Spring Chinook's Journey Launches on Facebook and Twitter
The Service Follows the Voyage of Sammy the Salmon to the Ocean
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Region Fisheries Program begins the eight week "Sammy the Salmon" social media campaign on Tuesday, which follows a locally adapted Spring Chinook released from Winthrop National Fish Hatchery, near the Canadian border, as she travels 600 miles and passes nine dams on her two-month journey to the Pacific Ocean.
Using Twitter and Facebook, the Service will track Sammy's location and include images and video in accompaniment with updates on dangers Sammy faces (e.g., dams, predators), her observations of the ecosystem around her, and physical changes she experiences on her voyage from the Methow River to the Columbia River, and finally arriving at the Pacific Ocean in mid-June.
"The Columbia River system provides a source of power to several Western states while continuing to support populations of (hatchery and wild) salmon and steelhead," said Chris Pasley, Hatchery Manager of Winthrop National Fish Hatchery. "Learn how hydropower and Pacific salmon have coexisted for more than 70 years despite many challenges the fish have faced, including loss of habitat, a slower migration corridor (series of reservoirs, versus a free flowing river), harvest (tribal, sport and commercial), increased predation opportunities by birds and other fish, domestication in hatcheries, increased water temperatures and de-watering from irrigation practices, and fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage challenges over or through the dams on the Columbia River."
The intention of this social media project is to provide entertaining and informational messages regarding a keystone Northwest species. The Service hopes both youth and adults will engage in this campaign, which is designed to inform the public on the journey of salmon released from a Northwest hatchery to the Pacific Ocean, including the abundances of obstacles they face and address our impact in the ecosystems that salmon depend on for survival.
Sammy is one of 450,000 Spring Chinook released at Winthrop this week, in addition to 100,000 steelhead and 300,000 coho. Part of the hatchery's conservation goal is to assist with the recovery of Spring Chinook in the Methow River.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Region Fisheries Program begins the eight week "Sammy the Salmon" social media campaign on Tuesday, which follows a locally adapted Spring Chinook released from Winthrop National Fish Hatchery, near the Canadian border, as she travels 600 miles and passes nine dams on her two-month journey to the Pacific Ocean.
Using Twitter and Facebook, the Service will track Sammy's location and include images and video in accompaniment with updates on dangers Sammy faces (e.g., dams, predators), her observations of the ecosystem around her, and physical changes she experiences on her voyage from the Methow River to the Columbia River, and finally arriving at the Pacific Ocean in mid-June.
"The Columbia River system provides a source of power to several Western states while continuing to support populations of (hatchery and wild) salmon and steelhead," said Chris Pasley, Hatchery Manager of Winthrop National Fish Hatchery. "Learn how hydropower and Pacific salmon have coexisted for more than 70 years despite many challenges the fish have faced, including loss of habitat, a slower migration corridor (series of reservoirs, versus a free flowing river), harvest (tribal, sport and commercial), increased predation opportunities by birds and other fish, domestication in hatcheries, increased water temperatures and de-watering from irrigation practices, and fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage challenges over or through the dams on the Columbia River."
The intention of this social media project is to provide entertaining and informational messages regarding a keystone Northwest species. The Service hopes both youth and adults will engage in this campaign, which is designed to inform the public on the journey of salmon released from a Northwest hatchery to the Pacific Ocean, including the abundances of obstacles they face and address our impact in the ecosystems that salmon depend on for survival.
Sammy is one of 450,000 Spring Chinook released at Winthrop this week, in addition to 100,000 steelhead and 300,000 coho. Part of the hatchery's conservation goal is to assist with the recovery of Spring Chinook in the Methow River.
