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THREE INDIAN WORKERS pull up the net on one of the pens to respect
the fish. Algae and seaweed must be cleaned off the pens and dead fish must
be taken out regularly.
MEASURING JUST the amount of a certain kind of fish food
for one meal is Ivan George, one of the Indian workers for
the Squaxin Island Experimental Aquaculture Project.
By CHARLES GAY
A solution to the world's food
shortage, a money-making
project, or a noble effort that
proved unworkable?
It's too early to tell, but the
results of a fish farming
experiment currently being
conducted by a group of Western
Washington Indians will provide
the answer.
The Indians are raising fish in
pens under controlled conditions
• just off Squaxin Island in an
attempt to grow the animals from
fingerling size to 1/2-1 pound size
for commercial marketing.
The fish farming, or
aquaculture, is an experimental
program undertaken by the Small
Tribes Organization of Western
Washington (STOWW). It involves
the pen-rearing of salmon and
trout in floating nylon-webbed
pen enclosures. In the enclosures,
the fish are protected from their
natural enemies and fed four
meals a day.
James Fraser, the biological
advisor for the Indians, is one of
the few non-lndian people
working on the project. Fraser
advises the Indians on the feeding
of the fish and maintenance of
the project, as well as problems
which may arise, such as disease.
On June 9, 25,000 chinook
salmon fingerlings were
transferred from the Washington
State Department of Fisheries
tank trucks to the floating pens
off Squaxin Island. The chinook
salmon from the state were part
of a cooperative deal made by the
Indians. Some of the grown fish
will be released to the state later.
Another 8,000 chinook are
being raised as part of an
experiment by the University of
Washington College of Fisheries.
The four locations of the UW's
~ experiment are Kicket Island in
the San Juans, Seabeck,
Manchester and Squaxin Island.
The same stock of fish, the same
feeding techniques, and the same
density are used; only the
location is different at the four
spots.
Fraser said the Squaxin Island
Experimental Aquaculture Project
is unique in that it is the
southernmost site of aquaculture
on Puget Sound. He said the
' STOWW project has warm water
~ worries, sin¢~- th~ eempe~ature of,
"~ the salt water off Squaxin Island
can get as high as 62 degrees.
Disease is a big problem at
warmer temperatures.
Six weeks ago, an outbreak of
vibiro hit. It was defeated by
feeding the salmon fresh fish food
which was medicated and by
thinning out the pens. A loss of
five per cent was suffered, which
Fraser did not think drastic.
Each pen, which holds about
2,000 fish, is four feet wide by
eight feet long and either eight or
JAMES FRASER, left, and Dick Johns unload the fish into
the pens at the start of the aquaculture project. Fraser is the
Indians' biological consultant on the project.
Purser of the Suquamish and
Julian Smith and John Smith of
the Skokomish.
Chairman of the Squaxin
tribe, which is backing the
project, is Florence Sigo. The
Squaxin Island coordinator, who
works directly with the
experiment, is Cal Peters. Dewey
Sigo is the active Squaxin tribal
representative. Sigo, the son of
Florence Sigo, is in charge of
getting funds for the project. He
has carved a dugout canoe which
is used for transportation around
the project.
STOWW was formed half a
decade ago when a number of
small tribes decided to band
together for certain advantages.
Among those was to ask for
federal funds as a group, since the
small tribes were not getting the
funds that the larger tribes were.
Each tribe chairman is a delegate
to the STOWW board, which
makes the decisions on matters.
When the Indians decided to
undertake the aquaculture project
off Squaxin Island, they needed
trained professional people to
show them how to raise the fish.
Fraser, a graduate from the
University of Washington, was
hired as the biologist. He works
from the STOWW headquarters in
Federal Way and makes frequent
visits to the site of the project.
The fish consume four per
cent of their body weight per day.
This is accomplished by feeding
the 25,000 fish four times every
day. Food costs 16 cents a pound.
Fraser said that it is economical
to feed the fish' up to ½-1 pound
size, or eating size, but after the
one pound size, the fish's value
declines because it must eat too
much food in relation to how
much it grows.
Besides feeding the fish, the
Indians do maintenance
jobs. These include cleaning the
pens of algae and seaweedk,
picking out the mortalities, and
repairing the pens and boats used.
The project is funded by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and on a
smaller scale by the American
Freedom From Hunger
Foundation. The salaries of the
workers come from the
Department of Labor, Operation
Mainstream.
Some think if the experiment
works, it could be one answer to
the world's hunger problem.
Fraser does not feel that it will
solve the hunger problem in the
immediate future. He looks on
the project as more of a
moneymaking one for the
Indians. It will bring an economic
base back to the Indians through
a nonpolluting enterprise. The
goal of the project is to help the
small tribes financially. This
experiment is to find out if
aquaculture will work for the
Indians.
Indians
million
make
after
sound
plan to as
raft-rearing
Fraser
training
three stageS.
which is now
the facilities
of the
but when
pens will ha~,
the size
can swim
relatively
now (see
with the
house one
The seC~
training P~
pr
aquaculture
training. The.
classroom
formal.
The
reservation
aquaculture,
project
Fraser
project'S
optimistic
fish are
another
fish are
MOTORING AROLJND off the coast of Squaxin
dugout canoe are Myrtle Penn and three children. The
Dewey Sigo of Kamilche, is used for transportation
fish-raising project.
16 feet deep. The Indians are
densityexperimenting differences with to discover depth and the
best conditions under which to
raise the fish.
In separate pens, the Indians
have different kinds of fish. They :
have some chum salmon which
were reared at a small
experimental hatchery of the
Squaxin Indians at Kamilche. Dr.
Lauren Donaldson of the
University of Washington has
provided a large number of his
rainbow-steelhead cross hybrid
"super trout."
Five tribes are involved in the
Squaxin aquaculture. Actively
involved in learning to raise the
fish are these representatives:
Myrtle Penn from the Squaxin
tribe, Dick Johns and Harry Johns
of the Quinaults, Ivan George and
Bob George of the Port Gamble
band of the ClaUam tribe, Richard
: ; ;i/?¸ ; ;-
UNDERNEATH THIS FLOAT are 25,000 fish that are being raised by the
Small Tribes of Western Washington off Squaxin Island. The fish are kept in
.... protect them from their natural enemies.
Page 14 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, August 19, 1971
HUNDREDS OF SALMON jump after the food
into one of the pens at mealtime. The Indians
