Forage fish survey – sample collection
Join us on the beach to collect forage fish samples!
Forage fish are small, silvery fish that swim in schools. The 3 most common species we see in the Puget Sound are Sand lance, surf smelt and pacific herring. These small but mighty fish play a crucial role in the marine food web, serving as an essential food source for salmon, seabirds, and other marine animals. They rely on our island shorelines to lay their eggs in the gravel, check out this map of forage fish spawning habitat created by WDFW. Through monthly forage fish surveys we seek to answer basic questions about these animals’ biology and habitat needs: When do they spawn? What beach substrates and other habitat features do they need? When shorelines are restored do fish populations rebound?
This is the field portion of our forage fish surveys, where you’ll assist Vashon Nature Center staff in collecting sediment samples and measuring characteristics of their beach habitat. No experience required!
There is also a lab portion of the survey. If you’re interested in learning how to prepare samples for lab analysis and identify species under a microscope, please fill out this form. Watch this sampling video to get a glimpse into the entire survey process.
For questions, reach out to taylor@vashonnaturecenter.org