CSI: Highline investigation uncovers more salmon in streams
By Gwen Davis
The results are in: The salmon runs of Miller and Walker creeks in Burien and Normandy Park were larger this year than last year, but more work still needs to be done to keep the stream water clean.
The findings are in thanks to the volunteer-based Community Salmon Investigation for Highline program, also known as CSI: Highline, which evaluates the health status of the creeks by counting the dead and alive coho and chum salmon on the shores-- paying particular attention to the dead pre-spawned salmon.
The fish count and pre-spawned mortality rate serve as a long-term indicator of whether the water and surrounding land is clean and healthy.
Twenty-one volunteers surveyed the streams this season. Volunteers were assigned into teams of two to three people, with each team surveying one day of the week.
The season ran from Oct. 10 to Dec. 23.
Volunteers collected the dead and alive fish, and if dead, cut them open to determine if they had spawned.
Fish that died before spawning were a solid indicator of dirty water.