The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) is continuing to survey public and private beaches throughout the Puget Sound to determine when and where forage fish spawn. These surveys are a continuation of state efforts that have been underway since the 1970s to help ensure healthy forage fish stocks are available to their predators. WDFW will be working with Washington Conservations Corps (WCC) and Veteran’s Conservations Corps (VCC) interns to conduct these surveys.

During the surveys, a sampling crew of three staff will approach the beach in a small boat (14’-20’) to collect one or two roughly 2-liter size bags of sediment to take back to the lab to search for fish eggs. The crew will also record and photograph beach conditions before returning to the boat. The entire process typically takes less than 15 minutes. The vessels used in these surveys will be marked with the WDFW logo and/or ‘RESEARCH’, and the staff will be wearing gear with WDFW or WCC logos.

Due to the large scale of this project, we have struggled to identify a practical and efficient way to notify all the shoreline property owners of Puget Sound of when and where we may be sampling, so we’re using opportunities such as this newsletter to spread the word. 

If you would prefer that your beach not be sampled, we have an online form that you can fill out to have your property removed from potential sampling areas for this project: Visit this link

If you would like to learn more about forage fish and our project, you can visit our web page: Visit this link or contact Phillip Dionne.