Tribal hatchery staff from around the Pacific Northwest participated in a coldwater fish culture class in June, taking a deep dive into their work with salmon in hatcheries.
The two-week class covered what it takes to operate a hatchery, such as proper sanitary practices to keep eggs and fish healthy, the extensive calculations needed to estimate accurate numbers of eggs for spawning, and how to manage and optimize water flows, fish densities and feeding.
While the math can be intimidating, George Lancaster-Jones, who has been a fish culturist for the Tulalip Tribes for more than 20 years, said he enjoys the class as a refresher and a reminder that “maybe I don’t know as much as I think I do.”
The classroom work was held primarily at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s 7 Cedars Casino but students got a break from the books with field trips to nearby facilities, including the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s House of Salmon Hatchery. Instructors came from a variety of backgrounds, including the Wyoming State Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and local tribal hatcheries.
At Elwha, the students got a tour of the facility and practiced gathering samples for data collection by weighing and counting fish from both indoor and outdoor raceways. The students also toured restored areas of the Elwha River, including one of the former dam sites, and learned how sedimentation has changed the mouth of the river.
While Dean Johnstone has been working at the Quinault’s pen rearing hatchery since 1999 and has been the pen rearing manager since 2017, he was intrigued to take this class after seeing the itinerary.
“It’s an interesting class,” he said.
Quinault fish technician Robert Shale told Johnstone that the class helped him understand the importance of documenting everything at the hatchery, and that working through various scenarios in the class has helped make more sense of their protocols.
“Those who miss out on taking this class don’t realize how valuable it is,” Johnstone said.
Elena Prest, a Skokomish tribal member and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service intern at the Quilcene National Fish Hatchery, took the class for a second time.
“I take away different skills and like seeing how other tribal hatcheries do things differently,” she said. “I enjoy learning about that because I want a future as a hatchery worker.”
Several staff from the Suquamish Tribe’s Merle Hayes Hatchery at Grovers Creek attended for refresher training, networking, and finding ways to update their sampling and rearing methods.
“It’s a really good opportunity for fixing problems or updating things, to talk to people who have been there and done that and went through all of the missteps, and found out what really works,” said Heather Schultz, the lab manager for the Suquamish hatchery. “We make some connections so we know who to call if we have any questions.”
Sunsomay Keith, Skokomish lead hatchery technician, left, and Conner Erickson, NWIFC tagging trailer operator, sample fish from an indoor raceway at the House of Salmon Hatchery. Story and photos: Tiffany Royal
