Fishery biologists are being trained to see redd

No, we don’t train fisheries professionals to become suddenly enraged! I’m referring to an annual meeting of fisheries professionals focused on identifying the nests, or “redds,” of spawning adult Chinook salmon. 

This year, as in most others, we all met at Marsh Creek near Stanley for redd count training. These trainings are often a collaboration between state, tribal and federal agencies that are involved in protecting and managing threatened populations of Chinook salmon that return to Idaho to spawn. If you are curious about what a redd is and how to identify them, there are some great resources available, but there really is no substitute for getting your feet wet and seeing these incredible aquatic architects go to work. 

This year, Fish and Game wild Chinook biologist Carli Baum organized the redd count training. Generously framed by a backdrop of the morning, sunlit Sawtooth Mountains, she jumped on the tailgate of a pickup truck and addressed the 100-deep crowd of fisheries professionals eager to start the training.  

Carli broke us into smaller groups and relayed the important logistics of safely navigating the section of spawning habitat, while avoiding disruption to the fish and their redds. Tim Copeland, who coordinates the Wild Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring Program for Fish and Game, then followed up and provided important context surrounding the value of the resource and the data that we collect. 

Redd count surveys began more than 70 years ago, and this data has been critical to our understanding and management of native wild Chinook salmon. The value of this information is tied directly to its quality, so the goal of this regular training is to help us be as accurate as possible when we are out collecting it, while maintaining consistency across the agencies that are involved.   

Last up, before we got our boots wet, was a demonstration on collecting information from Chinook carcasses. These fish use everything they have in the tank to make it back to their spawning streams from the ocean, and once they are done spawning, they naturally die very shortly after. 

The nutrients they leave in the stream are very important to many local and migratory animals that have evolved to depend on them, but carcasses also contain a lot of valuable information. Fisheries technicians Caroline Varie and Maddison Myers showed us all how to remove a dorsal fin ray, that can be used to determine the age of the fish. They carefully measured the length of the fish as well. 

When we have age and length information combined, we can estimate growth. This in turn can give us information on resource availability and potentially even ocean conditions. They scanned the fish for PIT (passive integrated transponder) tags, which, if present, can allow us to trace the location history and migration rate of the fish. (For another look at the kind of fish story that a PIT tag and age information can tell, check out A Scale Tale). 

After Caroline and Maddie determined the sex of the fish and collected a DNA sample, we all put on a fresh coat of sunscreen, grabbed our walking sticks and headed to the confluence of Marsh and Knapp creeks to put our training to the test.

As far as tests go, it’s difficult to imagine a more pleasant testing environment. We slowly followed the meandering stream on a clear and sunny morning, stopping at stations marked by orange flags tied to the tall grass on the bank. 

Each of our 10 groups had two experienced leaders who guided us through the various changes in the stream bed to look for evidence of spawning activity. For many of us new to the training, the first few stations left us questioning our ability to find these inconspicuous fin-made fabrications. About a half hour and a few stations later, we began to see the subtle alterations in the gravel and stream that our guides had trained us to look for. Our confidence grew as we adapted and learned, and we quickened our pace as all of us started to “see redd."

Finding redds and collecting information on the fish that made them is critical, but redd count training also provides fisheries professionals opportunities to make connections. We connected with people from other agencies — the Nez Perce and Shoshone Bannock tribes on common research and management objectives. 

We appreciate the connection these fish create between the ocean and the cool waters where they spawn. We connect evidence of fish activity to identify redds, and we connect to the salmon themselves by observing them at the end of their incredible migration. It’s the value of these connections that really enhances the effectiveness of redd count training every year.