Another successful season has concluded for the Snake and Salmon river smolt traps. As the crews wrap up the season by moving the Snake River trap to its off-season storage site, they reflect on their experiences during the past three months. Some technicians returned for another trapping season to gain additional experience while others came to learn new skills and experience a different part of Idaho. Many skills they learned will prepare them for their future whether it is in fisheries or a different field. We hope most will pursue a career in fisheries.
The direction crew members take after the smolt trapping season wraps up is variable. A few technicians stay to perform off-season maintenance on the traps. Some transfer to other Idaho Department of Fish and Game fisheries projects for the summer. The goal of most seasonal employees whom pursue these fisheries positions is improving their skills and resumes making them competitive for permanent job opportunities. The personal connections the seasonal crews develop and knowledge they gain about anadromous fisheries management provide great tools for young professionals seeking a fisheries career. Many seasonal technicians whom have worked on the Smolt Monitoring Project went on to successful careers in fisheries or aquatic sciences.
The fisheries research and management world is well connected across the country and internationally. Cooperation among various entities, such as the one highlighted between Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Fish Passage Center in this blog series, is critical to achieve common goals while providing learning opportunities for seasonal technicians and the ability for them to build connections with other fisheries professionals.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Fish Passage Center cooperatively operate these two fish traps as a key component of the Smolt Monitoring Program and the Comparative Survival Study. More information about these important wild salmon and steelhead trout projects is available at https://www.fpc.org/fpc_homepage.php
For more information on Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead click here.
This is the final entry for the Smolt Monitoring Project blog this year. The crew would like to acknowledge and thank Anadromous Staff Biologist Marika Dobos, who provided valuable input, support, and encouragement for this series.