Seining Project
What the seining team does
Started as a class project by the Whidbey Island Class of 2004, seining
team members have become true citizen scientists. They've
learned net handling, species identification and processing,
data recording, and water sampling techniques. Both near-shore
and inside the lagoon net setting points are sampled and may
include up to fifteen samples
per location. Seining events are typically conducted twice
per month from February through June.
At each seining location, the volunteers examine the contents
of the net and identify and count the catch by species.
They also measure the tidal stage, substrate type, surface and
bottom water temperature and salinity, maximum depth of area
seined and note the vegetation in the area.
A representative sampling of juvenile salmon is measured for length
to determine growth patterns. With the exception of a very small
number of juvenile salmon that are retained for genetic study,
all species netted are released after identification and counting.
For more information, see
What the seining team has learned.
