OCTOBER MIGRATION
Issaquah, WA 9/30

Standing on a wooden bridge just east of Seattle off I-90 and some 20 feet above Issaquah Creek, not far from downtown Issaquah and the world famous Costco World Headquarters, it was possible to see more than 200 Chinook salmon in a shallow pool not much larger than the typical tract home living room, all waiting for the opportunity to move up a fish ladder leading to the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. Some of the fish would be stripped of eggs and others would be allowed to continue to spawning grounds upstream.

See the hatchery home page with narrative and photo images here: http://www.issaquahhistory.org/sites/salmonhatchery.htms.

The fish, now three to four years old, are in the last stages of a long journey, having been released years before as smolts, which moved down the river to the open ocean, spent time feeding voraciously, achieved maturity, and now returned to spawn, completing the cycle.

On average, the fish under the bridge and throughout the creek probably weighed an average of 15 to 20 pounds, dark in color having been in fresh water for some period of time, and showing injuries sustained moving up the very shallow creek. A docent, providing information to some of the 300,000 annual visitors to the hatchery, said this year the fish are returning in record numbers, a huge bounty.

Some weeks ago the fish moved through the salt waters of Puget Sound, then hit a major barrier, the Ballard ship locks leading to Seattle’s Lake Union and later Lake Washington. Waiting at the locks were many sea lions, feeding on the salmon, and yet to some observers just killing the fish at random, as a cat would play with a mouse. Once in Lake Washington the fish would enter the Sammamish River, a canal constructed between the lower lakes and Lake Sammamish itself, and then swim the length of the lake to the mouth of Issaquah Creek, beginning one last push several miles to the hatchery.

Throughout the journey there were many predators-kingfishers, herons, otters, and even fishermen–all taking a toll on the salmon. As you consider the route, the obstacles, the many barriers, all that the salmon have to overcome to make it to the hatchery, it’s a wonder the fish make it at all.

The salmon successfully making the run to Issaquah will help replenish the stock, a healthy swarm of smolts, and will help guarantee a continuing run of fish.

Late in October, the CAL-MOAA migration will get underway to the Sacramento Rally and annual meetings. We’re seeing some activity, but this year there is cause for concern. As of this date we have only about two dozen registrations for an event that is only about three weeks away.

There has been a lot of talk about the barriers to this migration: for many, it’s a far distance to Sacramento; the Rally initially was set for Wednesday through Saturday some three nights in a hotel; although Southwest Airlines at one point advertised a $49 one way fare from any point in California served by the airline, such a fare for some is proving prohibitive; this year there is a full Rally registration fee of $40; the costs can be high. The spirit is strong; the flesh is weak.

Only a few hardy officers have registered and plan to travel to Sacramento. This particular migration is not really getting underway; for many others, the barriers are too much apparently to overcome. There is some talk that unless something happens soon, this particular group of migrants will become extinct.

Comments RSS