Wildside

Weekly

November 16, 2022

IN THE FIELD

CHUM FEST - THIS WEEKEND Nov 19 & 20th!

The 14th annual Chum Salmon Festival is near. Help us to welcome the salmon home to Donkey Creek on November 19 and 20th from 11-4pm at Donkey Creek Park, the Harbor History Museum and txʷaalqəł Estuary. Take a gander at the event schedule and join us for some fishy fun this weekend!

Saturday, November 19th

11am - Chum Fest Opens

All Day

Informational Booths
Kids Activities including sea creature touch tanks, fish printing (BRING YOUR OWN SHIRT/BAG/Cloth item to decorate), guess the weight of the salmon, and more
Environmental Art Exhibition
Salmon burgers & snacks

12pm - Guided tour of the Shenandoah

1pm - Canoe & Kayak Races begin

2:30pm - Guided Salmon Tour

4pm - Chum Fest Closes

Sunday, November 20th

11am - Chum Fest Opens

All Day

Kids Activities including salmon coloring crowns, lifecycle activity, skull guessing game, live sea creature touch tanks, salmon ornament painting, and more
Environmental Art Exhibition
Salmon for Sale from the Harbor Fish Co.

11:30am - Guided Salmon Tour

1pm - Speaker series begins - Culvert Removal in Puget Sound

1:30pm - Plastics in the Pacific Ocean

2:30pm - Guided Salmon Tour

4pm - Chum Fest Closes

CREATURE FEATURE

Chum Salmon

Onchoryncus keta

Chum Salmon, also referred to as “Dog Salmon” or “Keta Salmon” are one of the five species of Pacific Salmon. These fine fish are spread all around the north Pacific ocean, ranging from Japan, up to Alaska, and all the way down the west coast to about San Diego, and we even have a population that returns to Gig Harbor - hence CHUM FEST! Chum will typically hatch from their eggs and head right for the estuary, although not as immediately as pink salmon. Once they grow to larger sizes during their three to four years at sea, they will typically munch on smaller fish, growing to reproductive sizes. Once they have grown, they will return to their home stream to spawn, and lay up to 7,000 eggs between one to three nests! Chum, like many of the salmonids, will have several physical changes occur- their digestive system shrivels, spawning coloration becomes pronounced (as seen in the photo), and a curved jaw called a kype develops. Of the Pacific salmon species, Chum salmon have the latest seasonal peak with most of their spawning ocuring late-fall. After spawning, the chum may live a few more days before dying. Their carcass helps fertilize the surrounding riparian zone, maintaining ideal habitat for future salmon generations.

STEWARDSHIP TIP

Goodbye Puget Sound Net Pens

Cooke Aquaculture will no longer be operating net pens in the Puget Sound. This is news worth celebrating for our wild salmon populations, water quality, and is one of many steps to restoring the overall health of the Puget Sound. Net pens expose wild fish to parasites and diseases from the dense populations of farmed fish within. The deadline to remove these pens is December 14th of THIS year! Just imagine the future salmon generation of the chum returning this fall to Donkey Creek (and beyond) will have one less barrier to their survival as the smolt make their journey from their home streams out to the ocean in the spring. That's pretty incredible and something to celebrate at the 14th annual Chum Festival THIS weekend!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR*

Jr. Naturalist Workshop

November 19, 10am Donkey Creek Park. Students are invited to join us for an educational salmon tour right before Chum Salmon Festival begins.

Chum Salmon Festival

November 19 & 20 11-4pm

Celebrate the homecoming of the Chum Salmon in Donkey Creek. This annual event has expanded to TWO DAYS and we couldn't be more excited!

Steward Club Salmon Walk

November 20, 11:30am Donkey Creek Park. Members are invited to join us for an educational salmon tour during Chum Salmon Festival

Salmon Walking Tours

View spawning salmon and learn all about the struggles they face on their epic journey from Gig Harbor, to the Pacific Ocean and back. Meet near the new Our Fisherman, Our Guardian carving in txʷaalqəł Estuary Park.

November 26 10am

December 3, 2:00pm

Pier Into the Night

While you stay warm and dry on the dock, our divers use an underwater video camera to live stream what they encounter below the surface. Staff biologists and trained volunteers identify the sea life that appear on the 10-foot screen in real time.

January 7, 5pm @ Jerisich Dock

February 4, 6pm @ Maritime Pier

March 4, 7pm @ NEW LOCATION TBD

Touch Tanks on the Pier during Christmas Tree Lighting

Skansie Brothers' Park. December 3, 4:30-6:30pm

Skansie Visitor &

Interpretive Center

Open Wed - Saturday, 10-4pm

3207 Harborview Drive • Gig Harbor

Pending Volunteer Availability on Weekends

Salmon Observation Station

Write your salmon observations down whenever you view the creek. Now through December, Donkey Creek Park.