The Hood Canal Coordinating Council held a summer chum symposium recently, with biologists reporting on the state of the salmon’s population in Hood Canal. Things are looking up for the salmon that is listed as “threatened” on the federal Endangered Species List.
From the Kitsap Sun:
“We are looking a whole lot better than 14 years ago, at the time of the listing,” said salmon biologist Thom Johnson during a scientific symposium Thursday focused on Hood Canal summer chum. Johnson has spent years studying these unique fish, first as a state salmon biologist and now with Point No Point Treaty Council.
In 1989, seven of the eight subpopulations of Hood Canal summer chum were considered at high risk of extinction, with one at moderate risk. The turnaround has been so successful that now seven of the groups are considered at low risk of extinction, with only one — Lilliwaup Creek on the west side of Hood Canal — remaining in critical condition.
