Tis the season for red and green… salmon?
Merry Fish-mas!
Chum salmon return to the watershed to spawn just in time for the holidays. They arrive wearing the equivalent of a human’s Christmas sweater (red calico stripes on a green body) to signal their readiness to party! Er, propagate.
Chum salmon, like all salmon, are born in freshwater. They migrate to the ocean to grow and return to the freshwater area where they were born to spawn. After spawning, the salmon die.
Our Port Biologist getting ready to chuck some Chum...
This seems sad, especially after they make such a long journey, but the salmon carcasses provide a valuable gift. As they decompose, marine nutrients (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) stored in their tissues are released into the nutrient poor freshwater ecosystem. They also serve as food for lots of animals, including newly hatched salmon.
Last week, the Puyallup Tribe Hatchery generously donated approximately 50 spawned out chum carcasses to the Port to “chuck” at the Lower Wapato Creek Habitat Site. Placing the salmon by creeks after harvesting their eggs and milt keeps precious marine nutrients cycling.
Sara and Chum salmon
Chum are the second largest salmon species behind Chinook. They can grow up to 45lbs and 3.6 feet long. Adding their carcasses to the Lower Wapato provides a natural boost of fertilizer for the riparian plants.
My steadfast co-worker Sara joined me to chuck the Chum along the Lower Wapato stream bank. We donned rubber gloves and got to work! By the end, we were covered in fish parts and slime, but we couldn’t stop laughing like kids on Christmas morning.