{"id":1212,"date":"2015-07-14T21:03:10","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T05:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/?p=1212"},"modified":"2015-07-15T16:08:30","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T00:08:30","slug":"salmon-arrive-feeding-frenzy-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/travel\/salmon-arrive-feeding-frenzy-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Salmon Arrive, Feeding Frenzy Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The chum and\u00a0coho\u00a0salmon are arriving at Salmon Creek and\u00a0the spawning and\u00a0feeding frenzy has the\u00a0usually placid creek boiling and roiling as the salmon navigate the shallows. As noted in the Juneau Empire<\/em>,\u00a0“their dorsal fins\u00a0<\/span>cutting the surface like\u00a0those of tiny sharks.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, the creek adjacent to the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery<\/a> <\/span>is really called Salmon Creek.<\/span><\/p>\n

Millions of\u00a0 silvery coho<\/a> <\/span>(silver)\u00a0\u00a0and chum<\/a> <\/span>(dog)<\/a>\u00a0salmon are expected to return to Juneau area creeks, streams and rivers\u00a0over the next few weeks.<\/span> Chinook<\/a><\/span> (king)<\/span> and<\/span> pink<\/a><\/span> salmon arrived about three weeks ago with<\/span> sockeye <\/a><\/span>(red)\u00a0salmon arriving in the next couple weeks. It is an extraordinary\u00a0chapter in the salmon\u00a0life-cycle\u00a0and just as extraordinary to witness millions of salmon making their way back to the waters where they themselves were born.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Eagles<\/a>
Eagles, sea gulls and artic terns wait for low tide to reveal salmon and their eggs.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hordes of fisherman, eagles<\/a>, seagulls<\/a>, ravens<\/a>, crows<\/a>, arctic terns<\/a> <\/span>and sea lions<\/a> <\/span>are congregating at the mouth of\u00a0Salmon Creek\u00a0and at the hatchery\u2019s fish ladder entrance to partake in this annual sushi buffet. Black bears\u00a0<\/a><\/span> will also be\u00a0plundering the upper reaches of area’s waterway’s during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk. I often see black bears fishing for sockeye salmon at the Steep Creek bear viewing platform at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area<\/a>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Alaska’s rich watershed is an ideal home for all five species of Pacific salmon and the last great stronghold for healthy stocks of\u00a0wild salmon. About 50 million salmon are caught annually in the waterways of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. One in 10 jobs are supported by salmon in Southeast Alaska and 96 percent of Alaskans say salmon is essential to the Alaskan way of life.\u00b9<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Salmon<\/a>
Hatchery fish now make up more than half of the total commercial chum salmon harvest in Southeast Alaska. — Alaska Department of Fish and Game.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0The salmon migrate to the hatchery because they are genetically inclined to return to their natal waters. Some go astray and spawn in Salmon Creek or other\u00a0waterways, but that is good as it adds genetic diversity to the local salmon population. To learn more about salmon, go to http:\/\/www.adfg.alaska.gov\/index.cfm?adfg=sockeyesalmon.main<\/a><\/span>. To learn more about the Alaska Fish and Game hatchery program click on this link<\/span>.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nhttp:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150715082038.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Fishing at Salmon Creek, these eagles, seagulls and Artic terns are just three of
\nthe more than 130 plants and animals that utilize nutrients from salmon.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Managed by the non-profit\u00a0<\/span>Douglas Island Pink & Chum, Inc. (DIPAC), the Macaulay Salmon\u00a0Hatchery\u00a0<\/span>releases\u00a0about 120 million juvenile salmon\u00a0into the ocean each spring where they will spend their adult lives in the “wild.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSalmon always attempt to return to their home stream to spawn; consequently the salmon released from our hatchery site will return here to spawn anywhere from 2-7 years later,” states the\u00a0hatchery’s website. “Of that 120 million released each year, anywhere between\u00a01 percent\u00a0and\u00a010 percent will return back here as adults.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Alaska Salmon Hatchery program was established to increase fish\u00a0abundance, enhance fisheries, serve the residents of Alaska and\u00a0protect wild salmon stocks. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Aleta<\/a><\/dt>\n
\n

Viewing windows make it easy to watch the salmon as they make their way up the fish ladder.<\/h4>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

\u00a0Macaulay Salmon Hatchery is open to the public during the summer and is one of the most affordable and fascinating tours in Juneau. I rate it among my top-10 things to do in Juneau if you visit when the salmon are swimming up the fish ladder. For only $3.25 for adults and $1.25 for children, visitors can take the basic tour to learn about the fascinating life cycle of salmon, their near shore marine environment, and the inner workings of a hatchery. There is also the summer-only\u00a0(June-August) Deluxe Nooks & Crannies Tour<\/em> <\/a><\/span>(adults $10, children $5.25)\u00a0where visitors get an inside look at the hatchery\u2019s operations, including a behind-the-scenes tour and extended commentary. Most cruise ship offer this excursion, but if you purchase this tour through your cruise line, it\u00a0will cost more because the cruise lines provide transportation to and from the hatchery and often combine the hatchery visit with another local attraction.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Salmon<\/a>
Salmon eggs are a favored feast for the Bonaparte’s Gull.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about\u00a0<\/span>the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery go to: http:\/\/dipac.net<\/a><\/span><\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n

============================================================================<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00b9 US Forest Service<\/p>\n

Text\u00a0 & Photos by Aleta Walther \u00a9 2015<\/span><\/strong>
\nNaturalist, Outdoor Excursion Guide, CIG, CTA, ATG<\/b><\/span><\/b><\/strong>
\n<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/b>CONTACT: <\/span><\/strong>\u00a0aleta@prwriterpro.com<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The chum and\u00a0coho\u00a0salmon are arriving at Salmon Creek and\u00a0the spawning and\u00a0feeding frenzy has the\u00a0usually placid creek boiling and roiling as the salmon navigate the shallows. As noted in the Juneau Empire,\u00a0“their dorsal fins\u00a0cutting the surface like\u00a0those of tiny sharks.” Yes,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,91,99,101,28,100,32,31,89,104,57,103,23,59,29,43,33,21,58,24],"tags":[107],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1212"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1279,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions\/1279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}