Most of us working on behalf of wild steelhead love our jobs. Still, after a long week we are ready to hit the water — and share some more Science Friday steelhead knowledge. This week we touch on a study conducted by Andrew Brown at the University of Washington, along with several co-authors. The paper is here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059162 …
The General Practitioner
By: Sean Dahlquist Today’s post was graciously provided by Sean Dahlquist. Sean lives on the Olympic Peninsula, where he loves fishing for steelhead and trout, and of course, tying flies. Not only is Sean a fine tier, but he is also a historian on the topic. Check out Sean’s Instagram @sean_dahlquist page for more great patterns and examples. …
Can a Wild Coho Salmon Population Recover Following Closure of a Hatchery Program
Today’s post is the conclusion of our two part guest series on the recovery of Coho in Oregon’s Salmon River. (Click here for last weeks post) Lately we have shared several studies on Pink and Coho salmon, which provide important lessons for salmonid recovery efforts across a range of species and watersheds. Perhaps the most important lesson is that decisions …
Science Friday: Do it once, do it twice. The tradeoffs of repeat spawning in steelhead
We are back after a short break, after coming through a heavy dose of conservation work. That work, in part, helped convince the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service to re-open the iconic Skagit River for a catch-and-release season for wild steelhead. It feels like a new day has dawned for steelheaders in Puget …
Skagit to Open to Steelhead Fishing Once Again
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Rob Masonis, VP for Western Conservation, Trout Unlimited, rmasonis@tu.org, 206-491-9016 Nick Chambers, Wild Steelhead Initiative Organizer, nchambers@tu.org, 541-908-1329 Trout Unlimited and Wild Steelheaders United applaud decision to re-open Skagit River wild steelhead fishery, call for additional analysis of fishery impact limits to ensure consistency with recovery SEATTLE—Trout Unlimited (TU) and …
Stock Recruit Curves And Wild Steelhead, A Good Match?
In several recent posts we have discussed the concept of density dependence and how it is used in fisheries management. Today we dive in deeper and talk about the stock-recruitment relationship, density dependence, and how the results of such models are applied to managing steelhead. First, let’s define some terms. Stock refers to, in this context, a population of …
Science Friday: Space, time, and maximizing habitat capacity
All steelhead, all the time, here at Wild Steelheaders United. Over the past few weeks we have examined the scientific concepts and tools used to evaluate how productive a given stream can be for wild steelhead. Such assessments are an important component of managing a steelhead fishery — especially if the run in that watershed is ESA-listed (in the Lower …
Science Friday: The importance of both space and time in managing wild steelhead
This is the third of four posts on the nuts and bolts of estimating wild steelhead populations, spawning success, and other key management variables. First, we covered the concepts of carrying capacity and density dependence and how habitat can be used to estimate carrying capacity. Last week’s post shifted gears to review studies that found the spatial distribution …
Upcoming Public Meetings for Skagit Catch and Release Fishery
One of the few real success stories in steelhead conservation over the past decade is the comeback of wild steelhead in the Skagit River system. As we have been saying for several years, the rebound of this population has been substantial enough to consider re-opening the Skagit for a spring steelhead season. Wild Steelheaders United and other angling advocates have …
Science Friday: Juvenile Density, Distribution and Habitat Capacity
By John McMillan New Year, new Science Friday! Last week we looked at the concept of carrying capacity, how it is estimated, and the most important habitat factors used to come up with those estimations. This week we shift gears a bit and review studies that illuminate how patterns in fish distribution can affect assumptions about carrying capacity. Recall …