According to an article in the Curry Coastal Pilot, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, with the aid of volunteers are doing salmon carcass county on the Chetco River to help determine future management.
The Pilot describes the trip:
Thursday, though, the crystal-clear river put on its best show as the boats floated down amid hills shining emerald green in the morning sun. At one spot, two bald eagles ate a salmon carcass on the shore, then took flight as a boat approached.
Sometimes the carcass hunters find more than 100 fish to catalogue in a single day...
Information gleaned from the work helps ODFW forecast the run size for the following year and, based on that, set the dates for fishing season. Also, the count of hatchery vs. wild salmon is weighed in making long-term decisions on the number of hatchery fish to be released. Read the whole article at the Pilot.
