WFC

Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Farewell, For Now

Test fishing is finished on the Columbia, and we are very pleased to announce that the trap successfully captured 7,138 salmonids with a 99.87% immediate

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Front Lines of the Columbia

Monitoring the river day and night with our experimental pound net trap, we are at the front lines of the Columbia seven days a week,

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Fishing Around the Clock

Fishing continues, and we have already doubled our total catch from last year with only half of the 2016 run size. We wake up hours

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Writing this journal entry with swollen and aching hands, I want to express great thanks to the individuals that are making this incredible journey possible.

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Confronting New Challenges

Constructing and testing Washington’s first salmon trap in over 80 years, there is a lot to learn and many new challenges to confront on a

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Fishing Through the Haze

With a deep red, smoke-obscured sun as our backdrop, the crew wraps up week two of test fishing. In less than 14 days, we are

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

From Cathlamet to McNary

The Chinook are in, and the fishing is better than ever. After 13 days of test fishing, we saw our first tagged Chinook cross McNary

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

A Prestigious Award

It is truly amazing what we have accomplished to date; our crew has successfully built Washington State’s first commercial salmon trap in over 80 years.

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Life on the Trap

It is no easy task tagging and clipping hundreds of fish 14 hours a day, day on end. But on tides when the fish are

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

The Science

With each haul of salmon and steelhead, Wild Fish Conservancy’s experienced field staff gathers genetic samples and implants Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags. These important elements

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

First Day of Test Fishing

Waking up before the sunrise, the crew paddled out to the trap for the first day of test fishing! With the spiller deployed and the

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

The Fish Trap Powerhouse

Today the crew lifted a winch — the trap’s final component —  to the top of the pilings, marking the trap’s completion. This 400-pound piece

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Hang ‘Em High

Climbing to the very top of the pilings, the crew hung the final compartment of the trap, known as the “spiller.” This key piece of

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Wisdom

With construction nearly complete, we made a necessary trek into town to resupply on hardware, food, and fuel. By chance, we crossed paths with Blair

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

A Brisk Awakening

The crew rolled out of bed this morning straight into their wet suits, waking up early to catch an exceptionally low tide. Construction has progressed

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

An Osprey Watches Back

With all the hardware in place, the crew watches the sun as it set over the trap. It’s a lot of work assembling our pulleys,

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

Balancing Act

The crew climbed to the top of the pilings today to install a new platform for our winch. You can feel the sway of each

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

The Web Gang “Hangs” a Trap

Got to work hanging nets today. Just remembering how difficult this whole process is, especially in strong winds. The web gang bravely tip-toed along the

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Fish Trap Journal
WFC

First Day on the Columbia

Today was our first day on the water. Conditions were a bit rough, with high temperatures, thick smoke from the British Columbia forest fires, and

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