Redoubt and the Weir

For those of you who are still having trouble picturing exactly what a weir is, I thought I’d give a little more in-depth explanation, plus some pictures to get you up close and personal to it. Our three weirs are set up at the Redoubt Lake Outlet where Redoubt Lake empties into the ocean. The weirs block the migration of the salmon (Sockeye are our species of main concern) from the ocean back into the lake where they spawn towards the end of the summer. I tried to find a map of the lake to better show the location of everything, but Google doesn’t seem to have one…

The first step to setting the weir up was hauling tripods (150 lbs. each) down from an adjacent bank where they had been stored for the winter into the water to set up at the tops of our two falls that lead out to the ocean. Then channels connect the tripods and pickets are slid through the holes in the channels to form a fence.

Everyday we have a quota of how many fish we have to “work up” (weigh, measure and collect scale samples from). This is done by corralling them through a funnel into a trap set up on one side of the weir. We net them out of the trap, knock them out in a cooler filled with water spiked with clove oil and Everclear, do our stuff and then send them to the recovery tank before setting them free.

We also recently had our first wild bear sighting of the summer. An eight-year-old female named “Sly” who’s been coming around the weir for the past 5+ years. Luckily, she seems to want nothing to do with us and leaves as soon as we drive up in the boat. We have had the chance to see her catching fish up close and personal and find bear signs, including lots of half eaten carcasses all over the place.

Another part of our job is fertilizing the lake. Redoubt is one of the largest meromictic lakes in North America, with a distinctive bottom layer of salt water that doesn’t turn over so a lot of nutrients get lost to the bottom. Since the 80’s the Forest Service has been fertilizing the lake because of a decrease in salmon productivity. This wonderful job entails hauling 1000 lbs. of fertilizer down to the water every 4 days and tying bags up at different drop points at the North end of the lake. While not entirely enjoyable, at least it makes you feel like you’ve worked for your food that day.