Wintery beach surveys yield big results

Since winter 2016, six MRCs have participated in a Forage Fish Index Site monitoring program, where volunteers conduct monthly surveys at index sites to document seasonal and long-term trends in forage fish spawning in the Northwest Straits region. This work contributes to the WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife forage fish spawning database, and provides baseline data for model development and a better understanding of forage fish spawning patterns in Puget Sound.

Monthly sampling through inclement weather conditions and long stretches of finding no eggs takes serious dedication. For example, Jefferson MRC volunteers have taken samples at Adelma Beach in Discovery Bay since November 2016. This past November and December the crew documented surf smelt and sand lance spawning events on the same beach, so a seasonal pattern of late fall/early winter spawning in Discovery bay is finally becoming apparent in MRC data collection!

"Forage fish monitoring is a great example of how the citizen science done by local MRC’s can have value that exceeds the dollar equivalent of the volunteer time. Initial monitoring at Adelma Beach was a struggle. We did surveys for nearly a year without finding any eggs. The first time we found eggs was such an exciting feeling. Our work paid off and proved our volunteer hours have immense value!” - Jeff Taylor, Jefferson MRC

Learn more about the work of MRCs and forage fish on our website.