The Observer, July, 2008

Day-cruise through the Sound makes stop at salmon hatchery

When the Invasive Species Advisory Committee met in Anchorage in May, the week culminated in an optional field trip on a chartered boat from Whittier to Valdez through Prince William Sound.

On a spectacular day, we were treated to an up-close visit to a black- footed kittiwake rookery, a sea lion haulout, and a trip to the Wally Noerenberg Hatchery, about 20 miles east of Whittier on Esther Island.

When first entering the hatchery through a narrow inlet, you see three round container buoys floating in the water. Each contains boom (a barrier to prevent oil from going into the hatchery) so that in the event of an oil spill or other type of spill, the hatchery can be protected.

The expected harvest of pinks in 2008 is 929,000. The “egg-take” goal for those fish is 148,000,000 eggs. “Egg-take” is when some of the returning fish are harvested, anesthetized, and sorted by sex. Eggs and sperm are then removed and used for fertilization.

A stream environment is created in incubators by capturing fresh water from Esther Lake, which sits above the hatchery. By adjusting water temperature, protein rings are created in the salmon and act as a bar-code. Scientists can then determine which stock the returning fish are from.

About late March, the baby salmon, called fry, are released into underwater pens in the local bay. The fry “imprint” to chemical characteristics of the environment surrounding the hatchery, allowing them to instinctively return to the release site.

The fertilization and incubation process is similar for all species of salmon. But, while coho and sockeye salmon must remain in fresh water until they become smolt, or juvenile fish, pink and chum salmon can be released from incubation directly to saltwater.

For more information on Prince William Sound Aquaculture, salmon, and hatcheries, go to www.pwsac.com/year.htm

The council participated in the International Oil Spill Conference in Savannah Georgia in May. Training sessions were offered in areas such as efficacy and effects of dispersants in oil spill response, use of weather forecasting for emergency response and the basics of oil spill response.

The conference’s platform sessions included planning, prevention and preparedness, international oil spills, and response and science. Demonstrations were held to showcase aerial, on-water, and dockside displays showing US Coast Guard, US Navy, and local, regional, and national response helicopters deploying and dropping boom.

The council-produced film, “Then & Now, The Alaska Oil Spill at 20,” was shown twice during the conference film festival.

The new Information and Education committee met June 12. Highlighting the first agenda was the formation of mission and goals, and the election of the committee chair. Patience Andersen Faulkner will hold that position for the committee’s first year.

The council also attended the Arctic Marine Oilspill Program’s 31st technical seminar in Calgary in June. This conference includes technical papers and presentations on topics related to oil, chemicals, and hazardous materials. And the council hosted a reception June 17 at the Kenai Peninsula Borough building for the borough assembly and others.

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