Monitoring salmon populations
As part of the license requirements for the Jackson Hydroelectric Project, the PUD monitors salmon populations in the Sultan River. Each year in the fall, adult salmon return from the ocean to spawn. During spawning, the female deposits her eggs into a nest created in the gravel. The nest, also called a redd, protects the eggs as they develop into little fish, called fry. As the fry emerge from the gravel, they begin their journey to the estuary and eventually the ocean. One way the PUD monitors salmon populations is by using a smolt trap. Smolt refers to a young salmon (or trout), when it becomes silvery and migrates to the sea for the first time.
Since 2012, PUD biologists have operated a smolt trap in the lower Sultan River, 0.2 miles upstream of the confluence with the Skykomish River in the City of Sultan. The trap is operated during the out-migration period from January through June.
In 2023, the PUD began operating its smolt trap on January 8. The smolt trap faces upstream and the cone in the front of the trap rotates as water passes through. A portion of the juvenile salmon out-migrating from the Sultan enter the cone and are funneled to the back. At the back of the trap, fish are contained in a live box where PUD biologists sort and count fish each day the trap operates.
The smolt trap results are compiled in the Excel spreadsheet below. There are 2 tabs in the spreadsheet: Current Year and Historical Data.
CURRENT YEAR TAB:
- The table and chart will be updated monthly from January through June 2023, with out-migration information from the Sultan River smolt trap. The table and chart show the number of salmon caught per hour each week the trap operates.
HISTORICAL DATA TAB:
- The chart allows viewers to compare the current trend in out-migration, which shows the average out-migration timing of each salmon species since monitoring began in 2012.
- Table 2 summarizes by year, the catch per hour of Chinook, chum, and pink salmon.
- Table 3 shows the total number of juvenile Chinook, chum, and pink salmon that out-migrated from the Sultan River by year.
View Smolt Trap Data >
Last Updated 7/17/23
