FY 2015 Sockeye Supplementation

The ongoing Quinault Sockeye Supplementation project focused on supplementing wild fry into Lake Quinault by releasing fed unfed fry directly into the lake. Gametes were collected from adults on the spawning grounds and transported to the Lake Quinault Tribal Hatchery, where they were incubated until swim-up. Broodstocking begin October and lasted through the end of January. All production from this program will be otolith-marked during incubation. Supplemental fry were released into Lake Quinault during the months of April through June in calendar years 2018 and 2019.

The supplementation program will provide larger returns of natural sockeye runs to the Quinault River, which it is hoped will increase the total number of fry entering the lake to rear each year. Larger numbers of returning adults would directly result in better meeting the social and economic needs of the members of the Quinault Indian Nation. Habitat would be improved by increasing the nutrient load within the river system, which would in turn boost aquatic insect communities which are a source of prey for juvenile salmon.