Joe Brady, deputy director of regional parks and attractions. “Metro Parks is thrilled that our facilities and staff can play a role in strengthening populations for salmon and orcas.”
The collaboration is impressive, and critical.
The Puyallup Tribe and WDFW hatched the Chinook salmon. Students from Chief Leschi helped spawn them from the tribe’s Clarks Creek Hatchery. SAMi students worked with local anglers to feed the fish and test the water. The Underwater Robotics class designed and built underwater remotely operated vehicles to monitor the salmon and the condition of the net. Metro Parks hosted the pen.
Data collected by the students under the guidance of marine science teacher Matthew Lonsdale will be shared with Tribal nations, WDFW, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and hatcheries statewide to help determine better practices in caring for salmon.
Lennon Burgess, 16, is a junior and acted as a teaching assistant for SAMi’s fisheries management class.
“This has given me a really big insight into how many resources it takes for these conservation efforts, and conservation is important to right the wrongs we’ve done by overfishing,” Burgess said.
Each of the salmon raised by the collaboration are given a coded wire tag and adipose fin clip to collect information on growth, survival, and migration. Those that survive in the wild are expected to return in about three years.
The partnership, which is in its fifth year, has grown to include the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Tacoma Public Schools, Metro Parks Tacoma, Puget Sound Anglers’ Gig Harbor chapter, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, WDFW, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Support comes from Bio-Oregon, Orca Design Group and E6 PR.
“It involves so many players and is truly a group effort,” said Blake Smith, enhancement chief for the Puyallup Tribe hatchery. “Salmon have to go through a lot to complete a life cycle and bringing that awareness and making people think about salmon and orcas is important.”
Salish Sea Chinook salmon populations, which killer whales depend heavily on because they are the largest and fattiest of Pacific salmon species, are down 60 percent since the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration started tracking them in 1984.
There are officially 74 whales in the three groups of endangered orcas, known as the J, K and L pods, which is the lowest number since the 1970s. Scientists fear the southern resident killer whales are on the brink of extinction.
“We’re giving the salmon a head start and an advantage to living like a wild fish while also raising awareness to help increase the number of healthy Chinook salmon and orcas,” said Wayne Harmond, founder of the nonprofit Northwest Salmon Research, which oversees the project. “We’re doing it for the next generations.”
Learn more about C.O.R.E.: Our Projects | Northwest Salmon Research (nwsalmonresearch.org)
