Task Force members attend second net pen stocking at Pt. Defiance along with Fair Harbor Marina owner Kelly Granger

May 2023

The second net pen at Pt. Defiance was stocked with 52,000 smolts provided by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. This brings the total smolts at the Pt. Defiance net pens to 132,000 for this season. We are in preliminary discussions with Kelly Granger to understand the viability of installing similar temporary seasonal net pens at the Fair Harbor Marina. Kelly and his wife Cindy are excited about the possibility. We are also talking with the North Mason Schools to see how they might get students involved at the net pens as well as at the Coulter Creek Hatchery. Our current thoughts are that if the net pens at Fair Harbor are viable and we can get the permitting required to proceed, this is a start at rebuilding our salmon runs in Case Inlet. In parallel, we are still pursuing a future where the WDFW will resume releasing fish from the Coulter Creek Hatchery.