Volunteers willing to wield a pair of scissors are being sought to help launch young salmon on their trek to the ocean.
Fin-cutting crews are needed over Memorial Day Weekend at the Hollow Tree Creek Hatchery as 88,000 tiny salmon begin their incredible 100-mile journey down the Eel River to the ocean, with only the hardiest and luckiest to return in four years.
New Hollow Tree Creek Hatchery Manager Spencer Stiff will train and lead volunteer crews that weekend, with work starting at 9 a.m. each morning and lasting until dark. Stiff said work is planned for Saturday and Sunday, May 27 and 28, and possibly may be needed on Monday, May 29, as well.
Volunteers will also get the opportunity to view the private working hatchery whose operations are paid for by the Salmon Restoration Association in Fort Bragg. Hot dogs will be barbecued. Past participants say the event is a hard, but fun day at the hatchery, which is located off Highway 1 between Westport and Leggett.
The Salmon Restoration Association is funded by the annual “World”s Largest Salmon Barbecue,” in south Noyo Harbor set for July 1 this year.
“Clipping fins is the end of a long cycle of raising fish, first we get public donation to raise fish, then we ask for public help to get the fish ready for stocking,” said Joe Janisch, president of the Salmon Restoration Association.
“Because we are a non-profit organization run by a volunteer board, public participation is essential to complete hatchery operations,” he said.
This is the first time in several years that there have been fish hatched at the Hollow Tree Creek facility — due to low water levels in past years. Nearly 100,000 eggs were taken from females, with males also captured to provide sperm. Stiff and retiring Hatchery Manager Jerry Wall managed to rear about 88,000 fish despite rains that threatened to muddy the life-giving water for the baby fish, and which also closed roads this winter while the men were working the crucial hatchery time.
The fin-cutting is required by state laws and allows Stiff and others at the hatchery to identify a hatchery fish when it returns, usually in four years. If a salmon reared at the hatchery does come all the way back home, the fish is rejected for breeding and put back into the creek at that point. This is to prevent the fish equivalent of inbreeding and to protect the genetic pool, Stiff explained.
Stiff, a Humboldt State graduate with experience as a fishing guide and hatchery operator in Humboldt County, has introduced the use of clove oil as a clean agent to tranquilize the six-month-old salmon so they can be handled.
Stiff said a person can learn to cut the left ventricle fin off in just seconds, allowing the 88,000 fish to be done in the single weekend with about 40 dedicated volunteers.
Families are encouraged to participate in the effort although children must be supervised at all times by parents.
The Salmon Restoration Association is struggling with salmon prices predicted to be as much as double those of last year, due to the virtual elimination of commercial salmon fishing season. Commercial fishermen once provided the fish for the barbecue but this year recreational fishermen have organized a fishing derby in Noyo Harbor in June in an effort to get sport anglers to donate their catch to the event.
In addition to the Memorial Day fin cutting party, there is a need for volunteers this year to help with barbecue cleanup on July 2.
“We will need people for a few hours that Sunday morning,” said Janisch.
“Clean up is quickest when we have a crew of 10 who can get in and get out so everything is done and put away by noon. All family members are welcome. There is something to do for everybody,” Janisch said.
To participate in the fin-cutting event or to volunteer to help at the barbecue or in cleanup, call Janisch at 962-0548.
Directions
From Fort Bragg take Highway 1 north about one hour to Hales Grove and look for signs on the righthand side leading to the hatchery. Follow the dirt road about two miles to the hatchery.
From Highway 101 turn onto Highway 1 at Legget and go eight miles toward Fort Bragg. Look for signs and a turnaround. After turning around, go about 100 feet back towards Legget and take the dirt road to the right. The hatchery road is at milepost marker 96.45 on Highway 1.
