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Community Corner

Chum Festival Makes Fish Stewardship a Celebration

Visitors to Saturday's Donkey Creek Chum Festival learned about local sea life, watched kayak racers, painted salmon for T-shirts, and of course, ate chum burgers.

Despite the iffy weather, several hundred people turned out for last Saturday's fifth annual , held on the grounds of the .

They learned about local sea life and fish habitats, watched kayak racers, made "Paint Your Own Salmon" T-shirts and, of course, ate chum burgers β€” more than 200 of them according to one late afternoon estimate from members of the Gig Harbor Kiwanis who were manning the grill along with the Gig Harbor Commercial Fisherman's Club.

The two groups were among nearly 20 environmental and fish enhancement advocates on hand hosting booths and activities at the Oct. 8 event. Its aim is to promote a stronger awareness of local salmon and other sea life populating Puget Sound waters.

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"A lot of people have no idea about what's here and lived here," said Rebecca Mullen, of Harbor Wildwatch. She said about 400 people had stopped by the non-profit's booth to learn about and interact with the starfish and other creatures in its "touch tanks."

The Chum Festival is held each year at the onset of the salmon spawning season. The Commercial Fishermen's Club incubates and releases more than one million salmon fry from Donkey Creek each year. Come the next fall, the mature fish return to fight their way up the to reproduce in the creek. The festival was created as a celebration of this annual event.

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