Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout Project

By Allen Smith, Board Chairman & Volunteer Coordinator

Since our last Newsletter of October 2001, our volunteers have been very active in performing a myriad of our seasonal fish culture tasks. Some of our more noteworthy accomplishments and future activities are:

• Nov. 5 thru 9, 2001: Modified Chinook Enhancement Program Sea Pens for Monterey & Santa Cruz Harbors.
• Nov. 10, 2001: Assisted Rotary Club of Castroville in putting on our Annual Albacore Dinner fund raiser function.
• Dec. 1, 2001: Fin clipped approximately 44,000 steelhead fingerlings spawned from Scott Creek and San Lorenzo River adult steelhead.
• Dec. 6, 2001 thru March 4, 2002: Trapping and capturing adult broodstock coho salmon and steelhead for our spawning program. Coho return was best we have seen in our 26 year history. Special thanks to our outstanding dive-teams and our fish trap operators for many long (and some very cold) hours, much of this effort done in streams!
• Dec. 2001: Bob Eustice & Al Smith completed a memorial area in honor of deceased MBSTP Board Member, Treasurer, and dear friend Richard Wehner.
• Jan. 2002: Repaired and restored one of our satellite rearing facilities in Santa Cruz. Special thanks to Karl Raadik.
• March 14 thru April 16, 2002: Released well over 43,000 steelhead smolts and scores of spawned adult fish to their "home" streams.
• April 6, 2002: Trained seven new volunteers in fish care at MBSTP's fish rearing facility.
• April 24 thru 30, 2002: Assemble and place into operation Chinook Enhancement Program Sea Pens.
• May1 thru June 1, 2002: Obtain fish from CDF&G and conduct Chinook Enhancement Program at Monterey and Santa Cruz Harbors.
• June 3 thru 7, 2002: Disassemble chinook sea pens and place all structures, hardware, and equipment in storage.
• July 5, 6, & 7, 2002: Set up weigh-in station sites at Monterey City Harbor, Moss Landing Harbor, Santa Cruz Harbor and conduct 8th Annual "Big Fish Derby". Special thanks to Larry Wolf and to all the outstanding volunteers who help on this activity.
• January, March, April, & May 2002: Conducted many Salmon & Trout Education Program (STEP) activities with over 180 classrooms in 5 counties of our Central Coast area. Special thanks to Hugh Miller, Beccy Fitch, Matt McCaslin and all of the STEP team.
• All year round: Fish care at our Kingfisher Flat Anadromous Fish Rearing Facility and our satellite facilities. Special thanks to every one of you volunteers who do this critical work for our Project.

I have stated in many previous Newsletters that MBSTP is an all-volunteer organization (with the exception of our facilities manager and biologist, Dave Streig), and volunteer based organizations typically go through periods of turnover and drop out for any number of reasons. To those of you interested in continuing to support us with your volunteer efforts, please talk to others about us and what we do. Who knows, maybe you will inspire some special people to join us in our salmonid population restoration and preservation mission.

I want to thank all of you great volunteers for your outstanding efforts and support. Without your continued dedication and help we "can't get there from here"!

I want to extend our deepest thanks and sincerest appreciation to our magnificent volunteers for their continued support of our Project mission. Also I want to extend our continuing gratitude to the following organizations, groups, businesses, and individuals for their financial support of the ongoing restoration and operation of our fish rearing facilities: David & Lucile Packard Foundation; Fish & Game Advisory Commissions of Monterey, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties; Commercial Salmon Stamp Committee; Scott Creek Watershed Council; and the many individuals, businesses, schools, and community organizations who continue to provide their outstanding support.

Anyone interested in being trained to work with us in occasional fish care activities and some of our other Project activities, please contact me, Al Smith, at 831-722-4753, 831-458-3095, E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or send a note to my attention at MBSTP, P.0. Box 417, Davenport, CA 95017.

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