Summer Chum Spawner Surveys
A partnership with North Olympic Salmon Coalition and Jefferson County Conservation District

The number of Summer Chum returning to local streams is steadily increasing every year in Jefferson County streams.  This increase is due to the amazing restoration work performed by the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and Jefferson County Conservation District.

Once a week during spawning season, Water/Beach Watcher Volunteers walk certain stretches of the stream counting dead and live summer chum. To determine whether the salmon is a natural spawner (part of the historic population), or if it was reared in a hatchery, volunteers collect the otolith bones from dead salmon for laboratory analysis. Other information is also collected such as length, sex and age.