Webcam; 08-21-05; Dillingham Fish Monitoring Project; Pink Salmon

Webcam; 07-29-05; Dillingham Fish Monitoring Project; Beaver

Webcam; 07-24-05; Dillingham Fish Monitoring Project; Pink Salmon

Fish on - on TV that is.  Throughout the summer, residents in Dillingham, Alaska, headquarters for the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge have been able to turn on their TV to watch fish migrate upstream.  A small stream flowing through the community was impassable to fish until recently because of poorly installed culverts.  It is now teeming with fish after a cooperative project with the City of Dillingham.  Togiak Refuge and the State of Alaska restored 16 river miles of the creek to a fish friendly, free-flowing condition.

A natural progression of the stream restoration project was to monitor the return of fish.  With help from five major cooperators in the community, the refuge installed an underwater digital camera in the creek that is linked to the local cable network.  Dillingham residents now have a totally new perspective as they watch live footage of fish making their way upstream.

In addition to exciting local residents about habitat restoration, Refuge biologists are using the video to document the numbers of each fish species returning to the stream.  The video was also shown to local students during the annual Southwest Alaska Aquatic Science Academy – an annual camp.  By late summer pink, chum, sockeye and coho salmon, Dolly Varden, starry flounder, sculpins, smelt and a host of juvenile salmon had been the stars of the show.  Other aquatic animals such as river otters and beavers have made cameo appearances. 

This project has received such rave local reviews that it will continue to be operated in coming years to monitor the local salmon runs and foster local stewardship.  The show closed for the season in October, and biologists are now tallying the numbers.  There is little doubt that the public will be impressed with the productivity of their small community stream.

For more information contact Mark Lisac, Fisheries Biologist, (907) 842-1063.