Story by Judy Pickens
Photos by Tom Trulin
Special to West Seattle Blog

On Sunday afternoon (6/1), 118 community residents capped another salmon-release season on Fauntleroy Creek by putting the last coho fry in the water.

Among them, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a West Seattle resident (seen below with volunteer Dennis Hinton, after releasing a fry she named “Justice“):

Between April 28 and May 31, volunteers with the Fauntleroy Watershed Council hosted 778 students and 301 adults for 22 school releases. Those, plus the community release, introduced 2,281 coho fry to the freshwater habitat that will be their home until next spring.

Fifteen West Seattle schools received eyed eggs in January through the Salmon in the Schools Program. The students who cared for them until release day ranged from preschool through post high school.

Fry released during the community event were the last of the “back-up” fry reared by volunteer Jack Lawless to ensure that, even if a school lost a lot of its fish, every student would have one to put in the water. His fry also enabled children from five area preschools to have a release experience in Fauntleroy Park.

A record number of volunteers (23) staffed all the releases and hosted many of the students for lunch and Q&A on the lower creek.

Fry released at the big bridge in the park will linger there for a few weeks, so veteran volunteer Dennis Hinton encouraged park visitors to look for them.

“Between release fish and home hatch from spawning, the entire creek has salmon in it year round,” he said. “Visitors can help protect them by keeping their dogs out of the water and leaving fell limbs in the channel as they create essential habitat for these juveniles.”

Next up for the general public: the annual drumming in October to call in spawners and, if it’s successful, a weekend “open creek” in November. Last year, a record 347 spawning coho came in.