Everett Herald: Stillaguamish salmon run’s future rests on 45 fish

The Everett Herald on the Stillaguamish Tribe’s south fork Stilluagmish chinook broodstock program:

Stillaguamish tribal biologists are planning DNA tests for each fingerling to determine whether they are male or female, and whether they are members of a dwindling community: the Stillaguamish River’s south fork chinook strain.

If the fish are of the strain, and if there is a sufficient male-to-female ratio and if the biologists can keep each fish alive for at least three years in a high-tech controlled environment, there may be a chance for the genetically unique south fork chinook strain to survive.

“We have to keep these guys alive,” said Charlotte Schofield, a technician with the Stillaguamish Tribe’s Natural Resources Department.