Soft net traps are now installed in the upper and lower creek so that volunteers can count how many coho smolts head to saltwater. Monitors will be checking each trap twice daily through May. Begun in 2003, this annual study documents how well juveniles survive during their year in the creek.
The 4”-5” long “teenagers” were released last spring by students or are the result of fall 2024 spawning. Once in Fauntleroy Cove, they will fatten up before heading farther afield for their two years in saltwater. The count since 2021 has ranged from 11 to 49.
Photo by Dave Gershgorn