On Feb. 26, volunteer monitors sighted 15 active “home hatch” fry darting around in lower Fauntleroy Creek – evidence that at least some eggs left last fall by coho spawners survived the winter.
Spawners had left them under a blanket of loose gravel for protection. The eggs hatched into alevin equipped with a yolk sac to sustain them until they were mature enough to emerge and forage for themselves. Next spring, they will leave the creek for two years in saltwater.
The same transformation is playing out as students in the Salmon in the Schools program rear their own fish. We expect to host 18 releases by area schools in May.