The Sequim Gazette reported on this fall’s return of summer chum to Jimmycomelately Creek. Numbers aren’t as high this year as last year’s 8,000 fish that returned to the creek, but biologists credit the overall increased numbes of fish returning to the creek to both the state’s supplementation program and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s massive restoration of the creek in 2004.
From the story:
For the past 15 years Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials, with the support of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, have collaborated with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition staff and countless volunteers to restore a self-sustaining population of summer chum salmon to Jimmycomelately Creek.
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As part of their summer chum salmon recovery project, WDFW officials harvested the eggs from a portion of the returning female chum (a female chum salmon has an average of 25,000 eggs) from 1999-2010 and reared them in remote locations, but still within the Jimmycomelately Creek watershed to ensure proper imprinting. Adding to the ongoing conservation efforts, by 2004 the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe had restored the creek’s natural channel and accomplished major habitat restoration work.
Between the restored habitat and supplementation of “program fish” (fish reared at remote locations), the years of work at Jimmycomelately Creek appear to be a success, (WDFW’s Cheri) Scalf said.
