how to help
You can support the project by donating below. Your support is needed as partners work to analyze freshwater samples. Contributions as low as $10 will help fuel this important work!
Coastal Cutthroat Coalition Patches
Each patch is $13, and all proceeds go to the Coastal Cutthroat Coalition. Quality it limited – get one while you still can! Patch size is 2.375 x 3.5″.
coastal cutthroat trout
IF4 Fly Fishing and Fundraiser
Coastal Cutthroat Trout Science Fundraiser
There are some amazing donations for this event including 10 guided fishing trips, a Ski-in, Ski-out stay at a 7000 square foot home in Whitefish Montana as well as donations from Sage, Simms, Redington, Echo, Fishpond, Rep you Waters, and Bauer.
Learn about the other great prizes and more – all in support of coastal cutthroat trout science!
Project overview
HCSEG, in collaboration with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Coastal Cutthroat Coalition, Tacoma Public Utilities, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and Long Live the Kings, are collaborating to learn more about Coastal Cutthroat Trout in Hood Canal. Over the next few years, partners will establish DNA baselines from 15 Hood Canal streams to better understand migration patterns and genetic composition of our popular marine fishery. The results of this project will aid in prioritizing habitat restoration opportunities and improving fishing regulations to better protect Coastal Cutthroat Trout and ensure a sustainable fishery and population.
This project follows along the lines of current work being done by WDFW in southern Puget Sound, which you can learn more about here.
timeline
Over the next two years, project partners will sample juvenile cutthroat in 15 streams across Hood Canal to develop a genetic baseline for each population. This data will tell us whether subpopulations in the 15 streams are genetically distinct from one another.
Following the collection of these samples, partners will then collect samples in marine waters throughout Hood Canal to assign adults back to their population of origin. With that data, partners can better understand the minimum marine migration distance these fish travel, and also which streams contribute significant numbers of fish to the marine fishery.
This project follows along the lines of current work being done by WDFW in southern Puget Sound, which you can learn more about here.