This year, 2023, marks the fifth year of the Northwest Salmon Research collaborative partnership to address the decline of our unique salmon culture and the call to action on behalf of our endangered SRKW (Southern Resident Killer Whales).
Join us for a FREE event on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at the Point Defiance Marina as we release more than 110,000 baby Chinook salmon provided by the Puyallup Indian tribe and WDFW hatcheries. Nearly 100% of the juvenile salmon are distinct CWT (coded wire-tagged) and ALL are adipose fin-clipped/marked. The baby Chinook salmon for the C.O.R.E. project are early-stage transferred from freshwater hatcheries directly to a saltwater facility at Point Defiance/Metro Parks Tacoma in early Spring. There they are studied, cared for, and released by the students at SAMI, SOTA, IDEA, and Chief Leschi schools (under the direction of Puyallup Tribe fisheries, WDFW fisheries biologists, Department of Ecology, and Puget Sound Anglers). This extraordinary collaboration between the salmon co-managers (Indian tribes, WDFW) and public schools, tribe schools, and public and private entities, raises awareness and engages students (tribes and non-tribes) and the public about our unique and endangered salmon culture and the related plight of our SRKW.
For more information about this project, please visit www.nwsalmonresearch.org.
