April, 1997

GEOGRAPHICAL REACH: Long Beach, California to Chignik Lagoon, Alaska. Asian subspecies Hypomesus pretiosus japonicus in the northwest Pacific Ocean.

RELATED SPECIES: Common local members of the smelt family, Osmeridae, are the eulachon or Columbia River smelt, Thaleichthys pacificus and Hooligans or longfin smelt Spirinchus thaleichthys. Both are anadromous; running up rivers to spawn in fresh water.

LOCAL DISTRIBUTIONS: Surf smelt occur throughout the nearshore marine waters of Washington, from the Columbia river to the Canadian border and southern Puget Sound. A number of genetically distinct stocks are thought to occur.

MAJOR STOCKS: Surf smelt stocks can be divided into summer spawners, fall-winter spawners and year-round spawners. Spawning occurs in the Kalaloch region, Straits of Juan de Fuca, northern Saratoga Pass, Port Susan, Birch Point and Cherry Point in June to October. Spawning occurs in September to March in the Bremerton-Poulsbo area, southernmost Puget Sound, and south Hood Canal. Spawning occurs year-round in Fidalgo Bay, Utsallady, Birch Point, and the San Juan Islands. Many additional suspected spawning grounds await investigation.

LIFE HISTORY: Surf smelt are an abundant schooling forage fish living to a maximum age of about five years. Many spawn at one year of age; the majority by two years of age. Adults do not die after spawning. Spawning habitat is a rather specific high tidal elevation mixture of coarse sand and fine gravel. Spawn is deposited near the water's edge around high water slack. Spawn is adhesive to the substrate particles and incubates from two to five weeks depending upon the seasonal temperature. Juvenile smelt rear in nearshore areas. The movements of adults between spawning seasons are virtually unknown.

FISHERIES: Commercial Surf smelt fisheries occur in most of the major spawning areas with beach seines, yielding around 100,000 pounds annually statewide. A similar annual poundage may be taken by recreational fisheries with various designs of long-handled dipnets and rod and reel jig gear. Fisheries are presently limited by saturation of the commercial markets and /or lack of suitable public access beaches for fishermen.

HABITAT ISSUES:The specificity and limited extent of the surf smelt's spawning habitat in Puget Sound has made the species quite vulnerable to shoreline development and construction activities. Some spawning grounds are currently mere remnants of their original extent. Surf smelt spawning grounds have been mapped, and spawning seasons determined in many areas, leading to the formation of regulations for inclusion in the WAC Hydraulic Codes Rules. These regulations govern the extent to which bulkhead-fill structure can intrude seaward of the high tide line on known smelt spawning beaches and specific seasons during which admissible work can be undertaken. Inability to comply in a project design will result in WDFW denial of a construction permit. Failure to comply in the process of construction can result in fines and/or removal of a project.

MANAGEMENT: Currently, surf smelt assessment is based on documentation by spawn deposition surveys. Surveys are conducted throughout the year, results are posted quarterly. Annual statewide estimates of abundance are based on egg deposition.

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