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Chum rescue effort apparently worked - Dredging increases numbers dramatically Thursday, March 25, 2004 Operation Chum Rescue appears to have been a success. A group of gold miners, at the request of state fisheries biologists, helped dig out a slug of sediment covering a rare piece of chum spawning ground on the Columbia River in Vancouver. The miners apparently had some success, according to net trapping by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "The numbers increased dramatically after the dredging was done," said Joe Hymer, a state fisheries biologist in Vancouver. The miners were called in when an unusually large plume of sediment covered about 20 percent of the prime spawning grounds a half-mile upriver of the Interstate 205 Bridge. The volunteers used lawn mower-sized dredges mounted atop pontoons to suck up much of the sand and pipe it out to the Columbia's powerful current during the weekend of March 13-14. Live-catch seining turned up 75 inch-long juvenile chum the week before the miners went to work, and 571 the week after. "We hadn't seen a count that high before there," Hymer said. As the miners worked, Hymer said, it was possible to see the baby fish emerge when gravel covering the eggs was scooped away by hand. Sand as deep as 18 inches covered many of the gravel nests, or redds, causing some juveniles to suffocate, while preventing others from emerging from the gravel. As the largest chum spawning area between Beacon Rock and Astoria, Ore., the area is considered important to recovering the fish, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Although as many as 1,000 adult chum spawn in the area known as Wood's Landing late every autumn, Hymer said it wasn't possible to quantify how many may have been saved by the miners. "Since they're a listed species, every single fish counts," he said. "It definitely didn't hurt, and we gave them every opportunity to get out." Officials downplayed the possibility that the slug of sand migrated downriver from the Steamboat Landing marina, which was dredged earlier this year after gaining approval from state and federal natural resource managers. The 4,000 cubic yards of dredged material was hauled away to upland disposal sites, said Carl Dugger, a state fisheries biologist. RELATED STORY: Gold miners work to salvage Columbia River salmon spawning area THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS 3/25/04
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Gold miners were enlisted in an apparently successful effort to salvage a rare stretch of chum salmon spawning grounds along the Columbia River, officials say. Sand as deep as 18 inches covered about 20 percent of the spawning area at Woods Landing, about half a mile east of the Interstate 205 Bridge between Vancouver and Portland, Ore. At the request of the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife, volunteer miners used lawn mower-sized dredges mounted on pontoons to suck up much of the sediment and pipe it out to the main channel of the river over the weekend of March 13-14. As the miners worked by hand to scoop more debris off the gravel, baby fish could be seen emerging from their egg nests, or redds, state fisheries biologist Joe Hymer said. "The numbers (of fish) increased dramatically after the dredging was done," Hymer said. In live fish catches using a seine net, the count was 75 of the inch-long juvenile fish the week before the miners went to work and 571 the week after. "We hadn't seen a count that high before there," Hymer said. The sand had been suffocating some of the newly hatched fish and preventing others from emerging to begin their journey to the sea. As many as 1,000 adult chum, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, spawn each fall at Woods Landing, making it the largest chum spawning area between Beacon Rock, about 30 miles east of Vancouver, and Astoria, Ore., at the mouth of the river. The source of the sand was unclear, but officials said it probably was not from dredging done earlier in the year at the Steamboat Landing marina with state and federal approval. About 4,000 cubic yards of dredge spoils was hauled to upland disposal sites, state fisheries biologist Carl Dugger said. --- Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com
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