09/27/2026
๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ โ ๐ช๐๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ! ๐๐ฒ
We had such a wonderful turnout for our ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ป adventure at the ๐๐๐น๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐น๐! Unfortunately, our afternoon ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต portion had to be cancelled, but our morning at the spawning channels certainly didn't disappoint. โค๏ธ
A huge ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ for spending the morning with us and sharing so much about the salmon returning to Fulton River. The kidsโand adults!โhad lots of questions, got an up-close look at salmon biology, and even saw salmon making some pretty spectacular jumps! ๐๐ฆ
We learned that ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐บ๐ผ๐ป return to this area, while Chinook don't come into this particular tributary. Sockeye are the species the facility works with most.
The Fulton River spawning-channel facility is about ๐ฑ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐น๐ฑ and was created to increase salmon production and improve harvest opportunities.
๐ ๐๐ข๐ช ๐๐๐ก ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ง?
We learned some fascinating clues! Male salmon develop a pronounced hump and a large hooked jaw or nose during spawning. That hooked jaw is called a ๐ธ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ.
Females use their tails to move gravel and create a nest, called a ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฑ, for their eggs. All that work can cause extensive wearโthe skin and scales on the tail can be rubbed away, sometimes exposing the fin rays underneath.
And you can learn something from the shape of a female's belly, too! A female that dies ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด may still have a noticeably full belly because she's carrying eggs, while one that has successfully spawned will generally have a much flatter, emptied abdomen.
๐ฌ ๐ช๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐!
Alexandra showed us some of the salmon's internal anatomy. We learned that the male reproductive organs contain ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐, which carries the s***m that fertilizes the female's eggs.
We also learned that fish have a ๐๐๐ผ-๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐โand one of the coolest facts of the day was that scientists can determine a salmon's age by examining tiny structures in its inner ear called ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐. They form growth rings that can be read somewhat like the rings of a tree! ๐ณ๐
Of course, one of the biggest highlights was simply getting to watch the salmon themselves. Seeing them ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ on their journey upstream is pretty incredibleโand really brings everything we're learning about their life cycle to life.
Thank you so much to ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ, to everyone who joined us, and to all the families who continue to come out and explore with ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ป. ๐
Even without our afternoon fishing session, there was certainly no shortage of ๐๐ฎ๐น๐บ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ! ๐๐ฒ
๐จ๐ป๐๐ถ๐น ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ! ๐
