In this episode we’re bringing you the second part of an interview we conducted last fall with Joy Waltermire from Long Live the Kings, where will learn more about the organization Long Live the Kings and their mission, and how to survive the sound.

Before we dive in, we would like to acknowledge this extraordinary time that we are in. Boy has a lot changed since last month. Hopefully you have the luxury of staying safe at home.

We’d also like to remind everyone that April 22nd is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day - watch our Facebook page for ways you can participate social distance style.

Interview, Part 2

Now for part two of our interview. The first part of the Interview can be heard in Episode 16 - Why did the Salmon Swim Upstream? That episode focused on salmon in general, and today we’re going to get more specific about Long Live the Kings and some of their projects. If you haven’t heard Episode 16 yet, you may want to go back and listen before continuing with this episode.

In this second part of the interview, Joy talks about the Hood Canal Steelhead Project and drops a lot of very interesting (oops…drink) facts about things like hook & line sampling, Bertha the Steelhead, hybridization of steelhead, how they are using hatcheries to recover stock of endangered fish while not having a negative effect on genetics, the Lilliwaup Conservation Facility and how it’s different from a traditional hatchery, otolith marking, and adipose fin clipping. She also talks about how they work with NOAA Fisheries.

Joy discusses the Long Live The Kings mission before talking about their initial project, the Orcas Island Terminal Fish Hatchery.

Joy also talked about a project where Long Live the Kings is partnering with Tacoma Power & Skokomish Tribe to reintroduce several salmon species into the North Fork of the Skokomish River.

We asked Joy about any potential volunteer opportunities and she told us about a couple of possibilities throughout the year. Some of these are currently affected by Stay-at-Home orders. At Glenwood Springs on Orcas Island, there is potentially a spawning opportunity. A couple times a year they also partner with Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group out of Belfair to offer volunteer opportunities, including counting fish both when the salmon return, as well as when juveniles head out to sea.

Survive the Sound!

Although we talked about survive the sound in Episode 16, we are going to talk a little bit more about some of the program changes this year and most importantly how you can join us on the Will We Make It Out Alive team!!! This year’s race will be from Monday May 4th to Friday May 8th. Here’s our fish team so far!

Long Live the Kings’ Survive the Sound is an online game/contest that tracks steelhead migration as they make their journey out of several river systems into Puget Sound or Hood Canal. They use cute fish avatars that represent real steelhead (a fish similar to a salmon) and their movements are based on real fish that are released into these rivers as juveniles on their way out to the ocean. The goal is to see which fishes make it out of Puget Sound alive and which one makes it out the quickest.

This event is free to join and a great way to learn about the potential perils of the steelhead. That’s part of the reason that this tracking data is collected, so scientists can better understand why fish are dying.

This is a great social distancing activity that you can still enjoy remotely with friends. So pick your fish and join our team (or start your own!) by May 3rd. You can even change your fish right up until May 3rd. There’s also new fish this year!

Also, share this link with anyone you know that might be interested in fish and Puget Sound, you can join from anywhere you have internet connection. A larger team increases our chances of winning with the most surviving fish.

If you’d like to do even more, consider donating or signing up to volunteer with Long Live the Kings! We would love to make the top 3 donation list!!! Join us to help save the Pacific Northwest’s iconic salmon and steelhead – the fish orca need to survive!

Join us next month for Episode 21: The Great Recycling Myth!

Please don’t forget to rate, review (you guys, we finally got our first review!!!) and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts (like Tune In, Castbox Himalaya, iheartradio, etc). Please let us know what you think on our feedback page or facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive. Also, if you are more visually inclined, check out our YouTube page!