Well, howdy there, y’all! Let’s talk about them fish over at the Bonneville Dam. I heard tell they countin’ ’em, you know, them salmon and such.
Them Fish Counters and Their Numbers
Now, I ain’t no fancy city slicker, but I reckon them folks over at the dam are keepin’ track of how many fish go swimmin’ by. They call it a “count,” like countin’ chickens, I guess. But these ain’t chickens, they’re fish! Big ol’ salmon, swimmin’ upstream.
They got this thing called the Fish Passage Center, see? And that’s where they put all the numbers. I reckon it’s like a big ol’ chalkboard, but on that there computer thingy. They tell you how many Chinook, steelhead, and sockeye went by. Them’s the fish names, mind you.
- Chinook: Big fellas, them Chinook. They put up a good fight, I hear.
- Steelhead: Kinda silvery, these ones. Pretty, too.
- Sockeye: Red as a beet, these get. Specially when they’re spawnin’.
They even got them numbers from way back when. Like history, you know? You can see how many fish swam by last year, or ten years ago, even! It’s like lookin’ at old pictures, but with numbers. They call it “historical trends,” I think. Sounds fancy, but it just means they’re lookin’ at how things was and how they is now.
Army Corps and Their Cyber Problems
Now, the Army Corps, they’re the ones who built that there dam. Big ol’ thing, stoppin’ the water and lettin’ the fish through… mostly. They used to have them fancy cameras so you could watch the fish swimmin’ by, live and in person. But somethin’ happened with their computers, some “cyber security” thing they said. So no more fish TV, I guess. Too bad, it was kinda fun watchin’ them fish jump.
But they still countin’ ’em, that’s the important thing. They post them numbers on that there Fish Passage Center website. You just gotta go lookin’ for it. It ain’t hard, even an old woman like me can find it. They got daily counts, too. So you can see how many fish went by today, or yesterday. It’s right interestin’.
Sockeye Numbers and Other Fishy Business
I heard tell they had a whole heap of sockeye this year. Over five hundred thousand, they said! That’s a lot of fish, even for a big ol’ river like the Columbia. They was comin’ through by the thousands every day, but now it’s slowed down a bit. Still, that’s a powerful lotta fish!
And it ain’t just the Bonneville Dam, neither. They got other dams up and down the river, and they countin’ fish there too. The Columbia and Snake Rivers, they call ‘em. Lots of dams, lots of fish. They even got this thing called DART, where they track the fish with little tags. Like taggin’ a cow, but smaller, I reckon. That way, they can see where them fish go and how many make it past all them dams.
Bonneville and… Motorcycles?
Now, here’s a funny thing. I heard tell there’s another kind of Bonneville, somethin’ about motorcycles. Made in England, they say. Got nothin’ to do with fish, mind you. But they got numbers too, like how big the engine is and how much gas it holds. Funny how that works, same name, but two different things.
One’s got fish, one’s got engines. This here motorcycle, the Triumph Bonneville, started with a 650cc engine and later got a bigger one, 750cc, they say. And it don’t use much gas, goes for near 200 miles on a tank. Now, that ain’t bad for such a powerful machine, ha! They used to make ‘em over in England, but not so much anymore, I hear. But like I said, that’s a whole ‘nother story, nothin’ to do with our fish here at the dam.
Fish Counts Keep on Comin’
So, there you have it. Them folks at the Bonneville Dam are countin’ fish, and they’re sharin’ them numbers with everyone. It’s important, they say, to keep track of them salmon. They gotta make sure there’s enough fish for everyone, even the bears and the eagles. And for us folks who like to eat ’em, too!
So next time you hear about the Bonneville Dam, remember them fish counters and all them numbers. It’s a whole lot of fish, a whole lot of history, and a whole lot of work. But it’s all for the good, makin’ sure them salmon keep on swimmin’ for years to come. And remember, you can always go look at them numbers yourself, right there on that there internet thingy.
And if you see a motorcycle called a Bonneville, well, that’s just a coincidence, I reckon. Two different things with the same name. Funny how the world works, ain’t it?
Tags: [Bonneville Dam, Salmon Count, Fish Passage Center, Columbia River, Snake River, Chinook, Steelhead, Sockeye, Army Corps of Engineers, DART, Adult Passage, Fish Status, Historical Trends, Fish Data]
