April 25th

It's back to the coast after a week and a half break, the weather has turned for the worse after a full week of sun.  Thunder storms have been keeping us off the bay but we still are taking the small boat out each day and sampling the Hoquiam and Elliott Slough rivers.  The rivers consist of fresh and brackish water that really lowers the species diversity to salmonids passing through and sculpins.

-As of now most of the juvenile chum salmon have headed out to sea, a few weeks ago I posted a blue backed juvenile salmon.  This vibrant color change is an indication that the chum are about to leave the estuary.  Interesting life history of heading out to sea no larger than 50mm!

-The video below shows an awesome example of a juvenile coho salmon, notice the dorsal and anal fins! The black and white strips are a major characteristic of the coho along with the vibrant pale orange on the caudal, anal and adipose fins.