Salmon return to Agate Passage fish pens | Photo Slideshow


March 2, 2010 · Updated 10:24 AM 

  • 0
  • Print Story
  • Letter/Editor

Staff photos by Brad Camp.

SUQUAMISH — A fish pen on Agate Passage is teeming with salmon this week, after seven years spent vacant.

The Suquamish Tribe transferred 265,000 coho smolt from the Gorst Hatchery to a net fish pen between Suquamish and Bainbridge Island on Monday. Tribal biologists are using the pen to acclimate the juvenile fish to the salt water environment before releasing them into Puget Sound. Biologists also hope the location will become imprinted on the salmon, so they will return to spawn in the Agate Passage area.

The fish pen is 70,000-square feet — roughly 1.5 acres — in area. In its first 20 years of operation, the tribe released 600,000 salmon a year from the Agate Passage pen.

The pen was closed in 2003 because of budget constraints, according to a Suquamish Tribe news release.

Comment on this story.

News Blogroll

  • North of North Kitsap
    A blog covering the communities at the north end of the Kitsap Peninsula, including Kingston, Hansville, Eglon, Indianola, Little Boston, Port Gamble and Suquamish.
  • The Poulsbo Beat
    News, insight and conversation about Poulsbo from Staff Writer Jennifer Morris.
COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.

So keep your comments:

  • Civil
  • Smart
  • On-topic
  • Free of profanity

We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters. We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.

blog comments powered by Disqus