Volunteers Dive In To Count Fish For A Cause

The Eel River Recovery Project (ERRP) was out doing the first of three surveys today. Volunteers devoted their Friday morning to count Salmon by the Fernbridge.
 
"Really what were trying to do now is gather some data,” said Environmental Director of the Wiyot Tribe Stephen Kullman. “It's not really to see if there’s enough, or not enough fish."
 
ERRP Coordinator Patrick Higgins said it’s helpful to know how many fish are coming through the basin to determine how the future years will be.
 
“The fish come in as a function of flow,” Higgins said. “So right now some are coming in from the ocean, and if it rained many more would come in.”
 
Two groups of ten volunteers swam in a line up steam, counting the fish that swam under their legs and then pushing the rest toward the other volunteers to count.
 
The EERP is a volunteer based organization that is sponsored by the Wiyot Tribe and the Bear River Tribe of the Rohnerville Rancheria.
 
It’s an effort to get more Chinook salmon back in the Eel River.

"The goal is to continue this in multiple years, so that we get an idea of how the runs increase or decrease over time," Kullman said.