Steelhead 101: Estimating steelhead run size

In Oregon, Science Friday by Nick Chambers

Recently we have described the various methods used by biologists and resource managers to estimate steelhead escapement, which is the number of fish that escape and survive fisheries (all forms of angling) to actually spawn in a watershed.   Run size is the total number of steelhead that return to a watershed each year. In order to estimate run size …

Steelhead 101: Using weirs to estimate adult steelhead escapement

In Oregon, Science Friday by Nick Chambers

Recently we have described how scientists use redd counts and snorkel surveys to estimate steelhead escapement. This week we focus on weirs, a totally different way of counting steelhead. Rather than sending out surveyors to sample stretches of stream where they count redds or fish, the operation of a weir is much simpler. A weir basically blocks the river and …

Steelhead 101: Using snorkel surveys to estimate adult steelhead escapement

In Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, Science Friday, Washington by Nick Chambers

Another week, another post on how scientists and fisheries managers measure steelhead escapement. Last week, we described redd counts and why they are an important tool. This week, we review snorkel surveys.   Snorkel surveys entail divers swimming in the river and visually counting adult steelhead. Like redd counts, snorkel surveys do not cover an entire river, but rather break …

Science Friday: Tillamook Bay Steelhead

In Oregon, Science Friday by Nick Chambers

Do you ever wonder what we might be missing nowadays in terms of steelhead life histories? Although we can’t go back in time to answer this question, we can look at historic data — in this case from Oregon’s Tillamook Bay. By the 1940’s Oregon’s Tillamook Bay was a patchwork of homesteads and farms, appearing more like the present day …

Juvenile steelhead doing what it takes to become a smolt: You grow in summer, I’ll grow in winter

In Oregon, Science Friday, Steelhead Files, Washington by Nick Chambers

Another Friday, another blog post on the science of steelhead. We love this day of the week! Our topic this week is the growth of juvenile steelhead.  Did you know that the growth rate of steelhead can vary depending on the season of the year?  This variation in growth rate can be considerable. There are a number of reasons that …

Rivers of Resilience – Yakima

In Science Friday, Steelhead Files, Washington by Nick Chambers

It can be hard to maintain faith in the steelhead world.  As noted in the recent article by Bill Herzog, it seems like we are losing wild summer runs faster than we can recover them. I would hedge that many, if not most, anglers feel the same.   Steelhead are not disappearing for lack of effort though. Frankly, it’s amazing …