Mother’s Day | Fish have mothers, too

||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT |||

Start your Mother’s Day weekend this year at Indian Island by joining Kwiaht’s community beach seine May 10 starts at 11:30 am at Indian Island.

Rocky reefs and eelgrass meadows surrounding Indian Island are critical spawning grounds and nurseries for Bay Pipefish, Plainfin Midshipmen, Snake Pricklebacks, surfperch, greenlings, and many other species of fish, crustaceans and sea stars you may never have seen up close.

Counting and measuring fish is one way that Kwiaht scientists monitor the impacts of Eastsound road runoff, visitors, and warming seas on the Fishing Bay marine ecosystem. Since monitoring began in 2009, for example, Bay Pipefish have adapted to warmer, drier summers and somewhat sparser eelgrass by spawning when they are a bit younger and smaller, and
spawning a little later in the season. Their numbers have increased, while some other fish species have declined, or are no longer spawning in the bay.

“Nature is complex and often surprising,” says Kwiaht director Russel Barsh. “We learn something new every summer.”

You can pull nets and count fish. And you can also help by donating to this year’s GiveOrcas fundraising campaign for monitoring and visitor management, Kwiaht’s Indian Island Youth Stewardship program. Visit the GiveOrcas catalog at http://www.giveorcas.org/ and support your favorite local organizations!