The yearling Coho were released into the Marina pen this morning - fishing season is close! | Urban Wildlife

The President of the Edmonds Salmon Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Gary McConaghy shared this story with me today about putting the yearling Coho into the net pen this morning at the Edmonds Marina.

Each year, for the last 25 years the Edmonds Salmon Chapter of Trout Unlimited participates in a Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife project to imprint yearling Coho Salmon to Puget Sound waters. The purpose of this project is to yearly establish a resident population of Coho that will stay in the Puget Sound area and become available to sport fishers during the early and mid summer months. Typically, during these months, sport  fishing opportunities for Salmon are rather slim in these waters.

The project starts in February with 30,000 one year old Coho salmon being transferred from the State Salmon Hatchery in Issaquah to the Port of Edmonds Marina via tank trucks. The salmon are then pumped into the salt water net pen, capped off with a predator net and moved out to the Edmonds fishing pier where they will stay until the first of June. The fish are fed two to three times a week by members of the fishing club to the tune of 48 lbs a week. By the end of their 14 week stay at the Spa on the Pier, the fish have nearly tripled in size and weight. Then they are released into the real world.

The theory is that these fish will have taken a liking to the waters of Puget Sound and will stick around for the remaining 2 years of their life and, if a lucky fisherperson gets to catch one, so much for the better.