Newsletter
Kokanee Work Group News
Captive Kokanee Yield Thousands of Fertilized Eggs, Promising Record Fry Release in 2024
Tray of fertilized kokanee eggs
Investments in the kokanee captive brood stock and hatchery supplementation programs are paying off. Nearly 18,000 kokanee eggs successfully fertilized and “eyed” during the first stage of salmon development this past January. Thanks to the technology of cryo-banking and expertise of King County’s Environmental Lab, kokanee milt, or sperm, collected in prior years fertilized eggs from the current year, helping to maintain the genetic diversity of our unique Lake Sammamish Late-Run Kokanee for years to come.
Kokanee Returns Improved in Fall 2023
Kokanee salmon in spawning colors
In January, the Kokanee Technical Committee reviewed spawning survey results and developed the final 2023/24 estimates of 279 spawning kokanee in Lake Sammamish, which is three times greater than the 2022/23 return of 81 spawning kokanee. While 279 is an improvement, the estimate is still in the low abundance zone for the population.
Remote Stream Incubators at Work - Thank You, Trout Unlimited!
Photo featuring Dave Kyle, Lake Washington Basin Program Manager of Trout Unlimited
Our KWG partner, Dave Kyle of Trout Unlimited, spent his New Year’s Day in the field, planting over 1,300 freshly fertilized kokanee eggs in a remote stream incubator on Zackuse Creek. By reintroducing kokanee in Zackuse Creek, the aim is to jumpstart recolonization following a culvert replacement that now allows access to the upstream portion of the creek. Signs appear positive as nine spawning kokanee were counted returning to Zackuse Creek this past season. Thank you, Dave, for your tireless efforts operating remote stream incubators to bring late-run kokanee back to their historic creeks. The next generation of kokanee are in good hands!
EastLake Sammamish Trail Completed
The trail completion includes six new fish-passable culverts which improve water quality, enhance habitat, and increase access to spawning grounds for the Lake Sammamish Kokanee.
Photo Credit: King County Parks
The Race to Curb Toxic Effects of Tire Wear Road Runoff
Nearly half of all Coho salmon returning to Puget Sound streams each year die before they can spawn. Long attributed to toxic stormwater runoff washing into streams, the specific chemicals responsible for this pre-spawn mortality went unidentified until a team of researchers from UW Tacoma, UW, and WSU Puyallup, began studying particles from new and used tire wear.
Coho salmon. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
Through several years of detailed laboratory testing of more than 2,000 tire-born chemicals, many of them unknown, and observing their effects on juvenile hatchery Coho salmon, in 2021 the team discovered a molecule known as 6PPD-Quinone (6PPD-q) to be the “smoking gun.” Just one millionth of a gram of 6PPD-q per liter of water produces a lethal concentration. That’s equivalent to one drop of compound in an Olympic-size swimming pool.
To learn about the latest research and concerns about this toxic chemical, here is a link to a detailed article titled Scientists Worldwide Immersed in Studies of Deadly Tire Chemical.